Your Body is Your House.

I have never heard of our bodies described in relation to a house before I came across this article. It's actually a great analogy for understanding the increase in certain forms of body modification. Most people don't associate various types of surgery with body modification, but indeed they are. Face and heart transplants, gastric bypass, cochlear implants, prosthetic devices, breast augmentation, and a plethora of others are all forms of body modification.

Korydon Smith's article entitled "Breaking the Skin" focuses on the importance design plays in society. He believes that people modify their bodies because it has become more socially accepted, and perhaps even expected for a person to "design" their body into an image of their own choice. He doesn't speak about tattoos, or piercings, but of the expensive, dangerous, and sometime unpredictable surgeries people undergo in order to "make the outside fit the inside."

He argues that body modification has now become aligned with self identity and identity construction. People see their own bodies as a canvas and if they don't like what they see, they are liable and almost encouraged to change it. He gives and example of how people use gastric bypass surgery to modify their behavior toward an ultimate goal; to transform the health and appearance of the individual. However, many gastric bypass patients do not realize that these behavioral changes are not permanent , therefore body modification becomes and ongoing process with both positive and negative results. He states that the body becomes an object for redesign, and at least in parts it is replaceable. The body has become merly a frame work on which customizations can be made.

He concludes by relating body modification to a house. He states that people used to see the home as a machine for living in, yet the roles between home and body have switched. He also states that the home is the definition of personality, familiar, and cultural identity, and when you modify or renovate the home, it is perceived as an attempt to transform ones self. He believes we as society no longer view inside and outside as two separate things. Outside may now come inside and inside may and does go outside. He believes that the simultaneous increase in body and home modification is proof of an emergent shift in cultural attitudes about the necessity of design. This change illustrates the interconnectedness, connectivity and inseparability of body, design, and identity.

I liked this article. I think that people in today's society are more probable to undergo prosthetic body modification because of the changes in society views on the body and identity. People see their bodies as their unique identification. And if a person doesn't like their I.D. picture, why not try again. I think its unfortunate when people became to caught up in plastic surgery or surgery that modifies behavior to achieve a separate goal. However, i can also see where people would be enticed to change their appearance by surgery. A new appearance is like a new life. For some people that could be great, however i hope people realize the long standing issues they may have to deal with by undergoing these surgeries, and that they don't use body modification as their only option for change. I do not believe this is healthy. If you don't like that your over weight, you could exercise and eat better, without surgically making your stomach smaller. I understand that some people desperately need this surgery but that's not the point. There are others ways to change ones identity rather than using surgery. Societal changes of view of body and design have made it more acceptable for people to modify their bodies. But like smith said, there and positive and negative consequences of using body modification to construct identity.




{http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.wf2dnvr11.webfeat.org/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=YQEEIIJTDVSMDQA3DILSFGOADUNGIIV0}