For me formal writing has always been two words that I’ve dreaded hearing. The idea of a 5 page paper where I’m racking my brain for 2 more pages of information has never been my idea of the ideal assignment. Over my college career, my experiences with formal writing have helped me construct a definition for what I find it to be. To me I find college writing to have a thesis statement followed by multiple paragraphs consisting of transition and topic sentences, a quote of some sort and information to back it up. These papers are to be concise and clear, while still being elaborate. You are expected to support your thesis throughout your paper and not stray from making that point.
Other acts of inscriptions that all bodies take part in are things such as hairstyles. The way we keep our hair, from cleanliness to style, can make a statement about our body. Those who have dirty and un-brushed hair may be seen as not conforming to the standards of society. The norm is to have clean, well kept and brushed hair. Other things that could fall into this category are plucking the eyebrows and of course shaving the legs or face for men.
I believe that there are certain limits to authorship of the body. As much freedom as we do have as individuals (and especially as citizens of the United States), there are always limits. There are both physical limits and in some ways social limits to authorship. The physical limits, as pointed out in Pitts book, are that at some point modifying the body will be limited by physical harm to the body. And in a social context, when authorship reaches a certain point, society and government will stop a person from acting any further by classifying it as self mutilation or classifying the person as mentally ill.
2 comments:
I think the point about hairstyles is really interesting. I noticed this today when I woke up late. I did my hair the night before so that it would take me less time to get ready in the morning. I still have to re-straighten it, but it will take less time. Well, I overslept and only had 10 minutes to get ready. I felt dirty all day because I had to tie it up. I knew that I washed it the night before, but for some reason I felt nasty all day! I guess society has put so much emphasis on presentation that I felt bad for not doing it or that I didn’t have time. I am not saying that I straighten my hair every day, but I felt bad for not spending adequate time on brushing it.
I also thought the political and social limits were interesting. I commented on the physical limits to bodily harm in my blog. I didn’t think about the context of people forcing a person to stop mutilating their bodies.
I found it interesting that when you mentioned the freedom of our society and how there are still limits when it comes to authorship. It made me consider the lack of control over authorship that people have in other cultures. Certain religions, ethnic groups, or regions of the world have certain standards that you have to follow when it comes to the body. A women having to keep her hair covered, or not showing skin in public is a simple example of this. It is actually enforced by a body of people who hold the power in those particular cultures.
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