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Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement
What happens when your body doesn't look how it's supposed to look, or feel how it's supposed to feel, or do what it's supposed to do? Who or what defines the ideals behind these expectations? How can we challenge them and live more peacefully in our bodies?
Shameful Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement explores these questions by examining how traditional religious narratives and modern philosophical assumptions come together in the construction and pursuit of a better body in contemporary western societies. Drawing on examples from popular culture such as self-help books, magazines, and advertisements, Michelle Mary Lelwica shows how these narratives and assumptions encourage us to go to war against our bodies-to fight fat, triumph over disability, conquer chronic pain and illness, and defy aging. Through an ethic of conquest and conformity, the culture of physical improvement trains us not only to believe that all bodily processes are under our control, but to feel ashamed about those parts of our flesh that refuse to comply with the cultural ideal. Lelwica argues that such shame is not a natural response to being fat, physically impaired, chronically sick, or old. Rather, body shame is a religiously and culturally conditioned reaction to a commercially-fabricated fantasy of physical perfection.
While Shameful Bodies critiques the religious and cultural norms and narratives that perpetuate external and internalized judgment and aggression toward “shameful” bodies, it also engages the resources of religions, especially feminist theologies and Buddhist thought/practice, to construct a more affirming approach to health and healing-an approach that affirms the diversity, fragility, interdependence, and impermanence of embodied life.
Shameful Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement explores these questions by examining how traditional religious narratives and modern philosophical assumptions come together in the construction and pursuit of a better body in contemporary western societies. Drawing on examples from popular culture such as self-help books, magazines, and advertisements, Michelle Mary Lelwica shows how these narratives and assumptions encourage us to go to war against our bodies-to fight fat, triumph over disability, conquer chronic pain and illness, and defy aging. Through an ethic of conquest and conformity, the culture of physical improvement trains us not only to believe that all bodily processes are under our control, but to feel ashamed about those parts of our flesh that refuse to comply with the cultural ideal. Lelwica argues that such shame is not a natural response to being fat, physically impaired, chronically sick, or old. Rather, body shame is a religiously and culturally conditioned reaction to a commercially-fabricated fantasy of physical perfection.
While Shameful Bodies critiques the religious and cultural norms and narratives that perpetuate external and internalized judgment and aggression toward “shameful” bodies, it also engages the resources of religions, especially feminist theologies and Buddhist thought/practice, to construct a more affirming approach to health and healing-an approach that affirms the diversity, fragility, interdependence, and impermanence of embodied life.
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 12, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 27, 2017
Lelwica takes a look at the reasons for societal disapproval and, at times, disgust for bodies which do not fit the young, thin, beautiful, healthy ideal. The author looks at those who are disabled, chronically sick, fat, and growing old and traces back our feelings to early Christianity and before, showing how intertwined our beliefs about the body still are with doctrinal teachings. An excellent read for those interested in the developing field of body theology.
June 9, 2024
Life in the body is difficult enough. It’s even less pleasant in less than ideal bodies.
In Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement (galley received as part of early review program, but full book read), Michelle Mary Lewica speaks of her own developing physical ailment and aging and the pitfalls and challenges which attend to life in the body on account of the cult of physical aesthetic and improvement in our society. The author has specific concerns as they relate to religion and its role in this matter.
The author considers matters of the body in general, disability, and aging. She incisively considers the modern societal discourse regarding each, and well identified a lot of the religious trappings which attend to the cult of bodily self-improvement, as if one can obtain the “salvation” of a healthy body through the right “rituals” of eating and exercise and the like. She does also address matters of Christianity and its involvement in these matters.
The author did well at looking at how Christianity can be misused, abused, and distorted toward ableism and such things. Yet also in her discourse we can find the possible end overreaction of disability theology in casting aspersions on the resurrection and what seems to be an attempt to “baptize” and justify the body in its current corruption. There are valid concerns regarding which such disability theology advocates are reacting - but as in all things life and theology, the temptation to over-reaction remains strong. It is wrong to associate the disabled with the corruption of the creation uniquely; such should not be a reason to baptize corruption, but confess its universality in the current creation.
But overall the author is not wrong in her analysis and description of the body, disability, and aging, our vain struggles against it, the shame associated with the body, aging, death, and how such has come about. We do well to resist the trends regarding which she speaks, re-normalize our limitations, and accept who we are and who others are as they are in this world, doing what we can to live well, but never delude ourselves into thinking we can somehow escape human limitation and corruption through our efforts.
In Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement (galley received as part of early review program, but full book read), Michelle Mary Lewica speaks of her own developing physical ailment and aging and the pitfalls and challenges which attend to life in the body on account of the cult of physical aesthetic and improvement in our society. The author has specific concerns as they relate to religion and its role in this matter.
The author considers matters of the body in general, disability, and aging. She incisively considers the modern societal discourse regarding each, and well identified a lot of the religious trappings which attend to the cult of bodily self-improvement, as if one can obtain the “salvation” of a healthy body through the right “rituals” of eating and exercise and the like. She does also address matters of Christianity and its involvement in these matters.
The author did well at looking at how Christianity can be misused, abused, and distorted toward ableism and such things. Yet also in her discourse we can find the possible end overreaction of disability theology in casting aspersions on the resurrection and what seems to be an attempt to “baptize” and justify the body in its current corruption. There are valid concerns regarding which such disability theology advocates are reacting - but as in all things life and theology, the temptation to over-reaction remains strong. It is wrong to associate the disabled with the corruption of the creation uniquely; such should not be a reason to baptize corruption, but confess its universality in the current creation.
But overall the author is not wrong in her analysis and description of the body, disability, and aging, our vain struggles against it, the shame associated with the body, aging, death, and how such has come about. We do well to resist the trends regarding which she speaks, re-normalize our limitations, and accept who we are and who others are as they are in this world, doing what we can to live well, but never delude ourselves into thinking we can somehow escape human limitation and corruption through our efforts.
January 4, 2019
This book is engaging, written clearly but with an obvious passion for the subject matter. Lelwica's analysis is perceptive and profound, and persistently pushes against superficial readings of cultural perspectives on the body, adding a new depth to fairly well-trodden theories through her insightful commentary on its colonial impulse and political and economic character. This text was more nuanced in its treatment of theological ideas than her previous book, 'Starving for Salvation', but she persists in the frustrating habit of referring to "traditional Christianity" without so much as a side-glance to the complexity of what "tradition" might mean, and the difficulty of such a sweeping generalization. For all her critiques of these "traditional" frameworks she never satisfactorily attends to the tradition in detail, opting to engage only with contemporary, and often quite controversial, texts and making shallow references to complex figures in the Christian tradition. Whilst she recognizes the potential of theology to offer different imaginative frameworks surrounding the body, her rather unsubstantiated disregard of some of the keystones of Christian orthodoxy leave me unconvinced by large portions of the book.
May 21, 2019
Finally finished with this one! It's a very dense feminist social commentary on how religion intersects culturally with queer, fat, female, old, chronically ill, or otherwise disabled bodies. It's a huge topic and it's difficult to review that-- I loved how Lelwica analyzed cultural attitudes and fears while simultaneously dissuading said attitudes and fears. Overall, the book takes a very Buddhist approach to different bodies-- be present and remember that they/you are individual people existing and should never be but into boxes.
Two stars off because she constantly used scare quotes and she lacked complete solutions to the problems, the point of the book was more to point out that these issues exist (to raise awareness) more than anything else, which led to a lot of personal biases and assumptions popping out.
It's a really large and difficult topic to cover satisfyingly, but this was a worthwhile read and gave me a lot to think about!
Two stars off because she constantly used scare quotes and she lacked complete solutions to the problems, the point of the book was more to point out that these issues exist (to raise awareness) more than anything else, which led to a lot of personal biases and assumptions popping out.
It's a really large and difficult topic to cover satisfyingly, but this was a worthwhile read and gave me a lot to think about!
May 4, 2017
This book was incredibly interesting. It was fascinating to read about how society has shaped our bodies and how we should be changing that.
It is a great research material for many areas of study. I highly recommend this wonderful book. Thank you Bloomsbury Academic for sending me this book!
It is a great research material for many areas of study. I highly recommend this wonderful book. Thank you Bloomsbury Academic for sending me this book!
June 27, 2024
Overall, a great read. I found the analysis of the history of the theology of the body to be a bit reductive, but for the most part, I love how she explored the impact of capitalism, consumerism, and religion on our understanding of the body.
December 11, 2018
LOVE Dr. Lelwica's writing style. She has an amazing way of making complex issues accessible for college students. This is also a life-changing book!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews