Inscriptions vs Incorporations
ěThe bodyî is an
abstraction, implied by heterogeneous, overlapping
systems of discourse and material practices; it is produced
by medical, legal, political, and economic regulations,
norms, and conceptualizations applied to actual
physical bodies as objects to be ordered,
organized and interpreted. On the other side of these concepts
and schemas for action are the individual material body and
its experiences, which though interpreted by the
individual him- or herself and society in terms of ěthe
bodyî are never fully captured and assimilated
into discourse. The two poles stand in tension
and are constantly interacting with one another.
Discursive constructions of the body are constantly
applied to embodied action, while inadequacies of fit
among abstraction, intention, and individual
experience open fissures motivating efforts to modify or
build different discursive regimes.