Body, The

It has become relatively commonplace in sociological work on “the body” to think in terms of both being and having. We are our bodies, or rather we are embodied (being) but at the same time we experience “our bodies” as external appendages that we possess (having), as when we talk about “my body,” “her body,” “my nose,” and so on.

Both of these aspects are important in relation to consumption. Consumption is an embodied practice. It is something that we do, a bodily activity. At the same time, however, “my body” is an object that can I elect to modify by way of consumption practices. I might buy a new nose via cosmetic surgery, for example, or hire the services of a personal trainer or image ...