In discussing the development of women’s body image, Carla Rice argues that women resist dominant beauty ideals, and as such the regulation of their bodies, through rebellious practices on the body such as hair cutting, tattoos, and piercings (326-327). Rice also suggests that resistance must include many provisional strategies, for by rebelling against one ideal resistant women are creating another ideal (328-329). Indeed, women can reappropriate their bodies and redefine their body image through a process similar to Kipnis’ refunctioning.
With Rice in mind, how can we negotiate resisting both dominant body image and gender identity ideals? It is clear that reappropriating regulation of our bodies can (though does not necessarily) include resisting dominant gender identity ideals, but I wonder if gender identity must be positively defined before it can be part of a struggle against the regulation of body and body image? If gender identity is only defined negatively (by what it is not), then does body image remain negative? How does that impact resistance to any dominant ideal? To bring the issue back to Kipnis, is refunctioning possible without first establishing which soapbox we will stand on?
(Rice, Carla. “Between Body and Culture: Beauty, Ability and Growing Up Female.” Open Boundaries: A Canadian Women’s Studies Reader 2nd ed. Eds. Barbara Crow, Lise Gotell. Toronto: Pearson, 2005. 320-332.)
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