The Body
by
Charles Lamson
Around the world there seems to be a growing fascination with the body. Strange things are happening in economically developed nations, with some young women and increasing numbers of men reputed to be starving themselves, while at the same time morbid obesity is regarded as a problem of potentially epidemic proportions. Starvation is a consumption issue, which causes concerns related to the ideal images of beauty portrayed by mass media. Consumers are bombarded daily with media images that zone in on and separate out parts of the body, e.g. face, eyes, nose, hair, teeth, legs, and nails, constantly inviting comparison between the idealized airbrushed images and the reality of their bodies as they are. The task of such images, including advertising images, is to persuade individuals that they cannot live with their bodies as they are but only as they might be if the products which are on offer were to be purchased. These images have a powerful effect when they are brought to life in the conversation and action of the peer group, where everyone is on show and being scrutinized by others.
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Given that the vast majority of media images are of young, beautiful people, one might imagine that they can hardly be blamed for the recent rise in the rate of morbid obesity. This is a complex issue whose roots lie in a web of lifestyle-related and environmental conditions. One factor is the decline in regular family meals by some groups and the concomitant increase in the purchase of ready meals which can contain large amounts of 'hidden' fat, salt and sugar. Another relates to the decline in exercise. The impact of other 'softer' factors is more difficult to measure, and here, paradoxically the portrayal of beautiful and slim images may have a role to play. A person who is obese is likely to be low in self-esteem. The constant reminder of their condition provided by advertising images of perception may act to lower their self-esteem further, thereby motivating them to engage in mood repair, by eating.
The media focus on models of perfection which are slim, hard and machine-like encourages us to think of our body as a project, some thing which must be endlessly worked on and improved. There is evidence that cosmetic plastic surgery, which ten years ago was not considered to be socially acceptable, is now being actively considered by more people. As European populations grow older and as bio-technologies for working on and improving the body are developed to new heights of possibility, so there should be a major focus on the body as a continuing preoccupation for individuals and a major source of corporate income. Already the focus on the body is apparent in the demand for human and animal body parts which is being fueled by two different sources: Chinese traditional medicine and the development of Western technologies for replacing body parts. At present demand for human body parts, e.g. kidneys, retinae, etc. is fuelled by means of a transfer from poor countries to rich countries. However, as the power of technology increases so the medical profession is trying to find new sources of body parts to replace the gruesome trade, global trade in bear parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine is estimated to be 3.6 billion USD. Bear bile, paws and gall bladders are the most sought-after parts. In Asia concern about the body is reflected in a subtly different way from that expressed in Europe. Where Europeans desire a tanned body, the Asian market for skin lighteners has grown over the years.
Developments in technology seem to ensure that our relation to the body will continue to change dramatically in the future. It is thought that within the next 75 years drugs will exist to restore or strengthen memory and to inhibit sleep and fear. Custom-grown replacement body parts will be available to those who can afford them and medical records for all should include their complete genome. The likelihood that 'we will see the creation of human beings which are growing yet technically dead because they have no brain' is a probability that raises important ethical issues. It is also feasible that nano-machines will be able to seek out and destroy cancer cells with no collateral damage, providing a 'natural' replacement for eyes.
*SOURCE: FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING, 2007, MARILYN A. STONE AND JOHN DRESMOND, PGS. 53-54*
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