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The Battle Over Supreme Leadership of the Body

The human body is one of the most important aspects behind being
human. When performing our daily functions and facing the challenges
life throws at us, we often assume that our bodies are under our
immediate jurisdiction and shall in all cases always operate as we please.
However, that is only one side of this long-standing argument as the
opposing side suggests that there are indeed cases out there in the
universe where our body is influenced by factors other than our
jurisdiction. Readings such as “Techniques of the Body” by Marcel
Mauss, “On Immunity” by Eula Bliss, “Inventing Human Rights” by
Lynn Hunt, and The Rise of the Do-It-Yourself Fecal Transplant by
Brenda Goodman, MA present a variety of point of views on the topic at
hand from a societal and medical perspective making one really ponder
to what extent do we control our bodies?
If living in the era of COVID-19 taught me one thing is that at least
from the medical perspective our bodies well-being is interlinked with
that of the bodies of fellow human beings. Everywhere around us we see
campaigns encouraging mass-vaccination, why is that the case? Why not
leave everyone to their personal preference besides if I choose to
vaccinate myself, I have built a shield around myself and would not be
affected by the decisions of others. Medicine, however, has proved this
notion to be blatantly incorrect. Vaccine effectiveness was found to
prominently depend on the vaccination status of the bodies belonging to
one’s immediate population in a phenomenon known as herd immunity.
“We owe our health to our Neighbors” (Bliss, On Immunity). That is
because, a vaccinated individual inhabiting a widely unvaccinated
population puts himself/herself at risk of vaccine failure which is highly
probable to occur since humans are not perfect and the possibility of
human-error never ceases to exist. This scenario clearly conveys that the
health of one’s body is not only affected by their own decisions but also
the decisions of others transitively the bodies of others.
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Fate is one of human’s most significant concerns ever since the

initiation of life on Earth. Its everyone’s dream to be able to control the
fate of his/her body yet this dream has been deemed to be unrealistic. In
Greek Mythology, Achilles’s mother performed a variety of endeavors
to make sure her son’s body was not vulnerable to fate. These included
dipping him in the water of the River Stys making his entire body
immune except for the part by which she held him. Defying all the odds,
Achilles’s fate was determined by that very spot when it was hit by a
bullet leaving his body dead (Bliss, On Immunity). One might say that
this viewpoint garners its support entirely from the world of Mythology
and can therefore be easily refuted. However, a simple example from our
daily life is sufficient to prove otherwise. When driving, one has the
fates of two bodies in his hands that of the human driving in front and
behind him. Another example further proving our inability to control our
body’s fate, is when we catch the flu as its beyond our power to declare
it to be mild instead of life threatening or the opposite, yet we are in the
passenger seat spectating.
Techniques are essential tools utilized by humans to navigate the
various walks of life. The techniques of the body or in more simpler
terms the way we choose to conduct our bodies is the first of all
techniques to be encountered by humans in their lifetimes. Upon
observation one would realize that these techniques are not unique to
everyone yet are common between those who share certain
characteristics such as the same population, sex, age, or religion. This
point can be proven through various examples. The British Army
famous for its ability to march with a certain step and frequency in
coordination with their anthem/music. When asked to march to French
music, the British Army was in disarray losing entirely both frequency
and rhythm. This signifies that their ability to control their bodies to
march in a certain manner was not dependent on their marching
education yet merely on habit and routine (Mauss, Techniques of the
body). Every society has its own unique body techniques that it has
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developed based on life’s demands. For example, techniques of sleep

differ based on the resources available. While some populations have
access to beds others have mats instead. In all cases, the individual is
forced to abide by the technique without any intervention from their end
(Mauss, Techniques of the body). Age is also quite a detrimental factor
when considering our degree of control over our bodies. It is a
psychologically accepted fact that as humans age their bodies weaken.
Therefore, it is no surprise that a young man can get his body to squat
better than that of an older man (Mauss, Techniques of the body).
Religions also teach their followers certain techniques that differentiate
them from the rest of the pack. In a dining hall, one can easily recognize
a devout Muslim as he/she would never be seen eating with their left
hand (Mauss, Techniques of the body). One’s assigned sex at birth has
also been found to impose certain bodily actions on him/her without
their immediate control. When having both a group of men and women
close their fist, one would easily perceive the difference in their thumb
placement based on gender (Mauss, Techniques of the body)
The emergence of human rights was complemented by the idea of
self-containment. Under self-containment (obvious from the wording),
humans strived to keep their bodies to themselves. Steps to achieve self-
containment, included refraining from the release of excretions such as
urine in public. Instead, humans began ordering portraits of themselves
in aim of showing off their body in its best light. Homes started
including private bathrooms for the first time further emphasizing the
individual’s full control over his/her body. The only occasions when
self-containment was breached were to disrupt a disliked performance or
exhibition. This clarifies the degree of confidence and control every
human being has over his/her body.
With the progression of time, new viruses have emerged at a faster
rate than that of medical breakthrough. In response to such a
phenomenon, some individuals of the human population believing in
their ability to fully control their bodies put their hope in fecal transplant
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(the process of transferring fecal bacteria and other microbes from a

healthy individual into another individual). One patient known by the
name Duff was diagnosed with incurable intestinal failure by his
doctors. Instead of taking their diagnosis for granted and waiting to die
peacefully. Duff chose to take matters into his own hand and performed
at-home fecal transplant and was able to save his body from what was
thought to be inevitable death (Goodman, The Rise of the Do-It-Yourself
Fecal Transplant).
In conclusion, whether or not we have full, boundless control over
our bodies is set to remain a highly debated topic. The process of
modern vaccination is one aspect that denotes our inability to fully
control the well-being of our bodies as it is dependent equally on our
decisions and those of the herd. Humans have attempted to control their
life paths and the fate of their bodies for as long as time however that
has proven to be impossible. Another characteristic that proves our
inability to control our bodies are the techniques used by us to conduct
them. That is because, they are predetermined by our local societies
rather than our choices. The increasing popularity of self-containment
demonstrates human’s ability to fully control their body. Finally, the do-
it-yourself-fecal-transplant is an entire medical revolution based on the
notion that we possess full dominance over our bodies.