Bodily Inscriptions

Beverly Skeggs says that the working-class is physically marked as a result of the physical labor they have to partake in along with the fact that they are unable to afford certain things like dental care or new clothing. These physical inscriptions visibly label working-class people as working-class and impact women the most because of the beauty standards that women are constantly compared to and attempting to measure up to.

Beauty standards are not only often racist and fatphobic, but they also take part in furthering the divide between the lower class and every other economic stratum. For some reason, in our society, it is not enough to economically oppress someone and keep them from things like proper medical attention due to high costs. It is necessary to go a step further and tell them they do not look attractive enough to be considered desirable in our society.

In Frozen River, the opening scene that pans slowly up Ray’s body as she is getting dressed shows how she has aged far faster than she should have given the age of her children. The bags under her eyes that are clearly from exhaustion accentuate how physically tired the rest of her body looks. She is thin, demonstrating a clear lack of nutrients due to the inability to afford anything other than popcorn for dinner. By choosing to show audiences this clip of her basically naked, vulnerably exposed, the director is not only showing us the physical toll poverty has taken on her body. Viewers are also penetrating an intimate experience in her life by being able to perceive her so directly which seems to parallel the ways in which physical inscriptions sometimes serve as an invitation into the personal life of the “marked” person.

Seeing people wear certain uniforms or have certain ailments that are only still present in their life because they were unable to receive proper medical care when it first occurred can signal lower-class status. This can go the opposite way. Someone can look at another person walking down the street, see that they are wearing Christian Louboutins, and know they are wealthy. However, the latter is a choice. More often than not, people of the working class are not purposely conveying their class status to observers. The inscription is just part of being in the working class. People of higher classes are choosing to convey to others that they belong to a distinct class, one that is not widely considered shameful. When bystanders can tell the class status of a wealthy person, it is because the wealthy person is allowing it. Working-class people do not enjoy this same privacy and control over their physical appearance and thus how they are perceived by others. By making one of our first encounters with Ray be her in a very vulnerable state, the director was immediately creating this parallel between the film and the uncomfortable, voyeuristic way in which working-class life is often viewed. As if these are people who do not get to consent to which aspects of their lives will be shared with the world.