COMM236 Self , Society and Media
move for humans is up to the individual . The idea of a postmodern “ embodies the potential for identity to be mutable and unfixed ” ( Toffoletti , 2007 , p . 7 ). A cyborg itself would be considered a posthuman body . Susan Bordo ( 1990 ) elaborates on the idea of mouldable bodies in her article ‘ Material Girl ’. Society now has a culture “ fueled by fantasies of re-arranging , transforming , and correcting , an ideology of limitless improvement and change , defying the historicity , the mortality , and indeed the very materiality of the body ” ( Bordo , 1990 , p . 653 ). Humans now have the capability to change themselves as much or as little as they like . Plastic surgery has become so common that the people Bordo discusses liken it to something as every day and whimsical as an accessory , as if it is not a very expensive and complicated procedure . The extremes of this turns into bionic and digital implants of a science fiction nature which further liken humans to cyborgs .
Technology has not only affected what it means to be human in a physical way , but also in a mental way . Both the online and print worlds have given people access to a multitude of sources of inspiration of who to become . Medias “ encourage alternative understandings of the body and
91 self as transformative ” ( Toffoletti , 2007 , p . 59 ), and over years have taught people that with a little work , they can have any body they want .
Many consider Barbie to be a bad role model to young girls due to her “ unrealistic and unattainable bodily proportions [ which ] make women feel inadequate ” ( Toffoletti , 2007 , p . 59 ). However , Barbie has come to not only stand for “ glamour , beauty and style ” ( Toffoletti , 2007 , p . 58 ), but as the beginnings of the idea of a posthuman body . She embodies the idea of a plastic body , in a literal sense , but also the idea of gaining perfecting and staying young , whilst promoting the consumer culture which allows them to achieve this . A body being plastic in this sense does not refer to being fake , cold , or unnatural . It is the opposite ; we are all plastic , free to be fixed and mouldable however we see fit , should we have the time money and desire to do so . As Bordo ( 1990 , p . 654 ) comments , we have become “ the master sculptors of that plastic ”, able to shape our bodies through exercise , surgery , or any modifications we like .
The digital world gives people freedom to express themselves in a multitude of ways , through gathering inspiration for how to present themselves in real life but