The Illuminated Body: Representation in Medicine and Culture

Recreated Body

The Reshaped Body

The best-shaped feet were tiny--no more than three inches long--and were referred to as "golden lotuses." They were considered a woman's most desirable feature; without the lotus foot, most aristocratic Chinese women were unmarriageable. The bound foot was intensely erotic to Chinese men. A bound-foot wife was also a symbol of a man's wealth and status, as evidence that he could support an idle woman. Foot binding was officially forbidden in the late nineteenth century by China's Manchu emperors, but the practice continued into the early twentieth century.

12. Chinese shoes Courtesy of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch, Iowa Shoes China The "Golden lotuses," feet no more than three inches long, were considered a woman's most desirable feature. On loan from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. (#96713 & #181599) Cinderella: Grimm's Fairy Tales The Leisure Hour Library 1897 In this 1897 version of Cinderella, the wicked stepsisters cut off parts of their feet in an effort to wear the gold slipper. Their mother advised, "When you are queen, you will walk no more." Courtesy of the Rare Book Room, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa

The Western Foot
The Western foot continues to be subject to deformation by shoes. Shoe designers rarely consider the natural shape of the foot. In the interest of symmetry and fashion, they pretend that the middle toe is longer than the others. The result is that most shoes cramp the big toe, while high-heeled shoes worn for fashion's sake often cause much pain and spinal problems. Small toes have even been amputated to conform to a current trend.

According to a survey conducted by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, eighty-eight percent of American women wear poorly fitting shoes, and seventy-six percent have one or more foot deformities. A simple test to determine whether your feet have been deformed by your shoes is to place your feet close together. The big toes of undeformed feet are parallel.

Elongated Necks
In Southeast Asia, the Padaung women of Burma elongate their necks by wearing brass rings. The rings are first fitted to young girls' necks. The number of rings is then increased to stretch the neck further as the girls mature.

The Reshaped Waist

Because the lower five ribs are not attached to the sternum (breast bone), the human torso can be shaped by various techniques to produce a waistline of desirable and alluring contours. Introduced in Europe during the fifteenth century, corsets began as tightly wrapped bandages. Over the next four centuries, corsetry evolved to include stays (boards) and strings for extra-tight lacing. Respectable and virtuous Victorian women wore corsets; an "unlaced woman" (as opposed to "straight-laced") was thought to be a vessel of sin. In a desperate attempt to achieve the ideal, some women had their lower ribs surgically removed.

13. Petticoat c. 1850 Courtesy of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Iowa State University Crinoline cage c. 1860 Courtesy of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Iowa State University Bustle cage c. 1890 Courtesy of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Iowa State University Collapsible bustle c. 1890 Courtesy of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Iowa State University

"Corset diseases" such as fainting, hemorrhoids, coughing, and palpitations plagued many fashionable women. Corsets could displace internal organs and cause pulmonary disease, and occasionally led to miscarriages. They were eventually replaced in the 1930s by less constricting, but still reshaping, girdles. European and American men did not entirely escape the demands of fashion. They, too, wore corsets and waist cinchers beneath their military, riding or court attire. However, once a man reached middle age, a paunch was more likely to be tolerated as a sign of his wealth and status. 14. Corset, circa 1900. On loan from Iowa State University, Department of Textiles and Clothing

The Shaped Skull

Head-shaping has been practiced for centuries world-wide in aristocratic ancient Greek and Roman families, among North, Central and South American Indians, in Africa and in Europe. In areas of Holland, for example, tight-fitting caps worn by women throughout their lives created a unique head shape. Up to the eighteenth century, a regional group of French people placed a constricting band on children's heads causing a circular depression around the skull. In Hitler's Germany, anxious parents massaged babies' heads into the favored long shape of the master race. Deformation of the head is not physically harmful since the skull is a solid case with uniform walls. However, to shape the skull into the prevailing cultural aesthetic, the application of pressure must be initiated at birth when the baby's skull is soft. 15. Mask Guro, Guinea Coast This female mask depicts the carefully chipped teeth of the Guro. Scarification patterns are also evident on the forehead and cheeks. Courtesy of the University of Iowa Museum of Art: The Stanley Collection, Iowa City, Iowa Peruvian bound skull Courtesy of the Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

Reshaping Arms and Legs
Some cultures value a full figure over a slender one. To exaggerate this effect, tight bandages or bangles are applied to the arms, legs, and torso so that the flesh surrounding the bangles is enlarged. European explorers noticed that Native Americans bound their knees and ankles which caused their calves to swell. Similarly, Papuans in New Guinea place metal rings on the upper arms of infants, whose flesh bulges around the rings as they grow. This is not thought to cause physical harm.

Tooth Alteration
Many cultures alter the shape or alignment of the teeth. Such enhancements include pulling teeth, filing them horizontally, filing them to sharp points, dyeing them, and repositioning them.

One modification-filing the teeth to a sharp point-is practiced in several African countries. Whereas both the lower and upper teeth can be filed, most commonly it is the upper incisors that are shaped. This procedure is often carried out at puberty or just prior to marriage.

North Americans commonly straighten their teeth by wearing braces before or during adolescence. Braces (plastic or metal appliances placed on the teeth and then tightened) achieve the Western ideal of perfectly straight teeth. They are usually worn for at least one year to accomplish the ultimate goal, a beautiful smile. Interestingly, adults currently comprise about twenty-three percent of all orthodontic patients.

Body Sculpting: Contemporary Style

In the contemporary world, surgical procedures are widely used to transform the body. Nearly 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2005, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Compared to 2004, surgical procedures increased 1% to 2.1 million, while nonsurgical procedures declined 4% to 9.3 million. The Aesthetic Society which has been collecting multi-specialty procedural statistics since 1997 says the overall number of cosmetic procedures has increased 444% since the collection of the statistics first began. The most frequently performed procedure was Botox injections and the most popular surgical procedure was liposuction.

The contemporary world is also captivated by body shaping through exercise. Aerobics, weight lifting, swimming, jogging, and rollerblading are among the ways people firm their legs, buttocks, stomachs and arms. Keeping fit through exercise is considered a healthy way to perfect the body, but some athletes use steroids to "bulk up" despite the dangerous side effects of these drugs.

Many women of all ages, striving to be model-thin, try to lose weight through diet plans. Their quest can result in life-threatening conditions such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa.