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‘Some People Drink as the Body Should Feel a Little Ease’

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  • Louise Waite

    (Louise Waite is in School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK.)

Abstract

Despite development studies’ core concern with vulnerable bodies, the discipline has been somewhat sluggish in embracing the expansive and fruitful literature around embodiment. One aspect of this terrain is ‘body management’; a topic often discussed in contexts of Western consumerism where the body is perceived as a malleable entity subject to transformation. This article discusses a group of manual labourers in India who are not reflexively reconstituting themselves through post-modern playfulness, but whose fleshy bodies are nevertheless of pivotal importance in their labour-intensive livelihoods. It is this understanding of bodies as primary assets in the lives of the working poor that begs a deeper understanding of how bodies are managed within realms that ostensibly appear to harm the embodied condition of labourers. This article explores subtle and embedded body management strategies, and also asks if there are limits to the notion of a self-directed project of benevolent body management.

Suggested Citation

  • Louise Waite, 2007. "‘Some People Drink as the Body Should Feel a Little Ease’," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 2(2), pages 227-253, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:soudev:v:2:y:2007:i:2:p:227-253
    DOI: 10.1177/097317410700200203
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cecile Jackson & Richard Palmer‐Jones, 1999. "Rethinking Gendered Poverty and Work," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 557-583, July.
    2. David Mosse & Sanjeev Gupta & Mona Mehta & Vidya Shah & Julia fnms Rees & KRIBP Project Team, 2002. "Brokered livelihoods: Debt, Labour Migration and Development in Tribal Western India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 59-88.
    3. Arjan de Haan, 2002. "Migration and Livelihoods in Historical Perspective: A Case Study of Bihar, India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 115-142.
    4. Arjan de Haan & Ben Rogaly, 2002. "Introduction: Migrant Workers and Their Role in Rural Change," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 1-14.
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