Abstract
As we create our bodies, our bodies create us. Of course, such a statement carries the proviso that there are many factors, external (e.g., access to food sources, physical threats) and internal (e.g., endocrine system, genetics), that determine how the body takes form beyond intentional changes. The effect of the body, however, is not necessarily a direct effect that impacts the brain or the biochemical processes of the brain; rather, we experience the body’s influence via the construct system and our active and constant interpretation of our bodies. For most of us, regularly monitoring bodily processes and morphology, whether through high-tech devices like blood pressure monitors, or relatively low-tech devices such as mirrors or weight scales, gives us some idea of how we are doing in terms of health, attractiveness, or any number of other concerns. James (1890) saw the body and the other physical objects that we surround ourselves with as components of the material self, one of several aspects of selfhood. The main point that we emphasize is that constructs are required to interpret the information that we receive from whatever source or sources that we consult, and the body supplies us with constant experiences that require interpretation and anticipation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual, 5th ed. (DSM-5). Washington: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychological Association (2007). Report of the APA task force on the sexualisation of girls. Washington: American Psychological Association.
Atkinson, M. (2002). Pretty in pink: Conformity, resistance and negotiation in women’s tattooing. Sex Roles, 47, 219–235.
Binet, A. (1887). Le fetichisme dans l’amour. Revue Philosophique de la France et l’Etranger, 24(143–167), 252–274.
Bowleg, L. (2013). “Once you’ve blended the cake you can’t take the parts back to the main ingredients”: Black gay and bisexual men’s descriptions and experiences of intersectionality. Sex Roles, 68, 754–767.
Collins, P. H. (1986). Learning from being the Outsider Within: The sociological significance of black feminist thought. Social Problems, 33, S14–S32.
Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought. New York: Routledge.
Collins, P. H. (2004). Black sexual politics. New York: Routledge.
Cordeau, D., Belanger, M., Beaulieu-Prevost, D., & Courtois, F. (2014). The assessment of sensory detection thresholds on the perineum and breast compared with control body sites. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 11, 1741–1748.
Cummings, W. (2003). Orientalism’s corporeal dimension. Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, 4, 2.
Dant, T. (1996). Fetishism and the social value of objects. The Sociological Review, 44, 495–516.
DeMello, M. (1995). “Not just for bikers anymore”: Popular representations of North American tattooing. Journal of Popular Culture, 29, 37–52.
DeMello, M. (2000). Bodies of inscription: A cultural history of the modern tattoo community. Durham: Duke University Press.
Ellis, H. (1906). Studies in the psychology of sex: Vol. II: Sexual inversion. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company (Original work published 1901.).
Ellis, H. (1920). Studies in the psychology of sex: Vol. V: Erotic symbolism. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company (Original work published 1906.).
Ferreira, V. S. (2014). Becoming and heavily tattooed young body: From a bodily experience to a body project. Youth and Society, 46, 303–337.
Flugel, J. C. (1930). The psychology of clothes. London: Hogarth Press.
Frederic, C. M. & Bradley, K. A. (2000). “A different kind of normal”? Psychological and motivational characteristics of young adult tattooers and piercers. North American Journal of Psychology, 3, 379–392.
Fredrickson, B. L. & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.
Freud, S. (1962a). Fetishism. In S. Freud (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (vol. 21, ). London: (Original work published 1927.)Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1962b). The aetiology of hysteria. In S. Freud (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (vol. 3, ). London: (Original work presented 1896.)Hogarth Press.
Freud, S. (1975). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. New York: Basic Books (Original work published 1905.).
Gray, C. H., Mentor, S., & Figueroa-Sarriera, H. J. (1995). Cyborgology: Constructing the knowledge of cybernetic organisms. In C. H. Gray (Ed.), The cyborg handbook (pp. 1–14). New York: Routledge.
Gueguen, N. (2012). Tattoos, piercings, and sexual activity. Social Behaviour and Personality, 40, 1543–1548.
Henry, F. & Tator, C. (2009). The colour of democracy: Racism in Canadian society (4th ed. ). Toronto: Nelson.
Hooks, B. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender and cultural politics. Toronto: Between the Lines.
Horley, J. (1991). Values and beliefs as personal constructs. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 4, 1–14.
Howe, P. D. (2011). Cyborg and supercrip: The paralympics technology and the (dis)empowerment of Olympic athletes. Sociology, 45, 868–882.
Humm, M. (1990). The dictionary of feminist theory. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
James, W. (1890). Principles of psychology (vol. 1, ). New York: Henry Holt & Company.
Kleese, C. (1999). Modern primitivism: Non-mainstream body modification and racialized representation. Body and Society, 5, 15–38.
Myers, J. (1992). Non-mainstream body modification: Genital piercing, branding, burning and cutting. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 12, 267–306.
Pitts, V. L. (2003). In the flesh: The cultural politics of body modification. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rachman, S. (1966). Sexual fetishism: An experimental analogue. Psychological Record, 16, 293–296.
Ringrose, J. & Harvey, L. (2015). Boobs, back-off, six packs and bits: Mediated body parts, gendered reward, and sexual shame in teens’ sexting images. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 29, 205–217.
Ringrose, J., Harvey, L., Gill, R., & Livingstone, S. (2013). Teen girls, sexual double standards and ‘sexting’: Gendered value in digital image exchange. Feminist Theory, 14, 305–323.
Said, E. (1977). Orientalism. London: Penguin.
Schildkrout, E. (2004). Inscribing the body. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33, 319–344.
Scorolli, C., Ghirlanda, S., Enquist, M., Zattoni, S., & Jannini, E. A. (2007). Relative prevalence of different fetishes. International Journal of Impotence Research, 19, 432–437.
Warren, H. C. (1921). A history of the association psychology. New York: Scribners.
Whitney, E. (2002). Cyborgs among us: Performing liminal states of sexuality. Journal of Bisexuality, 2, 109–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Horley, J., Clarke, J. (2016). Interpreting Sexualized Bodies. In: Experience, Meaning, and Identity in Sexuality. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40096-3_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40096-3_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-40095-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-40096-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)