Schooled Bodies? - Adolescents Encountering Complexities in the Pursuit of Embodied Validation

This research is concerned with adolescence as an embodied experience. It represents an attempt to bridge the gap between the sociology o f childhood and the sociology o f the body, a connection that is infrequently made within sociological literature. This investigation is specifically concerned with questioning how adolescents are schooled on the body and if the types o f schooling they receive give rise to complexities in their pursuit o f embodied validation. Throughout this study I explore how adolescents are schooled on the body in many social spheres. From the ever-abounding, ever-astounding body images portrayed in consumer culture; to the hushed comments directed at the bodies o f school peers. From the popularity o f those with the physical prowess to make it onto prestigious school teams; to the physical regulation adopted by mothers and fathers. Each o f the aforementioned contexts, among others school adolescents on the body to some degree. However, this schooling may often be conflicting and contradictory, leaving adolescents to overcome the complexities they encounter. It is a primary contention o f this research that adolescents are not passively schooled on the body to such a degree that they become slaves to contemporary trends. This study shows how youths actively negotiate the forms o f embodiment they encounter and the complexities they experience with certain forms of embodiment. This research provides a vital window into the worlds of participating youths and importantly how they experience these worlds as embodied individuals.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• McSharry, Majella

• Sociology

Language dc:language

en