Yup, it pretty much is Bourdieu and I think it ties specifically into his concept of habitus. Idea being that your body (including how it looks) is a product of the way you use it and it is in effect produced by the culture and environment in which you live. Obviously people don't develop new extra muscles (!) but everything from what you eat, how you sit, the kind of work you do, how you carry things, etc etc has an effect, and it is largely cultural. For example, my Japanese friend has very flexible tendons and hamstrings, tons of range of movement down, and she pointed out the other day that squatting is really normal in Japan - it's how you use the loo. Similarly she can sit kneeling very comfortably, because when she was growing up that was "good" sitting. Body language is cultural - the "natural" way to beckon to someone in my culture is the complete opposite to the "natural" way in other cultures.
|