The Body in Question: A Socio-Cultural Approach

Why is there currently such strong academic and popular interest in ‘the body’ in contemporary societies? What factors shape our conceptions of the body, its naturalness, health and normality? What is the mind-body dualism and why should it matter?

This book examines these and other body questions from a critical socio-cultural perspective. In particular, it shows how conceptions of the body are affected by processes of individualization, medicalization and commodification. Chapters discuss...