This annotated bibliography explores the ways in which the bodily presentation and bodily rituals are displayed across different cultures and the relationships between these ways and broader cultural context. It highlights how different cultural attitudes and traditions shape the ways in which individuals engage with and relate to their bodies. The literature presented provides the academic base for anthropological discussions on the topics of bodily rituals and self-presentation.
Liebelt, C., 2016, ‘Manufacturing Beauty, Grooming Selves: The Creation of Femininities in the Global Economy – An Introduction”, Sociologus, vol. 66, pp. 9-24.
The relationship between beauty standards, modern consumption, and cultural differences has long been a topic of research in social sciences. The specifics of the anthropological perspective allow to determine the emphasis on practices and meanings behind the rituals of beautification. Liebelt aims to analyze specific looks as a form of social distinction and highlights the necessity of perceiving aesthetic body modifications as elements within cultural contexts and not individual choices.
The author utilizes comparative cross-culture analysis and conducts a literature review for her article, ensuring the relevance of the sources. She builds a strong case for the necessity of the anthropological analysis of beauty practices and the social ramifications of those. Finally, she brings the economic aspect into the study, additionally conceptualizing cultural bias on the female appearance by accounting for the capitalist influence.
Eichberg, H., Larsen, S. & Roessler, K, 2017, ‘Gliding Body – Sitting Body. From Bodily Movement to Cultural Identity’, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, vol. 12, pp. 117-132.
The article studies the religious and cultural origins in bodily rituals prevalent in modern popular sports. It aims to analyze, contextualize and classify the deeper undertones in bodily movements, particularly those that are tied to spiritual or national identity. Eichberg, Larsen, and Roessler study the religious and cultural layers of the bodily rituals involved in Norvegian skiing practice and Indian yoga.
They rely on comparative analysis and conduct chronological data study to point out religious origins in these sports practices and the unifying effects those continuously demonstrate. The article concludes by highlighting the lack of research on the ties between bodily rituals and spirituality in modern sport science. It successfully demonstrates the relevance of the cross-cultural analysis of the body activities in a variety of modern disciplines.
Monocello, L. & Dressler, W., 2020, ‘Flower boys and muscled men: comparing South Korean and American male body ideals using cultural domain analysis,’ Anthropology & Medicine, vol. 27, pp. 176-191.
This article examines the ideals of male beauty in South Korea and the United States and how these ideas affect the development of self-presentation in those respective countries. Monocello and Dressler admit that universalist assumptions about masculinity have limited their research capabilities on the topic of male body image. They conduct cross-cultural scientifically verifiable research through mixed methods to analyze the contrasting cultural patterns in relation to the perception of male beauty in those countries.
In particular, the authors utilize cultural domain analysis and residual agreement analysis building it on the ground of cultural models theory to eliminate bias and familiarize themselves with different perspectives. The research indicates that American men, the White demographic in particular, perceive hyper-masculine muscly bodies as ideal.
In contrast, people from South Korea gravitate towards more slender and “prettier” bodies, with common in-language comparison to flowers. This is an excellent example of how cultural differences manufacture contrasting beauty ideals for individuals within the same gender. It is linked to the wider topic of bodily presentation and rituals as these standards affect the ways in which men in the United States and South Korea see themselves.
Odinga, J. & Kasten, E., 2020, ‘From the jungle to urban centers: body image and self-esteem of women in three different cultures,’ International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology, 4, pp. 1-20.
Another study of body image in women provides an analysis of self-presentation, body image, and certain bodily images in women of Columbia, Germany, and Guatemala. Odinga and Kasten utilize surveys with closed and open-ended questions to understand the female body ideals across these cultures. Another methodology utilized involves the statistical analysis and p-values comparison when evaluating the significance of the results, making the research statistically verifiable.
The authors then put the findings into broader social contexts of the three countries in question, aiming to dissect the wider ramifications of these standards. The study is intersectional and accounts for the ways in which social strata, ethnicity, and gender affect the perception of the body shape by an individual. The findings of the paper demonstrate that substantial differences in body shape ideals and related self-esteem exist between all three groups in question.
The article is representative of the deep ramifications that social conditions, gender norms, and overall cultural contexts might have on the self-esteem and bodily presentation of an individual. Yet, it is important to note that as by authors’ own admission, the three samples differ substantially in size and are therefore not entirely representative.
Hicks, K. & Thomas, J., 2020, ‘The Changing Face of Beauty: A Global Assessment of Facial Beauty,’ Ethnically Sensitive Rhinoplasty, vol. 53, pp. 185-194.
Beauty is a multi-layered and complex topic in any social science, as it combines the innate subjectivity of individual perception with social implications and institutionalized standards. This study aims to dissect the roots of such standards alongside the links that exist between attractive physical appearance and moral virtues in modern Western culture.
To conduct the study, they utilize mathematical measurements of various beauty standards and cross-discipline analysis, conducting the relevant literature review across several social sciences. The authors put the ideas of symmetry and balance in human faces into cultural and anthropological contexts by introducing a limited number of statistical studies and plastic surgery records. It successfully highlights the importance of the ethical background understanding when performing cosmetic surgery on a patient and emphasizes the relativeness of the aesthetic norms.
Hall, R., 2016, ‘BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Three-Tail Funeral Banners of Northern Thailand,’ The Smithsonian Institution, vol. 46, pp. 40-60.
The anthropology of funerals is relatively under-explored due to the sacrality of burial procedures that are frequently perceived as protected and even secret practices. Hence this article is relevant for its insights on funeral anthropology and the implications burial body rituals hold within a community. This article aimed to examine the anthropology of the Buddhist funerary banners and their transformative cultural role in the community.
To achieve this result, the author has conducted a literature review and a cross-disciplinal analysis, working with historical, culturological, anthropological, and sociological research. She contextualized the step-by-step process of the funeral procedure, starting with moving the body from the monastery and concluding with cremation. The cross-disciplinal nature of the author’s research provides a very detailed context for her exploration of funeral body rituals. The paper concludes with the emphasis on how funeral practices might aid researchers across the spectrum of social sciences to better understand foreign cultures.
References
Eichberg, H., Højbjerre Larsen, S., & Roessler, K. (2017). Gliding Body – Sitting Body. From Bodily Movement to Cultural Identity. Sport, Ethics And Philosophy, 12(2), 117-132. Web.
Hall, R. (2016). BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Three-Tail Funeral Banners of Northern Thailand. Ars Orientalis, 46, 40-60. Web.
Hicks, K., & Thomas, J. (2020). The Changing Face of Beauty. Otolaryngologic Clinics Of North America, 53(2), 185-194. Web.
Liebelt, C. (2016). Manufacturing Beauty, Grooming Selves: The Creation of Femininities in the Global Economy – An Introduction. Sociologus, 66(1), 9-24. Web.
Monocello, L., & Dressler, W. (2020). Flower boys and muscled men: comparing South Korean and American male body ideals using cultural domain analysis. Anthropology & Medicine, 27(2), 176-191. Web.
Odinga, J., & Kasten, E. (2020). From the jungle to urban centers: body image and self-esteem of women in three different cultures. International Journal Of Anthropology And Ethnology, 4(1). Web.