ABSTRACT

Central to current social theories of the body is the paradox that as human beings we both have and are bodies. This work has foregrounded the fact that the bodies which we have are often taken as primary manifestations of the people we are; they are objects which play a major role in the constitution of our identities. Further, our bodies are thought of as a site within which authentic truths can be discerned, a development which, it has been suggested, reflects the diminishment of traditional sources of authority (Frank, 1990). In place of the now destabilised metanarratives of religion, nationalism or morality, we turn to the flesh for a more grounded source of knowledge. This is evidenced, for example, in the recent upsurge of interest in the influence of a genetic base in the incidence of disease, homosexuality, criminality and gendered behaviours. Going against the grain of post-war political and academic concern with the importance of the social environment, of ‘nurture’ rather than ‘nature’, this return to the body is an echo of nineteenth century theories which saw markers of criminality and madness in the face or skull shape (Lombroso, 1911).