Body Image and Presentation of Self among the Women University Students in Sikkim

Abstract

The spread modern technology and global flow of ideas and practices expedited by globalization, transnational capitalism and social media platforms have generated new discourses on human body. Under the spell of new body discourses modern men and women look for new identities and new ways of presentation of self in their everyday life. This paper reflects on how the university going women students of Sikkim perceive and negotiate with diverse body images in their everyday life. The first section of paper identifies the agents that influence construction of ideas on body and beauty. It also attempts to trace how far the socio-economic background of the students determines their perceptions of body and beauty. The second section attempts to unravel the various determining factors relating to the body discourse. It also traces the revolutionized social and cultural construction of body discourse based on the lived experiences and close observations within the family. The final section of this paper situates the empirical findings in the light of theoretical arguments and present the body discourse from a sociological standpoint.