WHAT'S BEAUTIFUL?
BODY IMAGE AND THE SOCIOCENTRIC SENSE OF SELF IN FIJI
by Emily Sparks

Discussion and Concluding Thoughts

Conclusion

Appendix A: Fijian Kin Terms

Appendix B: Elaborations on the Terms "Attractive" and "Uro"

Works Cited

Returning to the idea that "culture determines the meaning of the body," we have seen that within the Fijian context bodies do not reflect an individual cultivation, but rather a communal interest, and thus, the body is preferably controlled by the society, not the individual, in Fijian culture. In Fiji, cultivation of the body is traditionally not an individualistic pursuit but of concern to the entire community, reflecting a sociocentric world view. As we have seen, body shapes are monitored by others — an indication that the community is concerned with how individuals fit into the group. Following this ideology, Becker notes that "the body, then, mediates and substantiates the relationship between the self and the collective, while social processes are constitutive of both bodies and selves" (1995: 134). She continues, "Whereas we, in the West, privilege the notion that self and identity are lodged in the personal body, in Fiji, self, identity, and body are embedded in the socio-cosmic matrix" (1995: 134). Thus, we see that within Fijian culture, the body and self are closely connected to each other, as well as to others within the community.

In chapter one we reviewed the discourse on the cultivation of the body in the West. In the West, we have seen that the cultivation of the body, has reached striking depths in this century, with roots of this behavior dating back to the Victorian era. In the West, the cultivation of the body reflects certain ideals within the society — namely, autonomy and individualism. As Becker notes, in the West, "we see the cultivation of self-presentation through manipulation and exploitation of bodily symbols, a concept in accord with capitalist derived values encouraging competitive work on the self to promote it above other selves" (1995: 128). The Western body is thus cultivated to project a hard-working, independent, autonomous self. The pressure to obtain a slim body (as a reflection of a self-sufficient self) is perhaps a cause for the development of eating disorders. As discussed earlier, Bordo claims that anorexia is an extreme reaction to the slim bodily ideal in the Western world. In conjunction with the pressure to be thin in Western society, a discourse on the separate aspects of body and self in the Western world exists. This separation of self and body contributes to a potentially isolating relationship between the two, one which allows the self to govern the body. In Fiji, this situation is traditionally impossible, since one self (the individuated self) is never in control of one specific body.

As we have seen, the ethos of care by the community is directly related to body shape in Fiji. Whereas individual cultivation is important in Western societies, the cultivation of the body is seen as a communal endeavor, as an avenue to express care for the collective. The cultivation of bodies, thus, exemplifies the collective efforts of the community. It is not that Fijians are disinterested in body forms, just because they do not look to cultivate them in the same sense that Westerners do; rather, their cultivation comes from the concern of the community rather than the individual. In this way, the body is a means of integrating the self into the community, for the body becomes a matter of concern for the community. Those individuals who accept this concern from the community, and invite others to show a concern for their individual body shape, reconfirm that their body reflects being embedded in a communal network, while those that reject this communal cultivation are rejecting larger Fijian values.

For those Fijians who embody communal ideals, the care and cultivation of others (including bodies), over oneself is second nature. From the narratives of Naibere and Akisi, as well as from Rosa and Katerena (to some extent), we see that when one is included in a communal network, and feels appreciated within this network, caring for the community, and giving one's efforts to society's ideals comes hand in hand. Siteri and Lani demonstrate that when one does not feel satisfied with the idea of giving one's self in an effort to sustain a harmonious community, the community does not encourage the individualistic endeavors that follow. These individualistic goals include looking to cultivate individualism, and the body is one avenue to do this.

Fijians who are unhappy with their role in society are mostly young women who have not embraced Fijian ideals. Because of this, they look toward an individual cultivation which may reflect Western standards. Indeed, the penetration of Western ideas has certainly increased in Fiji through recent years due to globalization. However, this is not the driving force in why some young women look to cultivate their individualism. Rather, as pointed out in the narratives of Naibere and Akisi, this desire to find autonomy is indeed a reaction to society's pressure to exemplify communal ideals, but is also a stage that many young women pass through, and not a product of this generation. The Fijian communal sense of self is thus not disappearing with the infiltration of Western ideology; rather, it is embodied by those who are content with their role within the society.