Somewhere in the last couple of years, I was near a city where the Body Worlds display (or one of the copy-cat shows) was stopping. After thinking about this for years, I’ve had enough of the ads (as it keeps travelling around the country), so here you go.
There are two primary ethical objections to these displays:
1) Our common humanity is denigrated by dissected bodies being displayed to public view as a matter of entertainment and moneymaking.
From a Christian perspective, the body is an integral part of what it means to be human. The Bible describes God forming Adam’s body and breathing life into it, and says that Adam was made “in the image of God.” To turn the human body into an object to be displayed for the enjoyment of crowds makes this crowning miracle of creation nothing more than any other animal displayed in a zoo.
But even if you wish to avoid a religious rationale, surely we can agree that the concept of Body World is of a piece with the modern entertainment culture, where horror films like Saw, Saw II, and Saw III (not to mention all the rest of their ilk) are viewed as acceptable amusements. Violence perpetrated on human bodies is now just a way to pass the time, not something revulsive. Similarly, Body World teaches us to accept the image of human bodies dissected, distorted, displayed – for our entertainment.
One of the greatest nightmares of medical school, gross anatomy, for centuries an illegal secret, and until recently at least a private activity, has been turned into mass entertainment for the crowds. I cannot express to you what it was like to cut up a human body, to destroy what another human person had used to live in, to love with, to see the sky from, the feel the ground by. . . At least I had the comfort, the excuse, that I was doing it for a reason – to be able to help hundreds of other people live, love, see, feel, a little longer, a little more comfortably. And it was, at times, a paltry excuse. To saw a skull open? To split a pelvis in half? To peel the skin off a face? To split a hand into useless threads? Who can do that calmly and claim to be still human himself? These phrases are the description of a monster’s activity. At least we had a reason; and I think our humanity survived.
But what excuse is there, for the general public, to go and stare at bodies split open, splayed apart –amusingly posed? If you want to know what your inside is like, read Grey’s Anatomy; get a plastic model from the school supply stores; read Netter’s, if you prefer color. If you want to know how the thing works, there is no scarcity of physiology books, in all ranges of readability. The craze about Body World has nothing to do with a sudden hunger for anatomical knowledge. It stems from a fascination with the forbidden, the weird, the indecent.
Like the rest of the violence and indecency which is now commonplace in our society, the Body World displays serve the purpose of destroying our conscience and filching our reverence for humanity as something separate from the animal kingdom.
2) These particular humans almost certainly had no say in the disposition of their bodies; and even if you allow that it might be all right to use bodies this way, if their owners had knowingly and completely consented, it is wrong to participate in the exploitation of individuals who in their lifetimes were the victims of a cruel state.
We all ought to have known better than to think that Chinese bodies were come by honestly (and you had only to look at their faces to know they were Chinese). Recently ABC’s 20/20 removed the possibility of further self-deception by investigating the body-selling trade in China. Protest as he may, the inventor of plastination cannot deny that his original bodies came from a shady source, as he is now loudly promising not to use unethically obtained bodies anymore. The news stories mention thousands of people currently offering their bodies to be used in these displays, but the fact remains that there is no good documentation of the origin of the bodies that are currently touring the country. And for anybody who thinks any Chinese person whose body is being used actually freely consented to this arrangement, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
But, even if all the unethically obtained bodies were cremated, the objections in my first point would still be reason enough not to see these exhibits.
For a much better-written exposition of the moral objections, please see Thomas Hibbs’ essay, “Dead Body Porn”.
May 19, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I agree with you. I went to see one of the exhibits, and while I was amazed by the masterful dissections, I was deeply disturbed by the side-show atmosphere. While the exhibit purports to be “educational,” it seemed to me mostly about selling merchandise.
I’m glad I went, but kind of wish I hadn’t (if that makes any sense).
May 19, 2008 at 10:47 pm
First of all, I love Jesus. I value my Christianity above all else. Does that make me a monster for dissecting a cadaver last year and LOVING it?
I respect a lot of what you write, and I find most of it humorous and educational. But this post bothers me a bit.
I dissected a cadaver last year because I was curious what the human body is like inside. And when I was finished, I was absolutely astounded at the complexity that is a human. I don’t think I would have ever gathered that appreciation unless I had participated in the class. Netter can never truly show you what the body is like, nor can any of the other anatomy books. Besides, aren’t they all (with exception of the hand-drawn ones) just pictures of bodies dissected similar to Body Worlds?
Overall, I choose to think that seeing a dissected cadaver just emphasizes the love and time and intricacy God has put into each of our bodies. To me this exhibit reveres the bodies God has given us, and if putting them on display can cause other people to be awed as well…I say go for it. Maybe they’ll even see the divinity of God through the exhibit.
At any rate though, I welcome discussion and would love to hear your thoughts on my POV.
May 20, 2008 at 7:35 am
first off, love your blog! but i have to respectfully disagree with this post…a few years back i saw the body worlds exhibit in chicago and thought it was an amazing experience. i felt that the exhibit was respectfully done, and it was also cool to see all the doctors there with their kids explaining to them everything that they were seeing. at the time i was a pre-med, so the first half of the exhibit was quite medically oriented, and it was neat to see all that as well. (i’m sure that since you are a surgery resident, you’ve probably seen all that before!)
i feel that us younger americans are quite prudish when it comes to looking at and dealing with death. we haven’t had to grow up during a “real” war, experience it on our own turf, or have some crazy epidemic hit us, and this exhibit is a way i to expose us to the natural end of life.
after typing up all this, i guess it just depends on what point of view you have going into the exhibit…do you like looking at “freaky stuff”? or do you view this as a humbling and/or educational experience?
May 20, 2008 at 12:29 pm
This article was a breath of fresh air.
When I took gross anatomy, I could not find more dull way to pass my time. I found the fear of failing and becoming a loser to overwhelm any sense of disgust or remorse at the sight of a dead human being. Finally when it was time to bisect the skull, I was chosen to saw. I found the manual labor to be relaxing. Finally something that I was good at.
Recalling hundreds of arbitrary labels in Latin that people in the past attached to parts of the human body I would rather not see was a nightmare. Why anyone would pay to see this stuff is beyond me. I don’t like horror movies for the same reason. I find the bad guys to be scary and the anatomy shots to be boring.
If only I had the common sense to muster up the normal revulsion for the inner bits, I would have saved ten years of my life and a mountain of debt.
Thankfully, I finally wised up, and I dropped out of the program. Now I sit in an office where I have time to comment on other people’s blogs.
May 20, 2008 at 1:33 pm
dust to dust and ashes to ashes. i dissected dust and ashes in my second year, but i had respect because of what it once was to someone else. and i loved every second of dissection.
i also do not like the concept of displaying bodies that used to be people. i would not give consent for my body to be displayed in some sideshow and i doubt there are many people who would be happy that that’s where they found eternal ‘rest’.
however, the argument about human bodies being so different to animals i find interesting. the similarities are undeniable. i don’t therefore understand why this is denied. when god made us in his image, isn’t that pointing to the fact that we have a spirit, like god and unlike animals. to me the physical is so similar it is like splitting hairs to claim they are so different.
May 20, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I really love your blog. I believe that you often have interesting, and very different, perspectives than most people. It’s refreshing, and always makes me think. However, I must respectfully disagree with you. I cannot attest to the “side-show” atmosphere of Body Worlds, as I’ve never seen it, but I was in Gross Anatomy.
I started out as an Occupational Therapy major, and part of the program included one summer session in Gross Anatomy between our sophomore and junior years. By the beginning of my sophomore year, I had already known there was no way I would last in my OT program (I hated it), but I stayed put just for Gross – I was so excited to see what a body looks like from the inside. No amount of reading or pictures could prepare a person for the beauty that is the human body.
I was in this class at a time where I was struggling with many views I had grown up with, a big one being religion. This course showed me G-d, so to speak. It helped me regain the reverence in which I once held him, and that I thought I had lost.
And it also inspired me to go to become a surgeon!
May 20, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Little too Christian there for me…..Back off the god squad mentality and maybe i can take you seriously.
May 20, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Re to Future Doc: Well, you can’t really ask Dr. Alice to back off from her Christian opinion and that you don’t have to take it seriously LOL. This is her blog after all, right? Tolerance is a virtue you will probably find useful when you start to work as a doctor. You won’t always run into the things you like or even agree with; you just have to take them just as they are, you see.
I love my anatomy classes and like many commentators here, don’t really see the conflict between our faith and the exhibition. God says that our bodies are formed from the dust of the earth, and that they are temporary and perishable. Even so, the complexity of it that we learn from anatomy (along with Body World, the Visible Man/Woman Project, etc.) makes me appreciate His creation even more.
About the commercialization of such exhibit, that’s probably another story; bloody capitalism. “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar; give God what belongs to God.”
May 20, 2008 at 7:14 pm
First, a clarification, since I seem to have confused everybody:
I liked gross anatomy, mostly, once I got past the first week, and then later once we stopped sawing the skull open. To me, it showed the beauty and delicacy of God’s creation. It was an essential part of becoming a doctor, and continues to be foundational to my surgical training.
What I was trying to say is that it should only be acceptable for people in the medical professions to do this. Another human being is not a thing to delve into lightly, without some solid benefit to be derived. There’s a big difference between medical students dissecting a body, once, to learn, and then respectfully burying or cremating it, and a gawking crowd coming to be entertained by the skillful poses of the cadavers which are kept forever on display.
frylime – You’re quite right that our society fears death and tries to avoid acknowledging its existence. However, I don’t think that an idealized display of perfectly preserved bodies does anything to help us deal with this reality. Death in actuality is ugly, final, and ends in complete corruption.
Leroy – Sorry, I love the Latin labels. orbicularis oris? flexor digitorum superficialis? extensor hallucis longus? Absolutely poetic. 🙂 But also a sign of the fact that these things are part of a guild’s private knowledge.
Bongi – Exactly. Part of the awe-inspiring effect of gross anatomy was being able to see the death certificate, and know what this person had died from, at what age, and so on. We also knew that they had specifically chosen to give their bodies to science; and not just to science, but to our medical school. It felt like a very personal gift. And when we were done, we laid them to rest, which I think is another important factor.
Shirah – Glad to hear anatomy had such a good meaning for you. See my clarification. 🙂
Future doc – Thanks for stopping by. I thought I actually did a good job of giving two lines of reasoning. And hey, back off the skepticism, yourself. 😉 If you want to talk about why you think a Christian (or Christ himself) can’t be taken seriously, I would be happy to talk farther; post a comment anywhere, or email.
Robert – Again, admiring and learning about part of creation, good; commercializing it for people who come to be entertained, as much if not more than to be educated, not good.
May 20, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Yes, ma’am; thanks for the pointer 🙂
May 21, 2008 at 5:01 am
What you posted is disturbing. If these were true, there is something to be done.
May 21, 2008 at 7:26 am
Is your problem actually with the exhibition or is it with the societal responses to it (including the marketing department’s)?
Parts of the Bible are quite violent (babies heads being smashed against rocks in God’s name-Ps. 137) and sexually provocative (Song of Solomon). We can censor the Bible or learn from it. Unfortunately, censoring denies access to those who can learn from it. While others use the Bible to justify all kinds of harm to others, which makes me angry, I’d rather deal with that than not have it available.
With Body Wars, as with the BIble, I guess I see value in adding salt and light to the situation rather than removing it.
May 21, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Troy – The way your question is phrased kind of makes a false dilemma. I object to the method of the exhibition and the response that it encourages, rather than to the mere idea of studying dissected bodies. As you say, the Bible clearly shows that there is a place for considering violence and sex and so on. But those are not shown as objects of amusement, but serious.
Studying the human body if it’s part of your calling is right, and glorifying to God. Viewing artistic displays (because it is art; that’s part of the visual appeal, how you can pose a body, and rearrange the insides) for entertainment, and using bodies whose original owners almost certainly did not consent to it, is a disturbing change to the old-fashioned respect for privacy and decency.
May 21, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I have to disagree with you Dr. Alice. I went to see the BODIES exhibit last year, and I originally did have some concern about it.
At this particular exhibit, which I visited with a group of other students, we first recieved a lecture about what we were about to see. They explained where the bodies came from etc. and asked us to keep our voices down, and not to touch the bodies, out of respect. The lights were dim. The articles were scientific in nature. And for the most part the bodies were posed so you could see the intended system (ex, one arm up and one down to make all the muscles visible)
I do not believe the purpose of this exhibit was entertainment. Sure, it will bring in funds, as does any sort of museum. The difference between this and a horrific show of violence is that the diginty of the bodies was respected and the staff where very informative about the EDUCATIONAL aspect of the exhibit. It’s not a hollywood production. It is scientists passionate about the species that they study, humans.
On a further note, I’m not sure I can agree with your moral delemma. The human body is a beautiful thing, and I don’t see the harm in understanding it further, whether or not your are a medical student shouldn’t matter. I am the possession of a body, my own, and I have the right to understand how it works, non? The body is not “a guild’s private knowledge.”
May 22, 2008 at 4:34 am
“What I was trying to say is that it should only be acceptable for people in the medical professions to do this.”
I completely disagree with this. Knowledge shouldn’t be kept solely to those in the medical field. The knowledge of what is going on inside the human body should be available to anyone who wishes to learn it.
As for the religious objections, isn’t the body merely a shell? Once you are dead your soul is gone, the shell is no longer the person, and is burned, buried, studied, etc, as per the wishes of the family.
May 22, 2008 at 9:10 am
I agree with Dr. Alice, that our society should strongly examine the correctness of the Body World displays. I agree with the reasons she presented.
As a Christian, I do not believe the body is “just a shell.” In the Christian viewpoint, a person’s natural state of existence on earth is a union of his or her immaterial nature (soul), with his or her material nature (body). That union (between soul and body) is temporarily separated at death, but Christians believe the body and soul will be reunited in the resurrection. (You may wish to read 2 Corinthians 5 for the Apostle Paul’s stunning description of what the new resurrected body will be like.) This is the reason, in the Christian viewpoint; the body is treated with respect. This is also why I believe it is unethical to display the body of a person after his or her death without that person’s prior informed and explicit consent.
February 18, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I was just wondering what would happen in the future, if and when the exhibits are over. What would happen to the the exhibits at that time?
June 2, 2013 at 2:46 pm
I would any day let my own body be on display at bodyworlds. I dont care how or why. When i am dead, my body is a useless piece of nothing, but I do still have something to offer to this world, my flesh…. i would even do the sex scenes or anything for that matter, even if it was a complete freakshow. My body is just a piece of dead matter like a cow or a snake or a stupid stinking turd. That which is me, that which made me unique special and loved is long departed after my death…What can a body be more than a hunk of meat??
July 1, 2013 at 12:12 pm
My opinion: This is art and the artist justifies his weird and twisted idea’s by hiding behind science. The “educational” bits of information are brief and explain the basics in very little detail. To legally display his works of art, he places little “paragraphs” next to his “sculptures”. I made the mistake of giving in to my own irrational curiosity – I went to see it and took my kids with me… I deeply regret helping to boost that freaks already swolen bank account!! My kids were horified, I had good intentions and believed I was taking them on an inciteful outing, instead I took them a place that has scarred their memories!
I read on the official website that the same results can not be achieved with models… I beg to differ! The plastinated bodies do not depict the human body at all. I believe that a well crafted model with attention to detail will look more realistic. Organs, bone, tissue, skin can all be precisely immetated using the latest clays, polymers, rubbers, synthetic materials.
In short – there are numerous other ways to show the general public what the human body looks like inside without freakishly displaying real dead people in life like poses!
I am not deeply religeous nor am I easily sickened by graphic things… But I found this “house of horrors” to be totally wrong. Why not just open the local morgues to the public for a fee? Because death is ugly and until you lay on your death bed, you have no reason to be faced with your own mortality! People living their every day lives should not be shown death!
September 13, 2013 at 1:34 am
I can not believe that it really came across to you as a house of horrors….. To me it was a wonderful experience I still think about daily. And yes I went because it is art not because I wanted to see some scientific thing. Although I can say that it is very informative indeed. Death is just a part of life and a very big part, except it. We all die your body is just a hunk of meat, but a very interesting and beautiful hunk of meat. Why don’t we just open the morgue’s to the public?? Good question, we all die, why should death be so removed and taboo? Why should we pull our faces in disgust at a dead body yet we kill and slaughter millions of animals to eat each year? “ever day lives should not be shown death!” why not? Do you find death depressing or wrong? Scary?? Yes indeed it is scary because we don’t know what it is like. So death is fine when a plant dies. a fly dies, a mosquito, a cow, a pet even but not a human? Then it suddenly becomes gross grotesque, evil even? You are entitled to your opinion but can we at least agree that it is a duality?
Btw I am not some tree hugging hippy or emo kid or wierd lurking goth. I am a clean faced young adult man who eats meat and drinks beer but I have a aweful problem with dualities.
Enjoy your day.