Heart of the Matter

The Full Bodyworks

Are our bodies our own?

And how old is Cindy?

Cindy Jackson says, "I was born in the States, but was made in Britain." After twenty-nine operations to alter her appearance, she now feels more satisfied than ever with her super-model looks - and the lifestyle that comes with it. She now mixes with the rich and famous.

Cindy, as she is

Cindy: how she might have looked without cosmetic surgery. (Computer aged picture.)

Cosmetic surgery - traditionally seen as the ultimate preserve of the wealthy - is increasingly available to less well-off women, and men. But is it ethically acceptable to treat our bodies as objects that we can modify to please ourselves? This programme examines attitudes towards cosmetic surgery and body-piercing and whether society's aspirations and expectations affect what we do with our bodies.

Discussing the issue: Cindy Jackson, Phillip Hodson - therapist, Sarah Dunant - novelist, Peter Stanford - Catholic writer, Eileen Bradbury.

Implications and Issues

• Write the quotations on a flip chart without mentioning who said them.
• Give each person a chance to read and reflect on the statements
• Ask who the group thought said each quotation. Is there anyone else in the programme who might have said it?
• Which of the quotations does each person in the group most identify with? Which is the least attractive?

1. " Who are you to begrudge me the few years I've had? "
2. " Where did you get the idea you were ugly? "
3. " Anorexia causes suicide "
4. " If it's a mistake, let's wait and find out "
5. " Society needs to reinvent how it thinks about old age "
6. " ...you don't get rid of problems by banning cosmetic surgery "

(a,c = Cindy; b = Peter; d = Philip; e = Sarah) About body piercing: " .....[it's] about celebrating difference " " My skin is a canvas " " Do we feel Mark is a confused lad underneath it all? " " People pigeon-hole and pigeon-hole too much... " " Piercing is a freedom thing.... " (g = Sarah; i = Joan Bakewell; h,k = Mark;)

A note on Body Marking Traditionally, body marking has been seen as an important religious and social statement, related to identity. Sometimes marking is permanent and painful, such as tribal scar marks or temporary and pain-free, such as aboriginal body painting, Hindu forehead marks and the 32 'auspicious' marks associated with Buddha. The use of certain styles of clothing in everyday life, as well as in rituals, could also be seen as an extension of body marking; styles of dress can then be seen to exemplify the tension between clothing as conforming to social codes and clothing as an expression of the individual. In Christianity, the stigmata of Jesus Christ (the wounds caused at the crucifixion) hold a special place in mystical tradition. The marks of these wounds, it is claimed, have appeared on particularly holy people, most notably St Francis of Assisi and Padre Pio, to symbolise their close association with Christ's suffering.

"The trumpet shall sound...and the dead shall be raised incorruptible..." The doctrine of bodily resurrection is a central tenet of Christianity. Whether or not you believe in an after life, why might people want to believe in resurrection? What importance do you think the state of someone's body could have in any bodily resurrection? What images and truths about ourselves might the concept of 'bodily resurrection' be referring to?

This series, transmitted every Sunday, takes a hard-nosed look at the ethical issues in the news. Each week an introductory section poses the key questions and is followed by a discussion between people holding differing viewpoints, chaired by Joan Bakewell.