Abstract
In this critical commentary, we take a performance studies approach to examine one of the key elements of body neutrality, namely that it “recognises that: (1) our feelings about our body change constantly so are best mindfully observed without judgement” (Pellizzer & Wade 2023 p. 437). Ultimately, we argue that body neutrality is a limiting practice in times of trauma in two major ways. First, body neutrality assumes a body that ends at where the skin does, rather than theorizing bodies as relational. We instead agree with theorist Erin Manning who defines the body as “a field-effect in a complex relational milieu that includes the sense of its limits—a body-envelope—but in no way stops there” (2016 p.113). In other words, the body is always relational and is both self-contained in the skin, but also porous, affected and affecting. A performance studies approach to body neutrality helps examine, illustrate, contest, and shape this relational body. Second, and related, we argue that there are times when we should offer critique on the changes in our bodies, especially when those changes are wrought by the trauma of gun violence. Body neutrality should not lead to neutrality about the environments we find our bodies in.
Recommended Citation
McFarland, Cristiana and Richards, Joseph
(2025)
"Can a collective body be neutral? A critical commentary on "body neutrality" in times of shared campus trauma,"
Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 5:
Iss.
4, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol5/iss4/5
