Comfortable Bodies: Sedentary Affects

Abstract

IntroductionFor edgy social scientists,`comfort' is a rather conservative word. To remain within our comfort zone' is something that we are led to believe will at best impede our progress and at worst suffocate our creativity, stifle our development, and prevent new avenues from being opened up. To draw on slightly hackneyed business rhetoric, to act outside one's comfort zone, to think`outside the box', is a highly desirable and necessary hallmark of`independent and self-motivated' individuals (Chappell, 2006, page 26). It indicates a willingness to be productive, characteristic of Western individualism, not to mention the aesthetico-political impulses of the avant-garde. To remain comfortable in this situation is negative and equates to complacency and a lack of sustained effort: a highly undesirable sensibility. Yet, the situation becomes more complex when, at the same time, to be comfortable may be a highly desirable sensation. The feeling of comfort may be extremely beneficial, a sensation through which an individual may derive a sense of security. Individuals may remain within their comfort zone precisely because it is a pleasant feeling. Conversely, to be uncomfortable is regarded as a highly undesirable sensibility and something that should be minimised at all costs. This paradox is made increasingly complex when different forms of comfort are considered. To be uncomfortable in an undesirable social situation may be, on the face of it, different to the discomfort experienced through a pain in the head. Nevertheless, whilst these two examples appear disparate, the sensations of both are felt through the body: the body is at the nexus of these sensibilities. Comfort is, therefore, a highly complex sensibility and one that requires sustained attention to the nuances therein. Through this paper I would like to focus on corporeal comfort as a complex bodily sensibility. I want to consider what comfort is and how comfort works to affect bodies in multiple and heterogenous ways. While introducing and acknowledging this complexity, I focus on one particular aspect of bodily comfort that will allow an exploration of a particular corporeal configuration. Through this piece, I explore sitting as a bodily configuration where a desirable sensibility of comfort can potentially be attained. Sitting provides an ideal framework through which to explore the nuances of comfort, how it can be achieved, and, conversely, how it can subside.

‘You’re all so close you might as well sit in a circle … ’ Carceral geographies of intimacy and comfort in the prison visiting room

“…In relation to comfort as affective relation between body and chair, he noted both that bodies have to 'work with chairs' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1703 to effect the sensation of comfort, and that the chair 'also acts on the body, thus mediating the nature of affect experienced through the body' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1705. Importantly, Bissell contended that the act of sitting, far from being a subordinate state so banal as to be overlooked, is 'more often than not, the condition of possibility for the conduct and continuation' of key everyday tasks, such as eating, driving, typing, and so on (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1703. Since in our empirical example, the predominant bodily comportment is sitting, we draw in further detail on Bissell's work in analysing the ways in which corporeal comfort is 'precisely the background condition' (Bissell 2008) for intimacy.…”

“…Addressing a lack of consensus about what comfort actually is, he advanced three definitions; comfort as objective capacity, as aesthetic sensibility, and as affective resonance. Considering the latter in greatest detail, he considered comfort as not solely an attribute of an object, but as a complex set of affective resonances that circulate through a variety of tactile, visual and audio media (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1701. In relation to comfort as affective relation between body and chair, he noted both that bodies have to 'work with chairs' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1703 to effect the sensation of comfort, and that the chair 'also acts on the body, thus mediating the nature of affect experienced through the body' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1705.…”

“…Considering the latter in greatest detail, he considered comfort as not solely an attribute of an object, but as a complex set of affective resonances that circulate through a variety of tactile, visual and audio media (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1701. In relation to comfort as affective relation between body and chair, he noted both that bodies have to 'work with chairs' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1703 to effect the sensation of comfort, and that the chair 'also acts on the body, thus mediating the nature of affect experienced through the body' (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1705. Importantly, Bissell contended that the act of sitting, far from being a subordinate state so banal as to be overlooked, is 'more often than not, the condition of possibility for the conduct and continuation' of key everyday tasks, such as eating, driving, typing, and so on (Bissell 2008(Bissell , 1703.…”

“…We are informed in this understanding by the work of geographer Bissell (2008), who offered a conceptualization of corporeal comfort as complex bodily sensibility, and extended this conceptualization to consider the chair as the 'nexus of an assemblage comprising body and proximate environment' (1699). Addressing a lack of consensus about what comfort actually is, he advanced three definitions; comfort as objective capacity, as aesthetic sensibility, and as affective resonance.…”

“…Using as an interpretive lens recent geographical conceptualizations of comfort as affective complex (Bissell 2008), we seek to better understand how the spaces provided for prison visitation affect the doing of intimacy in ways that arguably detract from the potential benefits of visitation in supporting the wellbeing of both prisoners and visitors.…”