The 'Perfect' Body : A Study of the Body in Today's Consumer Society

Abstract: This thesis explores the ways in which the body is positioned within consumer society. The development of body ideals in Western societies is examined in order to point out consumers’ occupation with appearances and their bodies as signifiers of success. The three case studies (A&F, Calvin Klein Underwear and fitness magazines) will enable a close analysis of contemporary society and its engagement with the body. I argue that today the body acts as a signifier for people’s narcissistic obsession with the surface, and that the body itself has come to exhibit characteristics of a commodity in consumer society.