Somatic norm theory
Somatic norm theory, developed by Dutch sociologist Harry Hoetink in the 1970s, examines how physical ideals within multiracial societies shape perceptions of beauty and desirability based on the dominant group's characteristics. This theory posits that each society develops a "somatic norm," which reflects a complex set of physical traits that are culturally accepted as the ideal. Over time, individuals, including those from subordinate groups, may internalize these norms, influencing their preferences towards the dominant group's appearance. This internalization can perpetuate social separation across different skin colors and ethnic backgrounds. Hoetink highlighted the differences in racial perceptions between societies, noting that the binary view of race in the United States starkly contrasts with the more fluid understanding of race in Caribbean and Latin American contexts. In contemporary discussions, theorists like Stephanie Fetta have expanded on Hoetink’s ideas, incorporating insights from sociology, neuroscience, and psychology to explore the psychological dimensions of somatic norms and their impact on behavior. Overall, somatic norm theory provides a framework for understanding the social construction of race and beauty standards within diverse cultural landscapes.
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Somatic norm theory
Dutch sociologist Harry Hoetink (1931-2005) presented his somatic norm theory of race relations in his 1973 book, Slavery and Race Relations in the Americas: Comparative Notes on Their Nature and Nexus. A somatic norm is a physical ideal that every multiracial society has developed over time, patterned after the appearance of the dominant group in that society. In an earlier work, The Two Variants in Caribbean Race Relations: A Contribution to the Sociology of Segmented Societies (1967), Hoetink defined the somatic norm image as "the complex of physical (somatic) characteristics which are accepted by a group as its norm and ideal." This image is a product of each individual society's development and guides members of that society in developing their personal ideals of what they find beautiful or desirable. Over time, according to Hoetink, even members of subordinate groups are, to some extent, socialized to prefer the appearance of the somatic norm to their own. Thus, somatic norms tend to preserve the separation that exists between individuals of different skin color or ethnic backgrounds, albeit to differing degrees. Hoetink asserted that in societies such as the United States, where race has historically been viewed as a dichotomy between "White" and "non-White" (and therefore "Black"), this distinction is more entrenched than in many Caribbean and Latin American societies, for example, where race is seen more as a continuum and, thus, the "somatic distance," or subjective degrees of difference, between racial or ethnic groups is not so great.
Other important theorists have expanded the somatic theory of human behavior in the twenty-first century. For example, Stephanie Fetta incorporated components of sociology, neuroscience, and psychological theories of behavior to address the theory as a psychobiological construct. Her work Shaming into Brown: Somatic Transactions of Race in Latina/o Literature (2018) explores racism and human behavior from this perspective.
Bibliography
Bergner, Daniel. "Want to Fix Your Mind? Let Your Body Talk." The New York Times, 18 May 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/magazine/somatic-therapy.html. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
Fetta, Stephanie. Shaming into Brown: Somatic Transactions of Race in Latina/o Literature. Ohio State UP, 2018.
Hall, Ronald E. An Historical Analysis of Skin Color Discrimination in America: Victimism among Victim Group Populations. Springer, 2010.
Hoetink, Harmannus. Slavery and Race Relations in the Americas: Comparative Notes on Their Nature and Nexus. Harper, 1973.
Lopez, David, and Yen Espiritu. "Panethnicity in the United States: A Theoretical Framework." Asian American Interethnic Relations and Politics, edited by Franklin Ng, 1998, Routledge, 2013, pp. 240–66.
Oostindie, Gert, editor. Ethnicity in the Caribbean: Essays in Honor of Harry Hoetink. 1996. Amsterdam UP, 2005.
Telles, Edward, and Flores René. “Not Just Color: Whiteness, Nation, and Status in Latin America.” Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 93, no. 3, 2010, pp. 411–49, doi.org/10.1215/00182168-2210858. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.