The Bodily Home

Teagan Chandler

You would think that the body, for the most part, is the only truly free thing there is.

 After all, barring any preventative disabilities, people breathe, sleep, and move on their own. Yet, our bodies are never truly our own. There’s a term for this in academic rhetoric: the bodily “home”: 

“The body as home, but only if it is understood that bodies are never singular, but rather haunted, strengthened, underscored by countless other bodies.” 

We are what others see us as. And, more than that, we change ourselves to fit into the mold that we think others want to see. We are impressionable bodies who want nothing more than to blend into the “mainstream”. To not fit in is to feel like we are wrong. This is, without a doubt, the worst feeling we can experience: a sense of not belonging that leaves us isolated and alienated. In this way, we are trapped by others’ expectations and views. 

“The body as home, but only if it is understood that place and community and culture burrow deep into our bones.” 

We assign value to our bodies based on cultural understanding. Whatever the media tells us the body should look like is what we strive to be. To say this is a form of peer pressure is an understatement. It goes beyond what people say to us, or what the people around us look like. Instead, it extends to the entire world and can be observed through any medium (social media, film, literature, advertisement, etc.). In this way, we are trapped by the world’s expectations and views. 

“The body as home, but only if it is understood that language too lives under the skin.” 

We define ourselves based on language. Unconsciously or not, we adapt the phrases, slang, and tone we use to fit in with others. To not do so, again, creates a sense of distance from others. Even if these words seem foreign, the jokes confusing, the lingo incomprehensible—the alternative is far worse. In this way, we are trapped by language’s expectations and views. 

“The body as home, but only if it is understood that bodies can be stolen, fed lies and poison, and torn away from us.” 

This may be the worst one of all. Even if we hide ourselves away from the world desperately trying to keep the oppressive expectations of others, media, and language away from us, we can still be stolen and ripped away from ourselves. Our bodies are mere puppets, never fully our own. We can be controlled in any number of ways, thereby stripping us of our ability to define, own, and care for ourselves. In this way, we are trapped by the fear of our bodies being out of our control. 

“The body as home, but only if it is understood that the stolen body can be reclaimed.”

After all of the trauma we endure through societal pressure, language, and hostile takeovers, we can fight our way back to ourselves. A dim light in an otherwise dark reality. For, while we can ultimately reclaim ourselves, that doesn’t take away from the fact that we lost ownership of ourselves in the first place. 

This is a disheartening, frightening, and horrible reality. However, it is our reality nonetheless. All we can do is be aware of these dangers to try and help us preemptively and proactively shield ourselves. So (try to) ignore others, (try to) ignore society, (try to) ignore rhetoric, and (definitely) ignore those ominous, masked puppeteers. We are our own homes, and we should fight to keep it that way. 

Edited by Emily Russell & Kate Castello