Violence against others remains, in most sections of society, taboo. Where it exists it generally takes place after dark or in secret. Although I feel my culture allows me to wear more revealing garments, I would never dress in anything remotely suggestive if out alone after dark; I might get assaulted. I experience, then, more freedom, when dressed in what equates to the Qu'ranic guidelines designed to liberate women from male lust and aggression.
The taboo against violence means that it is often most experienced on cinema screens. I believe that Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ reveals a great deal about the relationship between body experience and violence.
Conclusion
What, then, do bodies in Britain today reveal about our society? I believe they reveal a society in huge tension. Though superficially British society appears informal and egalitarian it still exerts upon individuals a huge amount of pressure to perform and to conform. This is a pressure still largely experience by women.
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