Careering Past the Doctorate: supporting the career progression of doctoral students

This paper will focus on women?s self-understanding and its relation to the body. While for both men and women self-awareness includes body-awareness, for women, the relationship is more fundamental and the body is a significant aspect of the self. This is well exemplified by the way in which self-control, or more accurately control of the self, is routinely applied to the body. Bodies are perceived as being subject to control through diet and exercise, and obese women are described as being out of control or lacking in self-control. Clothes clearly have an influence on body image, but the relationship is more intimate than this would suggest. Because they sit next to the body, clothes have an inward aspect that is closely related to body awareness, especially when there is a discrepancy between the two, as happens when clothes do not fit, thus highlighting the body?s shortcomings. In terms of awareness, the two become intertwined, and attitudes and beliefs associated with the body/self extend to feelings about the clothes. This is apparent in attitudes to various aspects of control. Clothes are often discussed in terms of what cannot be worn because of age, size, acceptance and fashion. This attitude to control includes the perceived controlling attitudes of others, for example, what a husband might not like, or what friends or colleagues might not approve. Clothing then has an important role to play in self-awareness, and fashion assumes a significance belied by its apparent superficiality. This paper will explore these issues, making reference to my own research with women, exploring their relationship with their bodies and their attitude to clothing.