You tried, Kanye. You tried.

Before continuing, I suggest watching the music video for Black Skinhead by Kanye West: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q604eed4ad0

I first encountered Black Skinhead by Kanye West while watching the trailer for The Wolf of Wall Street on YouTube. Later that summer, Kanye West’s VEVO account released the song’s accompanying music video – the combined number of views on the leaked and the official versions currently totals to over 12 million. Needless to say, Black Skinhead (often stylized to BLKKK SKKKN HEAD) was a summer hit, peaking at 15 and 21 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, respectively (1). As intended by Kanye and his PR team, I was intrigued by Black Skinhead and the Yeezus album – the songs and their lyrics were certainly intentionally provocative, and I sometimes wondered about the message behind it all. Direction for my introspection came to me in the form of a blurb on the popular rap lyric site, http://www.rapgenius.com:

“Making its debut on SNL, Black Skinhead is a dark, rebellious and near-tribal record that threads between both Ye’s traditional braggadocio and anti-establishment, anti-racism themes.” (2) *

This blog post aims to analyze and assess the effectiveness of the racialized messages in Kanye West’s 2013 hit, Black Skinhead.

The video commences with the image of three black individuals wearing conical hoods, meant to emulate the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan, an American white supremacist hate group famous for their violent opposition to the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Framed by the jagged shape of the three hoods, the visuals switch to snippets of agitated dogs and bald black men (perhaps intending to look like slaves and/or literal black skinheads). The majority of the video consists of a computer-generated Kanye rapping and dancing in multiple forms, as shown in the image below. The final clip is of Kanye lying down in a pose reminiscent of Jesus on the cross, the camera zooming towards his face as the word “God!” is repeatedly chanted in the background.

Black Rappers and the Goal of Holy Autonomy

In this music video and many aspects of his current public image, it can be observed that Kanye has appropriated aspects of Christianity to serve as a parodic reflection of his positionality as a black man in popular culture. Although Christian privilege serves as a form of dominant group privilege in countless regions around the world, this does not exclude the religion from being appropriated** – in the case of Kanye West, he has reduced the historically admired moral figure of Jesus Christ to his personal costume. This is evidenced by his new nickname “Yeezus” (meant to emulate Jesus), his recurring self-referral as “God” (see: I am a God, from the Yeezus album), and his repeated positioning as a holy figure in his music videos (pictured below). Although it is certainly a possibility that his self-perception as equivalent to Jesus is simply the manifestation of grandiose delusions, I have speculated that it also serves as a tool for drawing attention to the role of black rappers in the music industry.

Known for his comments regarding the perception of the American black population since the “Bush doesn’t care about black people” incident following Hurricane Katrina, West is no stranger to discussing racism. Despite their initial appearance as simply another display of Kanye’s arrogance, the lyrics to Black Skinhead make a heavy reference to race in the rap industry. The popular rap genre is heavily dominated by black men, as evidenced by the current best-selling rap albums on Billboard.com – between YG, Jay-Z, and Drake, Eminem is the only non-black rapper listed.  However, the greater music industry that encompasses the management and production of these black artists is predominantly run by white men (3). The tones of “anti-establishment and anti-racism” in Black Skinhead are rooted in this fact. In the following lines from the second verse, Kanye directly addresses the exploitation of black rappers:

“Black out the room, bitch
Stop all that coon shit
These niggas ain’t doin’ shit
Them niggas ain’t doin’ shit”

In this context, the slur “coon” likely refers to the popular blackface minstrel act “Zip Coon” from the 1800’s (4). Provoked by the imagery of black men as slaves in the Black Skinhead video, I am led to believe that Kanye sees the exploitation of black rappers as something to be realized and protested against by the artists themselves, in order for them to transcend to Kanye’s level of god-like independence and fame.

By equating himself to a holy figure, Kanye is exaggerating his power and influence as a character in popular culture. Through this, he addresses the contradictory nature of black rappers who speak of oppression against blacks, ultimately for the profit of white executives. Presenting himself as autonomous and unrestricted by discrimination in the music industry, Black Skinhead is meant to describe Kanye’s empowerment as a black rapper who has remained true to his personal cultural roots.

Black in White Clothing

Within the stylized song title (BLKKK SKKKN HEAD) and imagery in the music video, Black Skinhead presents two groups of people publicly perceived for their racist, white-supremacist values: Skinheads and the KKK. Although this is pure speculation, within the context of the lyrics, I believe that the portrayal of black individuals in KKK-like hoods is meant to indicate a message of internalized racism and self-degradation. For as long as black rappers are treated as the metaphorical puppets of higher-ups who engage in and perpetuate the institutionalized racism of the music industry (the same racism that benefits rappers like Macklemore and Iggy Azalea), these artists will only contribute to their own oppression. Although this message is perhaps separatist in nature, this sort of reasoning is what contributed to the rise of the black-owned and operated independent labels that are positioned at the historical roots of hip-hop music distribution (5).

In regards to the skinhead references, it is likely that Kanye knows that despite skinhead culture being commonly associated with neo-Nazi stereotypes, the original skinhead movement was heavily inspired by the West Indian rude boy subculture (6). In the United States, many skinhead groups also identified as anti-racist, partially in response to the negative stereotypes. This leads me to believe that the imagery of black skinheads in the music video is likely intended as an empowering form of cultural reclamation, rather than a form of parody.

Where Kanye Fails

Despite my gracious analysis of the racial messages in Black Skinhead, I am hesitant to praise Kanye West for his commentary on race in the music industry. In fact, I find it hard to classify this song as a “space of resistance” or a “productive dialogue across difference” (with regards to the topic of the white-run yet black-dominant popular rap scene) when Kanye’s dialogue demeans the actions and efforts of other black rappers, all in order to feed his own personal ego. Clearly salient of his own fame and influence, Black Skinhead may simply be another vehicle by which Kanye expresses his greatness to the world, failing to positively impact the black men he criticizes.

Something that stood out to me in Black Skinhead is the lack of any mention of women in a way that portrays them as anything but sexual conquests. In this particular song, female mention is restricted to “300 bitches, where the Trojans?” and “They see a black man with a white woman / At the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong”. In a dialogue pertaining to racism in the popular music industry, Kanye fails to include female rappers, a group predominantly composed by women of colour. This complete disregard for female rap artists further perpetuates male dominance in the rap industry, which is perhaps okay with Kanye, considering the misogynistic and objectifying aspects of his other songs and music videos.

Assuming that Kanye was inspired by the events of the American Civil Rights Movement (this assumption is based off of his lyrical references to racial inequality, Malcolm X, the KKK, and skinhead subculture), his deprecation of women is incongruent with his “empowering” message. Especially coupled to his appropriation of Christianity, Kanye fails to credit the fact that black women were the backbone of the civil rights movement, and were spiritually and practically empowered by teachings of the Christian church (although it is important to mention that they were equally disempowered since they were prohibited from taking a role of public leadership). As discussed in Chapter 12 of Gendered Worlds, the black church produced iconic leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., and acted as training grounds and meeting locations for oppressed black communities (7). Even Malcolm X was affiliated with a religion (Islam), so it seems inappropriate for Kanye to downplay the significance of historically relevant religious figures in order to feed his public image.

Kanye’s messages of masculinity may also be seen as problematic – throughout Black Skinhead he constantly frames himself, lyrically and visually, as animalistic, monstrous, and ultimately dangerous:

“Pardon, I’m getting my scream on / Enter the kingdom”
“They say I’m possessed, it’s an omen”
“I’m aware I’m a wolf / Soon as the moon hit”
“I’ve been a menace for the longest”

This aggressive demeanour is prevalent in mainstream hip-hop culture, as discussed in Week 10’s lecture (8). Portrayals of black masculinity, especially in the rap industry, are generally restricted to hyper-masculine representations centered on “toughness as emotional self-control, violence as manly, danger as exciting, and calloused attitudes toward women and sex” (Zaitchik & Mosher 1993) (9). Unfortunately, this portrayal is consistent with other popular stereotypes that are used to dehumanize black men, such as the ideas that they are dangerous and unpredictable. By buying into and further perpetuating these stereotypical representations of black masculinity – stereotypes that are in turn used to oppress everyday people – I wonder if Kanye is really in the place to criticize and denounce the actions of other black rappers.

All things considered, I believe that despite the assertive racial content of his lyrics in Black Skinhead, Kanye West fails to produce a constructive viewpoint on race in the music industry. By simply commenting on the racial problems at hand and using his disapproval of the other black rappers’ actions in order to uplift his own character, Kanye is also engaging in the exploitation of his fellow black artists. With complete disregard to women of colour in the rap industry, and the appropriation of a religion that was in fact a major unifying force in the empowerment of black Americans (the same empowerment that he claims to have over other black rappers), the message behind Kanye West’s Black Skinhead is ultimately arrogant and self-serving.

Let’s face it, I didn’t really have to write an essay in order to prove that.

Works Cited

(1) “Kanye West.” – Chart History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.billboard.com/artist/276709/kanye-west/chart&gt;.

(2) “Kanye West – Black Skinhead.” Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://rapgenius.com/Kanye-west-black-skinhead-lyrics&gt;.

(3) Barnes, Tom. “How Music Executives Created ‘Black’ Hip Hop For White Suburban Kids.” PolicyMic. N.p., 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

(4) Harper, Douglas. “Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

(5) Powell, Catherine Tabb. “Rap Music: An Education with a Beat from the Street.” The Journal of Negro Education 60.3 (1991): 245-59. Print.

(6) Brown, T. S. “Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and “Nazi Rock” in England and Germany.” Journal of Social History 38.1 (2004): 157-78. Print.

(7) Aulette, Judy Root., Judith G. Wittner, and Kristin Blakely. Gendered Worlds. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.

(8) Tolmie, Jane. “Hyper Masculinity, Violence and Guns, ‘Bling’” [pdf slide 16] Retrieved from GNDS125 lecture 10 notes online from web site <https://moodle.queensu.ca/2013-14/course/view.php?id=1145&gt&gt&gt;

(9) Zaitchik, M. C., and D. L. Mosher. “Criminal Justice Implications of the Macho Personality Constellation.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 20.3 (1993): 227-39. Print.

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Notes

* The language in this blurb certainly requires commentary of its own: for both my mother and I, http://www.rapgenius.com shows up as the top result on Google when the phrases “rap lyrics”, “rap song meanings”, and “Black Skinhead lyrics” are entered into the search engine. A popular site, http://www.rapgenius.com is surely one of the first places an individual will encounter when seeking lyrical analyses to popular rap songs. Considering this level of power and influence, I found the page regarding Black Skinhead by Kanye West to be an appropriate place to gain information for developing a frame for my deconstruction of the song. Unfortunately, I was met with a blurb describing the beat as “near-tribal”, likely due to the tone of aggression produced by the driving drumbeat in the introduction and occasional droning of a synthesizer. Especially on a page with 1.3 million views, it is disturbing to see the word “tribal” as an adjective, calling on stereotypical ideas of savage hostility in indigenous groups of people. Rarely does the use of the word “tribal” mean “rich in culture” or “old”. By tying the word “tribal” to the powerful beat of Black Skinhead, the folks running http://www.rapgenius.com are perpetuating the stereotyping of indigenous groups as relentlessly aggressive and violent.

** It is important to clarify that although Christianity is being appropriated in this context, appropriating the culture of the oppressor does not have the same negative effects as the appropriation of non-dominant cultures. Albeit disrespectful, Kanye West is not necessarily engaging in the oppression of Christians, since Christianity in America typically presents as a hegemonic power, being highly influential and oppressive in itself.

“If I don’t get ran out by Catholics
Here come some conservative Baptists
Claiming I’m overreactin’
Like them black kids in Chiraq bitch”

In the preceding lyrics from Black Skinhead, Kanye addresses how, after his infamous Hurricane Katrina comment, he was demonized by the media and multiple religious and racist communities. He couples this disdain to the systematic violence in Chicago’s black community to further emphasize the persecution he has experienced as an outspoken black public figure. It would seem that Kanye’s appropriation of Christianity is nonrandom – there is the possibility that he is making an assertive racial statement by costuming himself (a black man of outrageous character) in a culture embraced by many oppressive white Americans.

Pink-toned Perfection

When considering the societal significance of skin colour, it is important to recognize that skin colour categorization in various ethnic and cultural groups extends beyond what we may commonly describe as “fair”, “tan”, “dark”, “olive”, “black”, “white”, etc. Historically, especially through the lens of colonialism, people with relatively fair skin tones have received preferential treatment by colonizers, and the effects of this “light-skinned privilege” continue to show to this day. In some cultures, prejudice and discrimination towards people with darker skin tones are deeply rooted in centuries of culturally bound traditions, tales, and standards of beauty. This blog post analyzes an Indian advertisement for the skin-lightening cream, White Beauty, by Ponds (a beauty product company, under the same ownership as Axe and Dove), in which messages about certain cultural values regarding fair skin can be observed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRasuTtMJo

This advertisement, the first in a series of five, features Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and Neha Dhupia, all caught in a messy love triangle governed by Chopra and Dhupia’s contrasting skin tones. As the story goes, Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka Chopra separate when Khan decides to travel abroad to pursue his acting career. Three years later, Khan is engaged to the narcissistic yet light-skinned Neha Dhupia, and Chopra, heartbroken yet still very much in love, decides to begin whitening her skin in an attempt to win back her old love. Four advertisements later, Khan ditches his conceited fiancée for Chopra, who is now radiant and equally light-skinned. The two rekindle their love in the airport in which Khan originally left Chopra.

Although the actors are literally speechless throughout the commercial saga, and there is never any explicit claim to Chopra’s rekindled relationship being due to her lightened skin, the placement of the romantic victory next to Chopra’s skin whitening activities is meant the correlate the two. The message here is that having lighter skin will make you more desirable, benefiting your personal life. This idea is commonly seen in commercials for skin whitening creams – in fact, lighter skin is not only presented as corresponding to romantic success, but also to career success and overall self-confidence, as seen in the following examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqd9zaI698 (as seen in week 11’s lecture)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWls3U7ZZ1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZneY_dKHY4

Sometimes people of a particular race or ethnicity are branded as a single colour, such as “brown” or “black”. However, even if these categorizations may be technically or statistically legitimate, it is important to recognize that slight differences in darker pigments can still speak volumes about a person’s experiences, and that those with lighter skin often remain in a position of privilege, even in the absence of “white” people (this is also known as “pigmentocracy”). This concept is encapsulated in the term “colorism”: discrimination based on skin colour. Although there are shared ideas in both forms of discrimination, colorism differs from racism in the sense that colorism is defined as independent of racial connotations. Discrimination due to colorism is based on values associated with skin colour, rather than race (which involves ethnic, genetic, linguistic, and religious components).

Pond’s advertisements for White Beauty perpetuate prejudiced ideas favoring fair skin through the storyline’s events. Notice how Khan and Dhupia’s characters are both light-skinned celebrities, whereas Chopra’s is relatively dark-skinned and working class.  This reflects on how in multiple Asian cultures, dark skin has historically been tied to being working class, whereas light skin, unaffected by the sun’s rays, has been associated with leisure and wealth. In her article, The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality, Margaret Hunter discusses how, especially in countries with a history of European colonialism such as India and Vietnam, European standards of beauty have had a lasting impact due to the correlation of western features to high status and preferential treatment. White supremacy has tied the possession of fair skin to positive traits such as civility and superiority, whereas the possession of dark skin is representative of savagery and inferiority. This effect can also be witnessed here in North America, especially in the African-American community.

Just to make a note on how gender is presented in the White Beauty advertisements, it is clear that Chopra’s character is entirely valued for her romantic success. Although a series of 45-second advertisements is hardly the place to search for developed or realistic characters, the representation of women as heterosexual romantic interests in competition with each other is both shallow and stereotypical, and communicates that a woman’s greatest virtue is her appearance. Although skin lighteners are marketed towards both men and women, similarly to other products “for men”, the lightener is sold alongside ideas of masculinity and not just beauty. For example, in the videos linked above, the male stars are propped with motorcycles and beautiful women. Considering the connections between skin colour and social status/wealth, the desire to be light skinned may transcend the association of skincare to femininity.

As a person of colour who is a descendant of both Caribbean and South Asian heritage, I have certainly witnessed messages of colorism that specifically disapprove of being dark. I can recall being young and playing in the yard with my cousins (on the Filipino side) and hearing my Ninang and various Titas discouraging us from becoming too tanned from playing in the sun – I find it interesting how this message was generally gendered, usually coming from our female relatives and directed towards my primary group of female cousins. Perhaps it was more acceptable for my male cousins to tan due to Filipino and Canadian ideas of masculinity – my mother recalls how in grade school, the girls were taught to sew in classrooms while the boys were out in the fields learning to grow plants. Growing up around friends of mostly east Asian heritages, I learned that Filipinos are notorious for being dark-skinned in a way that some categorize as uncharacteristic of “actually being Asian”. On my Jamaican side, my father insists that my light-skinned grandfather had a preference for his light-skinned children, and would shame my grandmother for being a dark-skinned woman. As a mixed-race child, I must admit to possessing a position of privilege that shields me from experiencing colorism in the same way as either of my parents, who are both seen as relatively dark-skinned in their respective cultures. As a black person, my mixed-race status sometimes qualifies me as light-skinned, which is seen as more attractive than being dark-skinned (although I wouldn’t personally categorize myself as either). On the other hand, when it comes to my Asian heritage, I am usually perceived as “not being Asian”, either due to my Filipino roots or simply due to the fact that despite looking like my mother, I don’t look “Asian”. This protects me from colorist discrimination by simply not falling under that category, although I remain susceptible to racial discrimination.

As discussed in Week 11’s lecture, cultural standards of beauty are closely tied to the intersection of race and class privilege. In an article that analyzes correlations between skin colour and wages among new lawful immigrants to the United States, it was found that light-skinned immigrants earn averagely 17% more than comparable dark-skinned immigrants (Hersch, 2008). Colorism, like racism, is not only something that affects an individual’s self-confidence, it is a reality that influences how that individual is perceived and treated by others, thus affecting their accessibility to resources, jobs, and romantic partners. Pond’s White Beauty takes advantage of this cultural colorism, further perpetuating discriminatory ideas based in skin color to sell a product disguised as happiness.

 

Works Cited

Alden, Joddi. “Racialization of Bodies” [pdf slide 9]. Retrieved from GNDS125 lecture 11 notes online from web site <https://moodle.queensu.ca/2013-14/course/view.php?id=1145&gt&gt;

Hersch, Joni. “Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height.” Journal of Labor Economics 26.2 (2008): 345-86. Print.

Hunter, Margaret. “The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and     Inequality.” Sociology Compass 1.1 (2007): 237-54. Print.

Boi Oh Boi

February 8^th marked the day I attended Reelout Film Festival’s screening of Dear Lesbos with Love: 3 Films About Queer Women. To me, the most striking of the three films was Boi Oh Boi, a ten-minute experimental documentary starring and directed by Thirza Cuthand, a Cree filmmaker from Saskatchewan. The shortest of the featured films, the script of Boi Oh Boi is reflective of Cuthand’s most intimate thoughts regarding her experiences with romance, gender roles, mental illness and identity, reading as if it were a page extracted from her own journal. The delivery of Cuthand’s voice is soothing yet monotonous, and the display is mostly a video clip compilation of Cuthand performing mundane yet stereotypically masculine tasks such as changing the oil in her car, tying a tie, and modeling a pair of briefs. Boi Oh Boi explores Cuthand’s identity formation as a First Nations genderqueer woman in a straightforward and honest way, making it easily understandable and accessible to audiences who may not have shared experiences.     

With only her voice and the collection of short clips, Cuthand tells the story of her gender dysmorphia, specifically whether she wanted to continue self-identifying as a butch lesbian, or if she wanted to make the transition to being male. A large part of her narrative involves the reconciliation of her body to her gender, such as whether she wanted her breasts to be smaller, her clitoris to be bigger, her voice to be deeper and her experimentation with a makeshift packer. Another major theme in the short film was how Cuthand’s exploration of gender was complicated by mental illness and stigma – temporarily housed in a mental health group home with women unlike them, Cuthand was required to hide their gender identity at the time. After six months of presenting like a boy, Cuthand decided she was content with both her body and her identity as a butch lesbian, although she enjoys occasionally presenting and being regarded as a man.     

The intimacy of this short film is what makes it memorable. By telling a deeply personal story with no hints of censorship, Cuthand exposes how complicated gender fluidity can be, and how transitioning is heavily affected by not only one’s own feelings, but also societal expectations, interpersonal relationships, and stigma surrounding mental health topics. I found that Cuthand’s monotonous tone helps present the story as solely a recollection of her own experiences with little sensationalization, permitting the viewer to form their own ideas on gender fluidity and the obstacles one may face in the journey of transitioning. Complementary to the aural factor, the visuals are relevant yet ordinary and allow the audience to closely listen to Cuthand’s relaxing voice.    

I enjoyed how Cuthand presented her coming to terms with a gender alongside her acceptance of her body – although at times she strongly felt the desire to transition to male, she admitted that she loved her large breasts, and was unsure if she wanted to sacrifice that body part in order to be considered a man. As a cis-female, although I have felt unsatisfied with my body in the past, I have never felt discomfort to the point of considering the addition or removal of parts. In fact, watching Boi Oh Boi helped me realize that I feel extremely attached to my physical characteristics, and the idea of undergoing surgery in order to feel like oneself is foreign, yet very interesting to me. That being said, I also appreciated Cuthand speaking about how she occasionally enjoys packing. To me, there is something very admirable about a human body having a collection of gendered sex characteristics such as breasts, a vagina, and a penis – perhaps this fascination stems from my childhood love for Pokemon and it’s gotta-catch-‘em-all plotline.

In its final minutes, Cuthand provides the film with yet another layer of depth by introducing the speculation she experiences due to her cultural roots. As a First Nations person, she questions if she would have grown to take the role of being two-spirited in her tribe if colonization had ceased to happen. This is particularly interesting because although Cuthand regards herself as a masculine woman, masculinity in traditional two-spirited terms involves an air of warrior hood, incongruent with her disposition. Even in the film Cuthand says, “I think hunting and fighting would have been a very un-Thirza-like thing to do… But who knows?” That being said, on her web page Cuthand introduces herself as two-spirited, so it is possible that in the time between her final edit of the film (2012) and today, some aspect of her identity may or may not have changed.  The question Cuthand is asking caused me to speculate about the possibilities of my own positionality and personality if the colonization of Canada had not happened. I quickly realized that without colonization my Filipino mother and Jamaican father would not have immigrated to Calgary in the 1970’s, and I would thus have never been born, let alone be influenced by modern western thought.

Attending the Reelout Queer Film and Video Festival was an enjoyable activity for both my older sister (who was visiting Kingston) and I. After attending the screening we engaged in a casual discussion about gender fluidity and dysphoria, inspired by Boi Oh Boi. My sister revealed to me that when she was younger she used to question the necessity of labeling herself with a gender due to her disposition as a deep-voiced tomboy. As someone who also grew up as a tomboy, I agreed with occasionally having those thoughts.

In regards to attending Reelout in terms of my own personal activities at Queens, the festival was sponsored by CFRC 101.9fm, the campus radio station at which I am the Arts Coordinator. Because I enjoyed the Dear Lesbos with Love screening I invited the Festival Director/Programmer Matt Salton to my weekly show, Art Freak. He graciously agreed and we had an enjoyable interview about the history of Reelout and the necessity of representation in popular media. It was unsurprising to see that CFRC had sponsored the festival, as it is in their own mandate to “provide innovative and alternative radio programming that enriches and challenges the academic and cultural life of the University and Kingston community…”. I can easily state that due to CFRC’s values, I feel as if I have a small part of Queen’s where I can feel involved in a culture that is welcoming and notably diverse.

The Human Body, Society’s Canvas

The manner in which people expose, modify, and conduct their bodies is undeniably influenced by the societal norms perpetuated within their experienced time period and culture. Ideas surrounding good health, monetary wealth, beauty, as well as social status and influence, often operate as factors that people utilize to determine how they should present their physical selves in ways that reflect on how they want to be perceived by others. While the “free will” to engage in body modification may exist in the sense of the pure physical ability to alter appearances, I believe that the grand majority of social human beings present their bodies while taking into consideration the opinions of their peers and the society they must confront on a daily basis.

By late childhood or, at latest, the early stages of adolescence, a person who regularly encounters others should be able to identify several visible societal norms. This may be in the form of fashionable and appropriate clothing, popular hairstyles, and forms of body modification such as piercing or tattooing. In fact, it might even be more accurate to say that a person of this young age should be able to identify what is “unusual”, or what defies societal norms. The point is, ideas of what can be considered “acceptable” are experienced on a daily basis and are generally easily distinguishable. Human-to-human contact can perpetuate these cultural norms through visual presentation and word of mouth, but media presence in a person’s life can also dictate social conventions. For those living in capitalist societies, it should come as no surprise that corporations far too often define acceptable modes of living.

In the example linked in the writing prompt (http://gothamist.com/2014/01/16/american_apparel_mannequin.php), there is an image of American Apparel mannequins donning large patches of pubic hair underneath their see-through underwear. Disregarding for now how you personally choose to groom your body hair and how you came to that decision, consider the transformation of the mannequin as a dictation of what clothes we should wear to a dictation of how our bodies should look. Even mannequins, humanoid clothes racks, are undergoing further modification from the factory in order to present a brand image the corporation has chosen to project. Whether or not American Apparel’s body hair initiative had positive intentions (perhaps an attempt to convey that pubic hair, often categorized as an “unacceptable” form of hair, is ok to grow out), to the consumer and every day pedestrian, this advertisement subconsciously affiliates dense pubic hair to the brand. This effect can also be observed in some mannequins spotted in Valencia, Venezula: a storeowner altered his mannequins to match cultural ideas reflecting on ideal women’s body shapes.

Photo: New York Times

Those who defy cultural norms regarding bodily treatment do so at risk of social discrimination. For example, people hoping to lead professions in health care are discouraged from having visible tattoos and piercings beyond the ear lobes. A person denying these rules would likely face discrimination even by the stage of med school interviews. Some people actively choose to style their bodies in ways that break social expectations. However, can this truly be seen as an act of free will? Consciously choosing to engage in body modifications that are considered unusual or unacceptable would still be done with societal standards in mind. In this context, free will would entail that a person chooses to change their body based on their own aesthetic ideals, but is it even possible to form these ideals without the consultation of others? I think one could even go as far as saying that there may be social norms for anti-conformism.

For the great majority of people who lead their lives seeking acceptance and approval by their peers, body presentation is influenced by norms formed by the small groups (e.g. A group of friends who embrace tattooing) and big groups (e.g. Fitness companies who present thin, muscular models in their advertising) that form our culture. Because culture is fluid, these norms can change over the course of time, in accordance with the evolution of dominant ideologies. This effect can be witnessed in the 2002 naturalistic experiment by Anne Becker, where (relatively media-naïve) Fijian adolescent girls were exposed to American television. After three years, questionnaires and observations indicated behaviours of disordered eating and negative ideologies towards their own culture.

Free will in body presentation assumes that a person identifies as detached from cultural meanings and expectations assigned to particular bodily alterations. It also assumes that a person would choose to portray their physical character without taking social acceptance into consideration, as well as denying any ideological influence imposed on them by friends, family, the general public, or the media. Thus, I believe it is very unlikely that a person can truly exercise free will when it comes to body modification. From the patterns of pubic hair seen in pornography, to the types of hairstyles donned by influential celebrities, and even to the latest piercing the most popular girl in school has obtained, personal body presentation is largely influenced by what we perceive in our surrounding environment.

Sources:

American Apparel Mannequins (http://gothamist.com/2014/01/16/american_apparel_mannequin.php)

Venezuelan Mannequins (http://www.smh.com.au/world/venezuelan-mannequins-shape-fantasies-20131108-2x6rk.html)

Anne Becker’s Study on exposure to American TV (http://corcom130-sp10-advertising.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Fiji.pdf)