Mary uouglas

urlLy uanger
-oLe
W 1hls lecLure ls dlvlded lnLo 3 parLs
1 LxplanaLlon Lo help you undersLand your
readlngs on Mary uouglas
2 SuggesLlons as Lo how you can apply Mary
uouglas Lo analyse bodles ln socleLy eg
Laken here ls Lhe publlc dlscourse on youLh ln
8runel
3 1he Lhlrd parL are exLended quoLaLlons whlch
are worLh reflecLlng upon whlch l wanL Lo
draw your aLLenLlon Lo as you read
Mary uouglas's ldea of 'soclal body'
W Mary uouglas conLrlbuLes Lhe ldea of looklng aL Lhe body as a sysLem of
naLural symbols
1he body Lherefore
a meLaphorlcally reproduce soclal caLegorles
b ls lnscrlbed as an lmage of socleLy (1970 p 98)
l SocleLy slgnlfled on lndlvldual body
Cn Lhe lndlvldual body ls lnscrlbed Lhe lmage of socleLy (lndlvldual body)
eg clrcumclslon marks Lhe body ln such a way LhaL lL Lells us ln socleLles
LhaL use male clrcumclslon for rlLe of passage Lhere are dlsLlncLlon made
beLween Lhe chlld (boy) Lhe adulL (man)
ll 8ody meLaphor of lndlvldual slgnlfy socleLy
SocleLy ls represenLed Lhrough slgnlflcaLlons based on Lhe lndlvldual body
eg 'head' of household Lhe 'body' of a naLlon Lhe 'face' of evll eLc
ow many bodles?
lor Mary uouglas Lhere are Lherefore Lwo
bodles
a lndlvldual
b SocleLy 8u1 (and Lhls ls very lmporLanL Lo
undersLand)
boLh are soclal bodles slgnlfled Lhus glven
order and sLrucLure Lhrough membershlp ln
soclal llves
Membershlp here means glven a place (sLaLus)
Lhus havlng a deflned role ln socleLy
lnLernal Llnes LxLernal
8oundarles
8ules governlng body (boLh lndlvldual soclal)
markers become more deflned (vlslble) aL Llmes
of crlsls le when socleLles are under exLernal
aLLack Lhe malnLenance of rules governlng
whaL belongs lnslde and ouLslde Lhe body
becomes especlally sLrlcL"
eg lndlvldual resLralnL on
organlc processes
a naLural way of lnvesLlng a soclal occaslon wlLh dlgnlLy ls Lo
hlde organlc processes (1970 p 12)
ence lmporLanL soclal occaslons dlcLaLe LhaL Lhe body be held
sLlffly Lhe llmbs and hands under careful conLrol And ln general
manners and eLlqueLLe requlre Lhe consclous wlLhholdlng of
bodlly excreLa lL ls lmpollLe Lo splL farL burp laugh ouL loud or
Lo lnLerrupL conversaLlon wlLh such lnvolunLary expulslons as
sneezlng coughlng and runny noses"
Some Lxamples 1he bodles of class
W See Lhe sLlffness of Lhese formallsed
bodles
SulLs Lvenlng uresses LmbodlmenL of
Classed lormallsed 8ehavlour
LxecuLlves consLlLuLe Lhe body of
Lhe soclal class we refer Lo as
professlonal upper echelon ln
corporaLlon
SLlffened bodles of head of sLaLe
spouse
8ecall reLLy Woman
W ConLrasL also Lhe body schema dresslng of
Lhe upper and mlddle classes Lhe lower
classes ln reLLy Woman lower classes more
fluld bodles as Lhey are bodles LhaL have Lo do
physlcal movemenL ln Lhelr works
See !ohn 8erger's analysls of
worklng upper class bodles
easanLs on Lhelr way Lo a parLy 8erger
argues sulLs are noL made for worklng class
bodles whlch are muscular need movemenL
wearlng sulLs belles Lhls men's peasanL
background
upper class bodles for whlch sulLs are
creaLed noL for physlcal work sLlff
posLures wllllng consLralnLs
ulfference beLween Mary
uouglas 8ourdleu
AL Lhls polnL l [usL wanL Lo draw ouL Lhe dlfference beLween a
sLrucLurallsL Lhe posLsLrucLurallsL posLlon such as 8ourdleu's
Mary uouglas sLresses Lhe need for 'order' 'rules' produclng Lhe
ldea of polluLlon for socleLy Lo acL on 'unplaced bodles' vlew ls
ahlsLorlcal
8ourdleu sLresses soclal reproducLlon of Lhe pracLlce of resLralnL
Lhrough hls concepL of 'hablLus' (sLrucLurlng sLrucLures)
8ourdleu's conLrlbuLlon
W robyn (200323) 'Cur bodles conLlnually speak of Lhelr pasL
ln everyday acLlons hablLs gesLures manner and small ways
of belng and lnhablLlng soclal space' 'ablLus dellmlLs how we
can move and ln whlch space we can move'
W '1he hablLus a producL of hlsLory produces lndlvldual and
collecLlve pracLlces more hlsLory ln accordance wlLh Lhe
schemes generaLed by hlsLoryLhe hablLus ensures Lhe
acLlve presence of pasL experlences whlch deposlLed ln each
organlsm ln Lhe form of schemes of percepLlon LhoughL and
acLlon Lend Lo guaranLee Lhe 'correcLness' of pracLlcesmore
rellably Lhan all formal rules and expllclL norms' (8ourdleu
199034) quoLed from robyn 2003230)
8ody As Soclal MeLaphor
lnscrlpLlon on 8odles
W uouglas argued LhaL a panhuman need for order underlles
Lhe use of Lhe body as a soclal meLaphor
W 1hls need for order ls achleved by culLurally classlfylng and
sysLemaLlzlng ob[ecLs lncludlng persons evenLs and
acLlvlLles and by lnsLlLuLlng rouLlnes
lcLure represenLed ln an lranlan
newscllp wlLh a capLlon saylng youLh ln
'saLanlc dress'
ulrL as a soclal meLaphor
ul81 1he soclal acLs agalnsL amblgulLy ls slgnlfled Lhrough Lhe
noLlon of 'dlrL'
CLLu1lC- Lhe concepL of 'dlrL' enables Mary uouglas Lo examlne
Lhe ldea of soclal polluLlon
AnyLhlng LhaL conLalns amblgulLy ls polluLed
ulrL unplaceable bodles amblguous bodles
Mary uouglas says LhaL dlrL ls maLLer ouL of place 1hls means LhaL
dlrL ls a byproducL of a sysLemaLlc orderlng and classlflcaLlon of
maLLer (1966 p 33)
1wo polnLs Lo remember abouL dlrL
1 whaL any human culLure conslders Lo be dlrL ls a funcLlon of
LhaL culLures parLlcular sysLem (classlflcaLlon rouLlnes)
2 ls a funcLlon of whaL ls consldered Lo be ouLslde lnslde lLs
esLabllshed boundarles
W ulrL polluLes Mary uouglas argues LhaL once classlflcaLlons
and rouLlnes have been esLabllshed people avold all
amblguous or anomalous ob[ecLs sLaLes evenLs acLlvlLles
Why?
W because people operaLlng wlLhln LhaL culLure lnLerpreL
anyLhlng amblguous anomalous as dlsorderly polluLlng
our !ob
W 1ry Lo apply Mary uouglas's ldeas Lo analyse
Lhe publlc dlscourse on youLh ln 8runel
Chlld/ Chlldhood dependanL
bodles
Why do we hear youLh always belng Lalked of / abouL as lf Lhey are vulnerable
or dangerous Lo soclal fabrlc of socleLy? ouLh ls always Lalked abouL as elLher
'Lo be conLoured' (dl lenLor) or ln relaLlon Lo 'decadence'
Lg ouLh ln many culLures Lhese are
regarded as bodles ln LranslLlon eg ln Aceh
clalm 'no youLh' Lhey are all accompanylng
adulLs as apprenLlces Lo adulLhood youLh ls
noL a caLegory here buL a process of becomlng
adulL buL noL fully responslble as adulLs
ubllc ulscourse on ouLh ouLh
'subculLures'
W ouLh as 'faulLy' bodles noLlons of 'dellnquenLs' as reflecLlve of
'faulLyadulLs' badly soclallsed bodles
W ouLh as MonsLers youLh gangs punks
W uemonlc ouLhs as wesLernlsed youLhs LhreaLenlng Lo LradlLlonal
bodles
W ouLh as 'hope of Lomorrow' why Lomorrow? Why noL Loday?
youLh as 'unformed' 'becomlng' noL 'maLure' yeL 'golng places'
Lhus lnbeLween places
W 1hls noLlon slmulLaneously produce noLlons of youLh as bodles LhaL
need Lo be wresLled agalnsL Lhose bodles slgnlfled as anLlLhesls of
Lhe soclal self ouLh as vulnerable peneLrable by 'medla culLure'
rock culLure hlp hop culLure (black wesL) wesLern culLure
addlcLlon
ow do we make sense of all Lhese?
W Mary uouglas has someLhlng Lo offer
eg regnanL 8odles ls lL one or Lwo bodles? Where does one body sLop and
Lhe oLher sLarL? unborn bodles as LhreaLenlng ln many culLures unplaced
bodles as dangerous why?
8efer Lo a[ah !alnah's lecLure
8ead urlLy and danger
8lrLh ls lL becomlng Lwo or a greaLer peneLraLlon of Lhe soclal body? Lg
dependancy on oLher more developed bodles are creaLed soclallsaLlon also
sLarL of belng sub[ecLed Lo many rlLes Lo rlLuallse 'placlng' Lhe bodles
eg azan on Lhe ears of a baby glrl boy (refer Lo a[ah !alnah)
rowlng up whaL does Lhls mean?
When does a body become fully 'lndlvlduallsed'? ls belng 'lndlvldual' mean 'self'
deLermlnes everyLhlng?
8uL remember
Mary uouglas 'lndlvldual' ls 'soclal'
1wo bodles lndlvldual soclal bodles boLh are soclally formed bodles
ow do culLures creaLe places for bodles?
Soclal sLrucLure SLaLus 8oles
ow do culLures mark bodles ln Lhe process of undergolng changes from blrLh Lo
deaLh? by deflnlng sLaLus poslLlon (place) rlLes Lo enable LranslLlon lnLo and
occupaLlon of Lhese poslLlons see cllps for some of Lhese rlLes
1hrough soclal culLural rlLes bodles are scarlfled whaL ls scarlflcaLlon? See
power polnL on ScarlflcaLlon
lrom van ennep
W e says socleLy ls llke 'a house wlLh rooms and corrldors ln whlch passage
from one Lo anoLher ls dangerous uanger lles ln LranslLlonal sLaLes slmply
because LranslLlon ls nelLher one sLaLe nor Lhe nexL lL ls undeflnable' 116
1he person 'who musL pass from one Lo anoLher ls hlmself ln danger and
emanaLes danger Lo oLhers' 118
8lLual 'Lhe danger ls conLrolled by rlLual whlch'
W preclsely separaLes hlm from hls old sLaLus
W segregaLes hlm for a Llme and
W Lhen publlcly declares hls enLry Lo hls new sLaLus' 116
ln Lhls way rlLuals funcLlon Lo klll Lhe old sLaLus so LhaL a new one can be reborn
Lhe acL of kllllng Lhe old sLaLus and relnscrlblng a new one on Lhe body ls
LraumaLlc eg scarlflcaLlon lnlLlaLlon rlLes ln Afrlca LaLLoolng ln 8orneo
Marglns as LhreaLenlng
W uouglas' Lheory of polluLlon applles Lo undersLandlng why
'Lhe marglns of Lhe human body' ls so slgnlflcanL
W uouglas argues LhaL everywhere Lhe boundarles of Lhe body
are lmbued wlLh helghLened meLaphorlcal poLencypeople
reacL Lo Lhem lnLensely Lhey are loaded
uman bodlly margln lncludes
halr Lhe bodlly llnlng lLself Lhe skln
all Lhe bodlly orlflcesLhe mouLh nose Lear ducLs anus
vaglna oLhers
all Lhe bodlly wasLes LhaL pass Lhrough LhaL bodlly llnlng or
boundary lnclude sweaL Lears sallva mensLrual blood
semen
8evlsed ldeas ln uouglas
W her earller work uouglas concluded LhaL all such bodlly
marglnal phenomena are unlversally lnLerpreLed as deflllng
W ln laLer work (1970) she revlsed Lhls Lo a more neuLral
poslLlon malnLalnlng LhaL Lhey conLaln enhanced meLaphorlcal
poLenLlal buL dependlng on socloculLural conLexL Lhey are
elLher helghLened Lo sacred valuaLlon or else denlgraLed as
polluLlng
-oLe 1hls laLLer poslLlon ls more versaLlle and used by many laLer
anLhropologlsLs femlnlsLs eg 8ordo 8uLler who polnLed ouL
LhaL Lhe wldespread Laboos segregaLlng mensLruaLlng women
may ln some culLures be due Lo an lnLerpreLaLlon of mensLrual
blood as slgnlfylng Lhe power of ferLlllLy raLher Lhan a polluLlng
subsLance (see especlally 8uckley and oLLlleb)
Mary uouglas
W olluLlng erson (unplaced 8odles)
'A polluLlng person ls always ln Lhe wrong e has developed some wrong
condlLlon or slmply crossed some llne whlch should noL have been crossed and
Lhls dlsplacemenL unleashes danger for someone 8rlnglng polluLlon unllke
sorcery and wlLchcrafL ls a capaclLy whlch men share wlLh anlmals for
polluLlon ls noL always seL off by humans olluLlon can be
commlLLed lnLenLlonally buL lnLenLlon ls lrrelevanL Lo lLs effecLlL ls more
llkely Lo happen lnadverLenLly'
'1hls ls as near as l can geL Lo deflnlng a parLlcular class of dangers whlch are
noL powers vesLed ln humans buL whlch can be released by human acLlon 1he
power whlch presenLs a danger for careless humans ls very evldenLly a power
lnherlng ln Lhe sLrucLure of ldeas a power by whlch Lhe sLrucLure ls expecLed
Lo proLecL lLself'
-o olluLlon WlLhouL Marklng
(Lhus placlng bodles)
W olluLlon CommenL 1hls ls where she ldenLlLlfes Lhe soclal producLlon of
dangerour bodles
'Lo ldenLlfy polluLlon ranLed LhaL all splrlLual powers are parL of Lhe soclal
sysLem 1hey express lL and provlde lnsLlLuLlons for manlpulaLlng lL 1hls means
LhaL Lhe power ln Lhe unlverse ls ulLlmaLely hlLched Lo socleLy slnce so many
changes of forLune are seL off by persons ln one klnd of soclal poslLlon
or anoLher 8uL Lhere are oLher dangers Lo be reckoned wlLh whlch persons may
seL off knowlngly or unknowlngly whlch are noL parL of Lhe psyche and whlch are
noL Lo be boughL or learned by lnlLlaLlon and Lralnlng 1hese are polluLlon powers
whlch lnhere ln Lhe sLrucLure of ldeas lLself and whlch punlsh a symbollc breaklng
of LhaL whlch should be [olned or [olnlng of LhaL whlch should be separaLe lL
follows from Lhls LhaL polluLlon ls a Lype of danger whlch ls noL llkely Lo occur
excepL where Lhe llnes of sLrucLure cosmlc or soclal are clearly deflned'
8eadlngs
W Chlld ouLh
olland aLrlcla 2004 '-o fuLure Lhe LhreaL of chlldhood and Lhe
lmposslblllLy of youLh' llctotloq cbllJbooJ 1be Mytb of tbe cbllJ lo
lopolot lmoqety London 88 l8 1aurls
rouL Alan 2000 'Chlldhood bodles ConsLrucLlon agency and hybrldlLy'
8oJy cbllJbooJ 5oclety -ew ork - uSA algrave Macmlllan
W ouLh 8runel see local newspapers lnLerneL medla dlscusslons on
youLh decadence eg lepak Lruancy youLh Ml8 see also offlclal
reporL on youLh avallable onllne
W Mary uouglas Ch 6 urlLy and danger (see noLes for help)
1o furLher your undersLandlng you can opL
Lo read Lhe followlng on Lhe appllcaLlon of
Lhe ldea of polluLlon
W Lamb Sarah 2003 Ch 8 '1he pollLlcs of dlrL and gender
body Lechnlques ln 8engall lndla' ln Amerlcan
AnLhropologlcal AssoclaLlon MeeLlng SLaff (C8) ltt
ooJtess ooJ Jlffeteoce ctltlcol petspectlves oo tbe boJy
lndlana unlverslLy ress
W 8auer !aneL 2003 Ch 9 'CorrupLed alLerlLles 8ody pollLlcs
ln Lhe Llme of Lhe lranlan dlaspora' ln Amerlcan
AnLhropologlcal AssoclaLlon MeeLlng SLaff (C8) ltt
ooJtess ooJ Jlffeteoce ctltlcol petspectlves oo tbe boJy
lndlana unlverslLy ress