The body in high school: An analysis of the body perception of rio de janeiro students

Abstract

The objective of this article is investigate the body perception of high school students in schools in state of Rio de Janeiro, from the philosophical perspective of Michel Foucault and the sociology of David Le Breton. Thecategoriesbodyacessory, disciplinary power and biopower were estabilished for the referencial theory adopted. In the exploratory research were collected 392 questionnaires and we infer from them that adolescents feel good about themselves, they are not happy with their physical appearance, they are not happy with their weight and height, they believe that acts of bullying are related to physical appearance and show a tendency to change their bodies. They perceive their behavior being observed in the school, consider important the control in theirs time and space, they feel challenged by the norms established and not find spaces to express their opinions. They approve of the way they behave and recognize that physical appearance facilitates acceptance in social groups. We may conclude that such individualization processes can forge individuals by denying the right to be truly individual, fragmenting their community life and forcing the individual to turn to himself, for fear of a possible not social acceptance.