Bodies of 2013

Bodies are important in the society that we are living in now. As unfortunate, or fortunate as some people may see this, it is the truth. Our bodies govern the way we move, the way we dress, and the way we are perceived by others. Some would argue that the reason so much emphasis is put on the human body is because of the American culture and the stars that feed it, while others would say that it is just human nature and survival of the fittest that has us focus in on bodies.

I think it is really interesting that the writer of the article, “My Bodies of the Year,” viewed the year of 2013 as one that transformed from beauty to angst. Obviously with the loss of the author’s mother, 2013 was not a good year for him, but for me it was quite the opposite. 2013, instead, moved me from angst to beauty, or rather the angst of high school to the beauty (or freedom) of college.

Morris, the author, uses countless examples from the pop culture of today to show this shift from beauty to angst. One of the author’s examples comes from Katy Perry, and proposes the potential for the shift coming from people tiring of beauty. I think this is particularly interesting. Culture is not stagnant, and the likes and dislikes of a population will not, and for that matter cannot, stay the same. The ebb and flow of styles through the decades illustrates this idea. Innovation and doing something different is constantly rewarded. Anything that isn’t innovated is left behind, like a toy being abandoned by a child when they receive a new one. In my opinion, people don’t tire of styles or fads or even body shapes; they get distracted by the next new thing.

I think that bodies have and will always be important. Ten years ago, maybe eating disorders weren’t as much as a problem, and maybe people weren’t talking about them as much as they are now, but I believe they were just as important. I think talking about bodies and changing our bodies and telling others to change their bodies has become more widely accepted than it was ten years ago, but I would bet everyone was thinking it in 2004, afraid to say anything. Before you hear a single word or know a single fact about someone, you’ve already made a judgment on someone based on their body. As superficial as that may seem, I think that is what makes the importance of bodies on society timeless.