Abstract

CARRETEIRO, Teresa Cristina. Body and contemporaneity. Psicol. rev. (Belo Horizonte) [online]. 2005, vol.11, n.17, pp. 62-76. ISSN 1677-1168.

Contemporary western societies present characteristics that deserve special focus: the weakening of institutional Groups, the cult of individuality due to the creation of new collective Groups, the importance of success, the pressure for ‘urgency’, the priority given to action, and the illusive idea of the absolute. Such characteristics highlight a necessary framework for the centrality of the body. The article affirms that the body has become one of the most predominant values in the contemporary world. Throughout the text, several aspects that the body has recently acquired are studied: territorial body, virile body, excessive body and beautiful body. The conclusion discusses the body’s place as a contemporary symptom, giving rise to a specific narcissist pathology that has important social and subjective consequences.

Keywords : Body; Subjectivity; Society.

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