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In the past decades, the pressure to perfect and design our bodies has been unprecedented.
Men are encouraged to surgically pump up their pecs, breast enhancement is a sweet sixteen birthday present in the suburbs of America, and eating problems – from bulimia to obesity – are growing daily, affecting children as young as six. In China, women are having their legs broken and extended by 5cms. In Iran there are 35,000 cosmetic nose reconstructions a year. The body is no longer a given and to possess a flawless one has become the ambition of millions.
In her years of practice as a psychoanalyst, Susie Orbach has come to realise that the way we view our bodies is the mirror of how we view ourselves: our body becomes the measure of our worth. In this updated edition of Bodies, she addresses the modern challenges to body-image, exposing how social media has exacerbated existing issues and creates new ways we relate to our bodies. In the past decade, despite campaigns promoting body positivity, often unproven and unregulated dietary products have proliferated throughout the world. Meanwhile, movements such as #MeToo have revealed what has changed in our attitudes to bodies and what has, unfortunately, remained the same.
Bodies is available from the Freud Museum Shop.
Live Stream
Tickets are available for online access to the event via a live video stream.
About the author
Unheard Voices
Our ‘Unheard Voices‘ events season aims to illuminate the life and work of women whose stories have been stifled by history.
The season spans two major exhibitions at the Freud Museum: ‘Ida Applebroog: Mercy Hospital’ (29 February – 7 July 2020) and ‘Muriel Gardiner’ (June – October 2020), both celebrated for challenging the structures of society and pushing boundaries in the name of activism.
