Body Projects

PDF of Body Projects CFP

Body Modification and the Female Body

9^th March 2013, University of York

An interdisciplinary one day conference

Call for Papers

Body modification is a controversial topic within feminism. The debate centres on issues of agency, pleasure, oppression, and false consciousness, and often pitches different understandings of women, and ‘second’ and ‘third’ waves of feminism, in opposition. Our definition of body modification is broad, from shaved legs to buttock implants; from the honed ‘fit’ body to ‘fat-reducing’ surgery; from self-tanning to pro-ana; from piercings to gender reassignment, and much more.

This conference seeks to create a space where differences of perspective, of cultural understanding and of theoretical viewpoint can be tackled through debating issues of body modification. Our aim is to expand understandings of various forms of body modification as well as develop feminist understandings across multiple disciplines. We hope to attract speakers from a wide range of disciplines including but not limited to Social Sciences, Women and Gender Studies, History, Medicine, English, Art and Philosophy.

We welcome abstracts for 20 minute papers, and also encourage people to submit ideas for relevant performances or art work.

Areas for discussion are listed below, but we encourage any topic within the theme of the conference:

Aesthetics, idealism and body modification; Agency, ownership and oppression; Embodied experiences; Body image; Body as object; Gendered experience; Discourses of modification; Mind/body duality and the individual; Medicalisation; Popular feminism and popular culture; Commercialism; Individualism and neo-liberalism; Sexuality; Femininity and masculinity; The racialised body; Eating disorders; Fatness/thinness; Technology; Transgender; The aging body.

Please send abstracts of 250-300 words to bodyprojectsconf@gmail.com by the 10^th December 2012.

Those who have submitted abstracts will be notified of acceptance by the 1^st January 2013.