ABSTRACT
While, as Waskul and Vannini (in this volume) and others (e.g. Holstein and Gubrium 2000:197; Shilling 2003) have rightly observed, the body has lurked in the background of the sociological landscape until fairly recently, it has not altogether been ignored. Since the work of Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) – or before – the physical body has provided the metaphorical foundation for thinking about the social body. Social thinkers who describe society as a system composed of various inter-related parts which work together more-or-less harmoniously, typically present the social system as generally healthy (i.e. orderly), evolving in order to adapt to changes in the surrounding environment, and sometimes suffering from “diseases” such as deviance and social problems. 1
