The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the writing of Suzan Bordo as it relates to the course theme in regard to the placement of the body in contemporary social theory. More specifically this paper will address Bordo 's writing of The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity and how the female body is a instrument and reflection of culture in our modern society. First in Part I, I will provide a summary of The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity, and identify Bordo 's central thesis. In Part II, I will critically analyze how this literary work relates to the course theme and how female bodies are subjected to techniques of control, discussing femininity in Foucaultian terminology. I will also provide an applied contemporary analysis of how the institution pop-culture and more specifically media advertisement creates a docile female population. This paper argues that through the control of social institutions and a reflection of societal norms, the female …show more content…
First, I will provide the reader with the historical background relating to the three neuroses of hysteria, agoraphobia, and anorexia. Second, I will provide a summary of The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity outlining her distinction of two dimensions of the body and how a double blind is created. Third, I will outline Bordo 's central thesis that the female body is a direct medium of culture and that this reproduces the concept of femininity to mold the contemporary culture. The theory of the reproduction of femininity presented by Bordo is the foundation of this paper because without an extensive understanding of this concept, one will not be able to grasp the notion that this reflection has facilitated neuroses throughout history, particularly focusing on that of