Transforming the Body in Society

Posted: August 29th, 2013

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Transforming the Body in Society

1. Please describe what role you had in the creation of your group’s wiki. Which sources did you contribute? What else did you do to help your group earn its final grade?  

During the group’Wiki, I played the role of searching the sources with adequate information about body transformation in the society. Additionally, I contributed with some ideas about the way people in the society practice plastic or cosmetic surgery with an aim of becoming beauty. The main idea of carrying out these surgeries especially skin surgery is to appear young and sexy. Another role that I play in the Wiki group was to identify the reasons that make many people mostly women to go for cosmetic surgery. The issue is that they want to appear more beautiful everyday and become fame so that they can attract the opposite sex. I contributed some sources to the Wiki group such as Cosmetic Surgery by Bailey Kristen and Destroyed by fame by Anderson Eric. This sources are vital because they provides a clear picture of the way many people in the society desire for beauty thus practices plastic surgery for the purpose of becoming sexy and fame.

The subject issue of the narratives is to reveal out the way surgeries have been common in the in the society and their consequences. Anderson, (2010) uses the example of girls who were destroyed by fame in order to reveal the ways many people in the society yearns for beauty because they want fame. Thus, many of them have ended up going for surgeries without acknowledging the consequences behind those surgeries.

I helped my group to earn its final grade because from the sources that I identified, I helped teem to analyze the purpose of the articles on the topic issue. From these sources, I was able to identify some reasons that make most people to go for plastic and cosmetic surgery. For instance, in the book of Bailey, he comments that cosmetic surgery is mostly done by women so that they can become beautiful (Bailey 57). The reason for practicing plastic surgery is not only to appear beautiful but they intend to attract the opposite sex. The main issue of applying cosmetic surgery is to attain beauty something that is being interpreted as need for being sexy (Cracknell 39).

2. You were encouraged to pick sources that allowed you to create a conversation around a topic or set of related topics. What are the most interesting or provocative aspects of the emerging conversation about your topic, as you see it? How do your sources address those aspects of the conversation?

The most provocative aspect of the emerging conversation about body transformation in the society is the sex aspect. This is a provocative aspect especially the way my sources addresses them in the conversation. Many people transform their bodies for various reasons but many sources have ended up exaggerating the need for undergoing plastic and cosmetic surgeries. Particularly, many sources targets females as the most people who prefer going for these surgeries due to the need for beauty hence attracting opposite sex. From the article of Destroyed by fame, Anderson addresses the issue of sex through provoking female beliefs. In his conversation, the author expresses the “her eyes are bloodshot and she looks…..like s-t” (Anderson 2010). This is an indication of the way female are portrayed as weaker sex in the society because of the way men perceive them whenever they apply make ups or undergo surgeries.

The author narrates about the girl, Heidi Pratt who wanted fame. He analyzes some narratives revealing the way Heidi was destroyed by fame. The scope of the article is to reveal the way surgeries causes problems. This is emphasized through use of some fresh-faced girls who busted onto the popular culture scene viewed by nearly 3 million people (Anderson, 2010). The purpose of the article is to bring out the idea of sexual norms because of using plastic and cosmetic surgeries in order to become beautiful.

3. If you had to choose just one source as the most central to the emerging conversation about your topic. Which source would you choose? Why?

The most central source that I could have chosen among the emerging conversation of the topic is the article of Extreme Makeover by Mary Miller. This is because the article provides diverse reasons for body transformation in the society. This article discusses the subject issue of the extreme makeover in the United States. It reveals the way many people in this nation spent billions of money on cosmetics because of abnormal passion of beauty. The author concentrates on the ancient Maya people who went up to an extreme of spending their wealth on transforming their bodies. The purpose of the article is to introduce the idea of cultural purpose. Thus, she emphasize the way Maya people spend enormous wealth and endured pain in order to make themselves look beautiful. Moreover, the author argues that through artwork, men and women of Maya motivated their search for bodily perfection.

First, the article analyzes the way men in the ancient Mayor desired for surgeries that reflected social beliefs and moral values. Images of beauty were used as a way of accepting the embrace for companionship in the ancient Mayor (Miller, 2009). Moreover, the Mayor people indulged in self-deception about one’s appearance thus artistic depicted the superlative being rather than the reality. Lastly, body transformation in the conversation this article reveals the idea of being sexy especially for the case of women. Thus, woman’s beauty was valued in the society more than women were.

She argues that men perhaps wanted to appear like ‘Pakal the Great’ (Miller, 2009). The scope of the article is to bring out the way people value beauty in the society. Thus, beauty in the society is enhanced through wearing fashionable clothes, jewelry and many other forms of paintings applied on the body. Through this beauty enhancement, the author tries to bring out the moral lessons of making images of beauty.

4. If you were to write a paper about some of the sources from your wiki, which sources would you use? How would you use them? What would the likely thesis statement or overall argument of your paper be?

In case I could have written another paper about some of the sources from the Wiki, I could have use the article of Sexing the Self: Geographies of Engagement and Encounter by Hubbard Phil and Makeover Nation by Mary Miller. I could have used these books through incorporating them with the main ideas or reasons that make many people to transform their bodies. Through using these books, I could have like the thesis or argument of the paper to be the consequences of body transformation in the society. This is because many people have transformed their bodies without taking into consideration the risks associated with them. Thus, it is vital for people to understand those consequences before going for surgeries.

The authors assert that many women prefer going for plastic surgery in order to appear young. However, this has led to many consequences on some major transformations. For instance, liposuction has been reported as the most dangerous procedure of cosmetic surgery. This is because it is associated with numerous complications such as organ puncture, lung clots and fatal infections.

The articles analyze the subject issue of science and the society. The authors reveal the way cosmetic surgery have been on the increase but people are unaware of the risks associated with it. The articles introduce some cases studies revealing the way cosmetic surgery such as face-lifts, and tummy tucks are becoming increasing acceptable. The articles also encompass a wide range of cosmetic surgery activities carried out in the United States such as tummy surgery, eyelid surgery, plastic nose surgery and skin surgeries. The authors reveal the way many people spend a lot of money in ill-regulated activities. The purpose of the articles is to emphasize the moral issues and the ways plastic surgeries have been the major cause of death and other minor problems in the society.

5. Provide an example of a source that you found for your topic along the way, but elected not to put in the wiki. Why didn’t it make the cut into your final project?

The source that I found but not included in the Wiki is Body Science by Cracknell James. The book is fundamental because it clearly explains the way body science has become dominant in the society. It emphasizes the way reconstructive surgery, which involves diverse techniques, has become dominant in the society. The techniques employed are intended to enhance appearance through surgical techniques and it is specifically concerned with preserving normal appearance. However, this book was elected but not included in the in the Wiki. The book was not included in the final project because it did not fit the issue of sex and cultural ideas of transforming the body. The book examines various body techniques such as therapists, which is done by health practitioners.

In essence, body transformation in the society has become the major issue in the society. Many people spend a lot of their wealth for cosmetic and plastic surgeries in order to appear beautiful. Some people transform their bodies because they desire fame; others want to appear sexy while others transform their bodies for cultural and moral issues. There are ever more stories of some fresh-faced girls who wanted to achieve fame. These emphasize the idea of sex norms due to practicing surgeries in order to appear beautiful thus becoming famous in the society. A great deal of analysis has been done on the way people spend their money on surgeries due to the need for beauty. The reason behind doing so is to become sexy especially for women, but men have cultural motives of body transformation. Lastly, other article has been shown to examine the way science has led to many consequences in the society. Therefore, there is an emphasis on the idea of sex norms behind the need for doing surgeries.