The habitus, our way to absorb and enact techniques of the body relying on culture and social relations. It is like an embodied lifeworld. In this article I will focus on Mauss’ text : Techniques of the body as it was, for me, more relevant and interesting relating to the habitus. In his text, he describes techniques of the body and how they are influenced by culture and socio-cultural status. It was stated in class, that techniques of the body have to be effective for the body to absorb them. But what about precarious ideas we are holding, that are culturally anchored but physically inconvenient. Like traditional tattoos, neck rings in the Kayan culture or the Chinese foot binding custom. Those are passed on through culture and are considered a part of their habitus although they can be physically burdensome.

In the text, Mauss states that “in all these elements of the art of using the human body, the facts of education were dominant” (Mauss 1973, 73). This emphasizes the role of nurture in absorbing techniques of the body. Nature also is a determinant that should not be underestimated. A documentary called Three Identical Strangers (2018) follows the story of three young men who meet each other at 19, discovering that they are triplets who were separated at birth for a psychological experiment. The experiment was aimed at comparing different rearing environment to scale the role of nurture over nature. We could relate our habitus to that study because even if each family in which they were placed was socially and economically very different, they all came to extensively relate to one another and share a huge amount of similarities. The way they move, talk and behave is disturbingly similar. As such, the question arises; is our habitus essentially related to our education, class and culture? One of the triplets was raised in an immigrant culture that strongly differs from the conservative and strict environment another one lived in but they still ended up having a very similar habitus. Another assumption is that our habitus is deeply anchored within ourselves and that they will always betray us by coming back to the surface. But take the example of someone raised by wealthy parents with very conservative views who chooses to diverge completely from the values she was raised in. Her habitus would technically be reflecting a high social status and strict moral values. But when she chooses to believe in another way of life, is she changing her habitus or is just delusional about her capacities to break off from her education? I believe that our habitus is not fixed and can change with our capacity to create our own self. It is maybe, in part because of her education that she chooses to diverge, but it was not through imitation.

Mauss also concludes his essay with, “In every society, everyone knows and has to know and learn what he has to do in all situations” (Mauss 1973, 85.). But what if society itself is biased from centuries of traditional practices that have impaired our way to move towards a goal of acceptance and tolerance rather than judgment and fear of the unknown. Shouldn’t we be able to modulate our actions based on case specific particularities and not antiquated social values?

Works Cited :

• Mauss, Marcel. 1973 [1934] “Techniques of the Body.” Economy and Society 2
• “Three Identical Strangers” 2018. Directed by Tim Wardle. NEON studios.