Cressida J. Heyes
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195310535
- eISBN:
- 9780199871445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310535.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
This chapter shows how cosmetic surgery has evolved to becoming regarded as part of the “normal” process in the quest for identity transformation, arguing that an inner self is externalized so that ...
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This chapter shows how cosmetic surgery has evolved to becoming regarded as part of the “normal” process in the quest for identity transformation, arguing that an inner self is externalized so that the aesthetic body can better represent the person within. It also believes that feminist ethical engagement will need to respond to this talk of self-transformation in kind, providing a way of responding to the suffering cosmetic surgery claims to alleviate, and recognizing the necessity and potential of working on the self as a feminist strategy. Feminists need a richer ethical grammar and vocabulary for talking about our own desires and suffering in this context. This demand for a feminist ethical language arises in part from nearly a century of cultural manufacture of a psychology for potential cosmetic surgery recipients. Cosmetic surgery bears a peculiar burden of justification unlike other medical subspecialties. In some cases the rubric of “reconstructive” procedures can be employed — repairing a cleft palate, rebuilding a face after tumor removal, or grafting skin to burns are all seen as legitimate medical measures that have necessary functional and social effects.Less
This chapter shows how cosmetic surgery has evolved to becoming regarded as part of the “normal” process in the quest for identity transformation, arguing that an inner self is externalized so that the aesthetic body can better represent the person within. It also believes that feminist ethical engagement will need to respond to this talk of self-transformation in kind, providing a way of responding to the suffering cosmetic surgery claims to alleviate, and recognizing the necessity and potential of working on the self as a feminist strategy. Feminists need a richer ethical grammar and vocabulary for talking about our own desires and suffering in this context. This demand for a feminist ethical language arises in part from nearly a century of cultural manufacture of a psychology for potential cosmetic surgery recipients. Cosmetic surgery bears a peculiar burden of justification unlike other medical subspecialties. In some cases the rubric of “reconstructive” procedures can be employed — repairing a cleft palate, rebuilding a face after tumor removal, or grafting skin to burns are all seen as legitimate medical measures that have necessary functional and social effects.
Cressida J. Heyes
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195310535
- eISBN:
- 9780199871445
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy
This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, ...
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This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, technologies can step in to change the flesh. Drawing on Wittgenstein's objections to the idea of a private language, and on Foucault's critical account of normalization, this book shows how we have been led to think of ourselves in this way, and suggests that breaking the hold of this picture of the self will be central to our freedom. How should we work on ourselves when so often the kind of self we are urged to be is itself a product of normalization? This question is answered through three case studies that analyze feminist interpretations of transgender politics, the allure of weight-loss dieting, and representations of cosmetic surgery patients. Mixing philosophical argument with personal narrative and analysis of popular culture, the book moves from engagement with Leslie Feinberg on trans liberation, to an auto-ethnography of Weight Watchers meetings, to a reading of Extreme Makeover, to the author's own practice of yoga. The book draws on philosophy, sociology, medicine, cultural studies, and psychology to suggest that these examples, in different ways, are connected to the picture of the somatic subject. Working on the self can both generate new skills and make us more docile; enhance our pleasures and narrow our possibilities; encourage us to take care of ourselves while increasing our dependence on experts. Self transformation through the body can limit us and liberate us at the same time. To move beyond this paradox, the book concludes by arguing that Foucault's last work on ethics provides untapped resources for understanding how we might use our embodied agency to change ourselves for the better.Less
This book argues that we live in an age of somatic subjects, whose authentic identity must be represented through the body. When a perceived mismatch between inner self and outer form occurs, technologies can step in to change the flesh. Drawing on Wittgenstein's objections to the idea of a private language, and on Foucault's critical account of normalization, this book shows how we have been led to think of ourselves in this way, and suggests that breaking the hold of this picture of the self will be central to our freedom. How should we work on ourselves when so often the kind of self we are urged to be is itself a product of normalization? This question is answered through three case studies that analyze feminist interpretations of transgender politics, the allure of weight-loss dieting, and representations of cosmetic surgery patients. Mixing philosophical argument with personal narrative and analysis of popular culture, the book moves from engagement with Leslie Feinberg on trans liberation, to an auto-ethnography of Weight Watchers meetings, to a reading of Extreme Makeover, to the author's own practice of yoga. The book draws on philosophy, sociology, medicine, cultural studies, and psychology to suggest that these examples, in different ways, are connected to the picture of the somatic subject. Working on the self can both generate new skills and make us more docile; enhance our pleasures and narrow our possibilities; encourage us to take care of ourselves while increasing our dependence on experts. Self transformation through the body can limit us and liberate us at the same time. To move beyond this paradox, the book concludes by arguing that Foucault's last work on ethics provides untapped resources for understanding how we might use our embodied agency to change ourselves for the better.
Leigh Turner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199917907
- eISBN:
- 9780199332878
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199917907.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
This chapter describes twenty-seven reported cases of medical tourists who died during or shortly after undergoing cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery abroad since 1993. It limits the analysis to ...
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This chapter describes twenty-seven reported cases of medical tourists who died during or shortly after undergoing cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery abroad since 1993. It limits the analysis to news media reports that were in the public domain and were intended for public consumption. It also offers brief descriptions of these cases of mortality in individuals who traveled abroad and underwent cosmetic or bariatric surgery at international medical facilities. Of the twenty-seven reported deaths, twenty-five of the individuals were women. Eleven individuals had died after receiving health care in Mexico. Four fatalities had taken place in the Dominican Republic. In general, the in-depth case studies indicate strategies that might enhance patient safety, quality of care, disclosure of information, quality of advertising, and protection of patients in the global marketplace for health services. The significance of establishing effective measures for tracking clinical outcomes in medical tourism is also observed.Less
This chapter describes twenty-seven reported cases of medical tourists who died during or shortly after undergoing cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery abroad since 1993. It limits the analysis to news media reports that were in the public domain and were intended for public consumption. It also offers brief descriptions of these cases of mortality in individuals who traveled abroad and underwent cosmetic or bariatric surgery at international medical facilities. Of the twenty-seven reported deaths, twenty-five of the individuals were women. Eleven individuals had died after receiving health care in Mexico. Four fatalities had taken place in the Dominican Republic. In general, the in-depth case studies indicate strategies that might enhance patient safety, quality of care, disclosure of information, quality of advertising, and protection of patients in the global marketplace for health services. The significance of establishing effective measures for tracking clinical outcomes in medical tourism is also observed.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
The term “artificial beauty” (renzaomeinü) became popular in China after a young Chinese woman, Hao Lulu, was dubbed as China’s first “artificial beauty” in 2003.Her story caused an upsurge of ...
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The term “artificial beauty” (renzaomeinü) became popular in China after a young Chinese woman, Hao Lulu, was dubbed as China’s first “artificial beauty” in 2003.Her story caused an upsurge of interest in cosmetic surgery and triggered a nationwide debate in China.This chapter provides a quick yet telling glimpse into the burgeoning cosmetic surgery industry and women’s involvement in it. While some people condemn the pursuit of beauty through cosmetic surgery as women’s submission to the male gaze, Hao Lulu and women like her claim their rights to cosmetic surgery as a way of self-improvement and self-fulfilment. Through discussing controversial debates concerning Hao Lulu, the author explores the newly emerging body politics and market discourse of post-Mao China. The author argues that cosmetic surgery involves both exploitation and liberation of the body, and both enslavement and empowerment of women.Less
The term “artificial beauty” (renzaomeinü) became popular in China after a young Chinese woman, Hao Lulu, was dubbed as China’s first “artificial beauty” in 2003.Her story caused an upsurge of interest in cosmetic surgery and triggered a nationwide debate in China.This chapter provides a quick yet telling glimpse into the burgeoning cosmetic surgery industry and women’s involvement in it. While some people condemn the pursuit of beauty through cosmetic surgery as women’s submission to the male gaze, Hao Lulu and women like her claim their rights to cosmetic surgery as a way of self-improvement and self-fulfilment. Through discussing controversial debates concerning Hao Lulu, the author explores the newly emerging body politics and market discourse of post-Mao China. The author argues that cosmetic surgery involves both exploitation and liberation of the body, and both enslavement and empowerment of women.
WEN Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Cosmetic surgery in China has grown rapidly in recent years of dramatic social transition. Facing fierce competition in all spheres of daily life, more and more women consider cosmetic surgery as an ...
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Cosmetic surgery in China has grown rapidly in recent years of dramatic social transition. Facing fierce competition in all spheres of daily life, more and more women consider cosmetic surgery as an investment to gain “beauty capital” to increase opportunities for social and career success. Building on rich ethnographic data, this book presents the perspectives of women who have undergone cosmetic surgery, illuminating the aspirations behind their choices. The author explores how turbulent economic, socio-cultural and political changes in China since the 1980s have produced immense anxiety that is experienced by women both mentally and physically. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in gender studies, China studies, anthropology and sociology of the body, and cultural studies.Less
Cosmetic surgery in China has grown rapidly in recent years of dramatic social transition. Facing fierce competition in all spheres of daily life, more and more women consider cosmetic surgery as an investment to gain “beauty capital” to increase opportunities for social and career success. Building on rich ethnographic data, this book presents the perspectives of women who have undergone cosmetic surgery, illuminating the aspirations behind their choices. The author explores how turbulent economic, socio-cultural and political changes in China since the 1980s have produced immense anxiety that is experienced by women both mentally and physically. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in gender studies, China studies, anthropology and sociology of the body, and cultural studies.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Through reviewing the development of plastic surgery from Republican China to contemporary China, this chapter discusses how plastic surgery was transmitted from the West and adopted into China’s ...
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Through reviewing the development of plastic surgery from Republican China to contemporary China, this chapter discusses how plastic surgery was transmitted from the West and adopted into China’s social and political settings. How plastic surgery was appropriated into China’s social contexts demonstrates that the boundaries crossed over are not only regional, but also national, political and ideological.Less
Through reviewing the development of plastic surgery from Republican China to contemporary China, this chapter discusses how plastic surgery was transmitted from the West and adopted into China’s social and political settings. How plastic surgery was appropriated into China’s social contexts demonstrates that the boundaries crossed over are not only regional, but also national, political and ideological.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
The anxiety about body image is captured by the ubiquitous consumer culture and the ever-expanding beauty market in China today. Mass media contributes to the commodification of female appearance by ...
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The anxiety about body image is captured by the ubiquitous consumer culture and the ever-expanding beauty market in China today. Mass media contributes to the commodification of female appearance by producing the feeling of imperfection and creating the desire to buy an “ideal beauty”. While some women actively construct their senses of self by consuming various beauty products, including cosmetic surgery, others are passively exploited by the profit-driven market and suffer from dangerous operations such as leg-stretching surgery. Nevertheless, both cases display women’s bodies being targeted by China’s thriving beauty industry.Less
The anxiety about body image is captured by the ubiquitous consumer culture and the ever-expanding beauty market in China today. Mass media contributes to the commodification of female appearance by producing the feeling of imperfection and creating the desire to buy an “ideal beauty”. While some women actively construct their senses of self by consuming various beauty products, including cosmetic surgery, others are passively exploited by the profit-driven market and suffer from dangerous operations such as leg-stretching surgery. Nevertheless, both cases display women’s bodies being targeted by China’s thriving beauty industry.
J. Mark Ramseyer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226281995
- eISBN:
- 9780226282046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226282046.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
Japanese medical malpractice law governs an industry that in many ways differs—radically—from the American health care industry. Before turning to that malpractice law in Chapter 5, consider the ...
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Japanese medical malpractice law governs an industry that in many ways differs—radically—from the American health care industry. Before turning to that malpractice law in Chapter 5, consider the industry itself. It is an industry covered by a national health insurance. To extend that coverage, the government provides a subsidy that raises the demand for medical services. In the face of the increased demand, it then suppresses costs by suppressing prices. 4 illustrates two effects of this national insurance. First, the most talented doctors disproportionately shift into “superfluous” sectors not covered by the national insurance, and there invest heavily in their expertise. Second, both physicians and hospitals lack substantial experience in the complex procedures that lie at the heart of modern medicine. The result is a substantial increase in mortality from strokes and heart attacks.Less
Japanese medical malpractice law governs an industry that in many ways differs—radically—from the American health care industry. Before turning to that malpractice law in Chapter 5, consider the industry itself. It is an industry covered by a national health insurance. To extend that coverage, the government provides a subsidy that raises the demand for medical services. In the face of the increased demand, it then suppresses costs by suppressing prices. 4 illustrates two effects of this national insurance. First, the most talented doctors disproportionately shift into “superfluous” sectors not covered by the national insurance, and there invest heavily in their expertise. Second, both physicians and hospitals lack substantial experience in the complex procedures that lie at the heart of modern medicine. The result is a substantial increase in mortality from strokes and heart attacks.
Abdulaziz Sachedina
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195378504
- eISBN:
- 9780199869688
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195378504.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The chapter deals with the sanctity and integrity of the human body after death. Anatomical dissection and postmortem examinations are a routine part of medical education and diagnostic techniques ...
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The chapter deals with the sanctity and integrity of the human body after death. Anatomical dissection and postmortem examinations are a routine part of medical education and diagnostic techniques that stress the need for such procedure in understanding illnesses and evaluating incompletely known disorders or discovering new diseases. Accordingly, the scope of clinical diagnosis requiring autopsy has expanded beyond the traditionally validated justifications in the classical juridical formulations. One of the major decisions facing a dying person and his family is the possibility of donating organs for transplant. This means allowing surgical procedures that constitute a desecration of the dead in the Shari‘a in order to retrieve an organ. A visible incision into the body or the removal of externally visible or internal organs represents true desecrations. The chapter examines juridical principles that permitted an incision or mutilating procedure for the immediate saving of the life of a patient who is dying of organ failure. The possibility of organ transplantation for saving a critically ill patient did not exist in the past. The relatively high rate of success in organ transplantation has encouraged Muslim jurists to search for legal-ethical justifications to formulate their rulings to keep pace with the demand for such medical procedures, which are already a de facto practice in many hospitals in Muslim countries. All the jurists agree that saving of the life makes it possible to approve lesser evil of desecration for the larger good that such an act promises.Less
The chapter deals with the sanctity and integrity of the human body after death. Anatomical dissection and postmortem examinations are a routine part of medical education and diagnostic techniques that stress the need for such procedure in understanding illnesses and evaluating incompletely known disorders or discovering new diseases. Accordingly, the scope of clinical diagnosis requiring autopsy has expanded beyond the traditionally validated justifications in the classical juridical formulations. One of the major decisions facing a dying person and his family is the possibility of donating organs for transplant. This means allowing surgical procedures that constitute a desecration of the dead in the Shari‘a in order to retrieve an organ. A visible incision into the body or the removal of externally visible or internal organs represents true desecrations. The chapter examines juridical principles that permitted an incision or mutilating procedure for the immediate saving of the life of a patient who is dying of organ failure. The possibility of organ transplantation for saving a critically ill patient did not exist in the past. The relatively high rate of success in organ transplantation has encouraged Muslim jurists to search for legal-ethical justifications to formulate their rulings to keep pace with the demand for such medical procedures, which are already a de facto practice in many hospitals in Muslim countries. All the jurists agree that saving of the life makes it possible to approve lesser evil of desecration for the larger good that such an act promises.
Bernadette Wegenstein
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262232678
- eISBN:
- 9780262301114
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262232678.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
Machinic suture refers to the operations through which the true self can be transformed into a desired human body through augmented realities. This chapter attempts to thematically connect an ...
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Machinic suture refers to the operations through which the true self can be transformed into a desired human body through augmented realities. This chapter attempts to thematically connect an individual’s outer appearance with his or her inner soul. Cosmetic surgery was developed to surgically provide the desired beautiful body to an individual. All over the world, makeovers and reality shows are driving some men and many women to go under the surgeon’s knife in order to appear young, refreshed, and beautiful. This change makes them sociologically more acceptable in their community.Less
Machinic suture refers to the operations through which the true self can be transformed into a desired human body through augmented realities. This chapter attempts to thematically connect an individual’s outer appearance with his or her inner soul. Cosmetic surgery was developed to surgically provide the desired beautiful body to an individual. All over the world, makeovers and reality shows are driving some men and many women to go under the surgeon’s knife in order to appear young, refreshed, and beautiful. This change makes them sociologically more acceptable in their community.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Since China launched its historic process of economic reform and opening up in the late 1970s, women have become vulnerable to the impact of economic restructuring on employment. This chapter focuses ...
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Since China launched its historic process of economic reform and opening up in the late 1970s, women have become vulnerable to the impact of economic restructuring on employment. This chapter focuses on the impact of economic transition and social transformation on women’s choices of cosmetic surgery. It explores why cosmetic surgery is widely considered as an “investment” to gain “beauty capital” among Chinese girls and women. In particular, it explores the phenomenon of Chinese high school and college students rushing to have cosmetic surgery over summer/winter holidays to get an edge in a tight job market.The obsession with female beauty in workplaces and in the marriage market is rooted in traditional Chinese gender norms, where women’s appearances are more emphasized than their ability and talents.Less
Since China launched its historic process of economic reform and opening up in the late 1970s, women have become vulnerable to the impact of economic restructuring on employment. This chapter focuses on the impact of economic transition and social transformation on women’s choices of cosmetic surgery. It explores why cosmetic surgery is widely considered as an “investment” to gain “beauty capital” among Chinese girls and women. In particular, it explores the phenomenon of Chinese high school and college students rushing to have cosmetic surgery over summer/winter holidays to get an edge in a tight job market.The obsession with female beauty in workplaces and in the marriage market is rooted in traditional Chinese gender norms, where women’s appearances are more emphasized than their ability and talents.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
China was integrated into a global market economically as well as culturally. It is exposed to the influence of the omnipresent beauty ideals and consumer culture in the west. The rapid increase of ...
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China was integrated into a global market economically as well as culturally. It is exposed to the influence of the omnipresent beauty ideals and consumer culture in the west. The rapid increase of Barbie sales in China indicates that the global capitalist market has brought China an ultimate fantasy of Western female beauty. Moreover, in recent years, the popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music shows that the global cultural encounter also takes place within the non-Western world. Furthermore, by examining a Chinese cosmetic surgery reality TV show, the chapter explores how the development of the Chinese cosmetic surgery market has been intertwined with transnational flows of people, media, capital and techniques.Less
China was integrated into a global market economically as well as culturally. It is exposed to the influence of the omnipresent beauty ideals and consumer culture in the west. The rapid increase of Barbie sales in China indicates that the global capitalist market has brought China an ultimate fantasy of Western female beauty. Moreover, in recent years, the popularity of Korean TV dramas and pop music shows that the global cultural encounter also takes place within the non-Western world. Furthermore, by examining a Chinese cosmetic surgery reality TV show, the chapter explores how the development of the Chinese cosmetic surgery market has been intertwined with transnational flows of people, media, capital and techniques.
Sharrona Pearl
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226461229
- eISBN:
- 9780226461533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226461533.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter explores the history of cosmetic surgery and its intersections with transplants, showing how FAT is both and neither and something else entirely. Through a deep dive into the literature ...
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This chapter explores the history of cosmetic surgery and its intersections with transplants, showing how FAT is both and neither and something else entirely. Through a deep dive into the literature of cosmetic surgery, the chapter maps the discursive terrain on which face transplants have been charted, discussing the rhetoric of facial manipulation in the context of FAT. If the lack of a face is a debilitating medical condition for which a transplant is the cure, what is the difference between that and a more cosmetic intervention—is it a difference of degree or kind? The narrative differentiating the former from the latter, this chapter shows,is one of risk: the risk of the operation and especially of the lifetime on immunosuppressants while living with a new face. But risk is just an excuse that obscures the true source of our objections. After a discussion of the first transplants and their relationship to the birth of bioethics as a field, the chapter explores the first facial reattachment and reactions to it. It moves to fears of identity transfer and cellular memory, tracking the literary and cultural manifestations of these phenomena, thinking about how these concerns impact conceptions of transplant surgeries more broadly.Less
This chapter explores the history of cosmetic surgery and its intersections with transplants, showing how FAT is both and neither and something else entirely. Through a deep dive into the literature of cosmetic surgery, the chapter maps the discursive terrain on which face transplants have been charted, discussing the rhetoric of facial manipulation in the context of FAT. If the lack of a face is a debilitating medical condition for which a transplant is the cure, what is the difference between that and a more cosmetic intervention—is it a difference of degree or kind? The narrative differentiating the former from the latter, this chapter shows,is one of risk: the risk of the operation and especially of the lifetime on immunosuppressants while living with a new face. But risk is just an excuse that obscures the true source of our objections. After a discussion of the first transplants and their relationship to the birth of bioethics as a field, the chapter explores the first facial reattachment and reactions to it. It moves to fears of identity transfer and cellular memory, tracking the literary and cultural manifestations of these phenomena, thinking about how these concerns impact conceptions of transplant surgeries more broadly.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
People usually assume that cosmetic surgery is a privilege of the elite and the rich. However, women who opt for cosmetic surgery come from diverse groups in China. Using ethnographic cases, this ...
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People usually assume that cosmetic surgery is a privilege of the elite and the rich. However, women who opt for cosmetic surgery come from diverse groups in China. Using ethnographic cases, this chapter highlights the diverse motivations that lead to cosmetic surgery. It reveals that for some Chinese women, cosmetic surgery is less about vanity than practicality. The drastic and dramatic economic, socio-cultural and political changes in China have produced immense anxiety that is experienced by women both mentally and physically.Less
People usually assume that cosmetic surgery is a privilege of the elite and the rich. However, women who opt for cosmetic surgery come from diverse groups in China. Using ethnographic cases, this chapter highlights the diverse motivations that lead to cosmetic surgery. It reveals that for some Chinese women, cosmetic surgery is less about vanity than practicality. The drastic and dramatic economic, socio-cultural and political changes in China have produced immense anxiety that is experienced by women both mentally and physically.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
In an era of globalization, female beauty seems to be increasingly standardized according to the Western ideal. However, the author argues that Chinese women’s preference to “Caucasian features” need ...
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In an era of globalization, female beauty seems to be increasingly standardized according to the Western ideal. However, the author argues that Chinese women’s preference to “Caucasian features” need to be understood in local settings.The author discusses how the “Caucasian features” take on various meanings in China’s historical and social contexts. Furthermore, the author explores how globalization has heightened the sense of local culture and increased the Chinese’s sentiment towards the oriental aspects of Chinese beauty. It reveals the tension between cultural homogenization and heterogenization in terms of the globalization of standards of beauty and women’s pursuit of these standards through cosmetic surgery.Less
In an era of globalization, female beauty seems to be increasingly standardized according to the Western ideal. However, the author argues that Chinese women’s preference to “Caucasian features” need to be understood in local settings.The author discusses how the “Caucasian features” take on various meanings in China’s historical and social contexts. Furthermore, the author explores how globalization has heightened the sense of local culture and increased the Chinese’s sentiment towards the oriental aspects of Chinese beauty. It reveals the tension between cultural homogenization and heterogenization in terms of the globalization of standards of beauty and women’s pursuit of these standards through cosmetic surgery.
Wen Hua
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9789888139811
- eISBN:
- 9789888180691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888139811.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Beauty is about economy; nevertheless, it is also about ideology. This chapter discusses the political implications of China’s booming beauty economy. A main driving force of cosmetic surgery in ...
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Beauty is about economy; nevertheless, it is also about ideology. This chapter discusses the political implications of China’s booming beauty economy. A main driving force of cosmetic surgery in China is pragmatism. This pragmatism is not only produced by the instability of the transitional Chinese social structure, but is also channelled by the Chinese Communist Party’s pragmatic ideology as exemplified by its ”cat theory” and “xiaokang” concepts. It affects an individual’s choice to undergo cosmetic surgery and the state’s policy of developing its beauty industry. Moreover, using the Miss World competition and the ceremony hostesses of Beijing Olympics as examples, the author discusses how beautiful female bodies have been appropriated into a nationalist agenda in China. Female body image and alteration practices have become both a reflection of personal identity, and a site of ideological contestation, of which state power and market forces reconfigure their power structures to form a new bodily regime.Less
Beauty is about economy; nevertheless, it is also about ideology. This chapter discusses the political implications of China’s booming beauty economy. A main driving force of cosmetic surgery in China is pragmatism. This pragmatism is not only produced by the instability of the transitional Chinese social structure, but is also channelled by the Chinese Communist Party’s pragmatic ideology as exemplified by its ”cat theory” and “xiaokang” concepts. It affects an individual’s choice to undergo cosmetic surgery and the state’s policy of developing its beauty industry. Moreover, using the Miss World competition and the ceremony hostesses of Beijing Olympics as examples, the author discusses how beautiful female bodies have been appropriated into a nationalist agenda in China. Female body image and alteration practices have become both a reflection of personal identity, and a site of ideological contestation, of which state power and market forces reconfigure their power structures to form a new bodily regime.
Diana Tietjens Meyers
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140415
- eISBN:
- 9780199871476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140419.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Instead of encountering the faces they have identified with, however ambivalently, many aging women meet a stranger in the mirror – an alien image that is an object of scorn and a constant reminder ...
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Instead of encountering the faces they have identified with, however ambivalently, many aging women meet a stranger in the mirror – an alien image that is an object of scorn and a constant reminder of mortality. What cultural assumptions must be changed in order for women to happily live with their time‐altered visages? Women who have undergone cosmetic surgery use several key strategies to reconnect with their radically transformed faces, and it seems that parallel strategies should serve aging women. Alas, these strategies depend on three untenable assumptions about the self, the expressivity of faces, and the nature of beauty – the identity constancy postulate, the facial legibility postulate, and the goodness‐goes‐with‐beauty postulate. With radical modifications, these postulates could accommo date women's lifelong needs, but it would remain necessary for feminist discursive politics to sever the symbolic association between death and the changes women's faces undergo as they grow old.Less
Instead of encountering the faces they have identified with, however ambivalently, many aging women meet a stranger in the mirror – an alien image that is an object of scorn and a constant reminder of mortality. What cultural assumptions must be changed in order for women to happily live with their time‐altered visages? Women who have undergone cosmetic surgery use several key strategies to reconnect with their radically transformed faces, and it seems that parallel strategies should serve aging women. Alas, these strategies depend on three untenable assumptions about the self, the expressivity of faces, and the nature of beauty – the identity constancy postulate, the facial legibility postulate, and the goodness‐goes‐with‐beauty postulate. With radical modifications, these postulates could accommo date women's lifelong needs, but it would remain necessary for feminist discursive politics to sever the symbolic association between death and the changes women's faces undergo as they grow old.
K. Kannan
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198082880
- eISBN:
- 9780199082827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198082880.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
In addition to curative surgery, surgical interventions to enhance personal aesthetics through cosmetic surgery have become increasingly common. To moralists, cosmetic surgery is tampering with ...
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In addition to curative surgery, surgical interventions to enhance personal aesthetics through cosmetic surgery have become increasingly common. To moralists, cosmetic surgery is tampering with nature and hence not hence ethically desirable. The chapter outlines surgical procedures that have no curative aspect but are performed to reconstruct the body with which the patient is naturally endowed. Objectives of non-surgical interventions, also known as biomedical enhancements, go beyond preventing disease, repairing disability, and restoring physiological wholeness. Courts have not looked beyond considerations of consent and the explanation of procedure in actions for negligence against doctors. Complaints of not securing the beauty promised by a doctor have met with little success. Magic remedies are not in the same league and they are treated at par with quackery but there is a market for them also, with customers lured through the Internet and paper advertisements. The strength of the peddler lies in the unwillingness of the customers to declare openly what their own fanciful expectations were and how they were deceived.Less
In addition to curative surgery, surgical interventions to enhance personal aesthetics through cosmetic surgery have become increasingly common. To moralists, cosmetic surgery is tampering with nature and hence not hence ethically desirable. The chapter outlines surgical procedures that have no curative aspect but are performed to reconstruct the body with which the patient is naturally endowed. Objectives of non-surgical interventions, also known as biomedical enhancements, go beyond preventing disease, repairing disability, and restoring physiological wholeness. Courts have not looked beyond considerations of consent and the explanation of procedure in actions for negligence against doctors. Complaints of not securing the beauty promised by a doctor have met with little success. Magic remedies are not in the same league and they are treated at par with quackery but there is a market for them also, with customers lured through the Internet and paper advertisements. The strength of the peddler lies in the unwillingness of the customers to declare openly what their own fanciful expectations were and how they were deceived.
Saul Levmore
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199487837
- eISBN:
- 9780199093779
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199487837.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This paper reveals a tension, or interesting comparison, between age discrimination law as it affects retirement ages and the pattern of anti-aging cosmetic surgery. Age discrimination law in several ...
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This paper reveals a tension, or interesting comparison, between age discrimination law as it affects retirement ages and the pattern of anti-aging cosmetic surgery. Age discrimination law in several countries, including the United States, bans employment contracts that specify a retirement age. Although this is normally described as an improvement in the status of ageing person, I argue that it has disadvantageous though unintended consequences. This is especially so because pension plans that encouraged early retirement have become costly and almost obsolete. Nevertheless, for a variety of public choice (political economy) reasons, legal reform is unlikely. Meanwhile, various cosmetic surgeries have soared in popularity, and some of these disadvantage and likely stigmatize older people who cannot afford to keep up with their peers who strive to look younger. After theorizing about trends in anti-ageing procedures, the discussion suggests that the law’s intervention in the case of retirement policy, and non-intervention in the case of cosmetic surgery, may both be ill-advised on grounds of stigma, autonomy, and social welfare.Less
This paper reveals a tension, or interesting comparison, between age discrimination law as it affects retirement ages and the pattern of anti-aging cosmetic surgery. Age discrimination law in several countries, including the United States, bans employment contracts that specify a retirement age. Although this is normally described as an improvement in the status of ageing person, I argue that it has disadvantageous though unintended consequences. This is especially so because pension plans that encouraged early retirement have become costly and almost obsolete. Nevertheless, for a variety of public choice (political economy) reasons, legal reform is unlikely. Meanwhile, various cosmetic surgeries have soared in popularity, and some of these disadvantage and likely stigmatize older people who cannot afford to keep up with their peers who strive to look younger. After theorizing about trends in anti-ageing procedures, the discussion suggests that the law’s intervention in the case of retirement policy, and non-intervention in the case of cosmetic surgery, may both be ill-advised on grounds of stigma, autonomy, and social welfare.
Heather Laine Talley
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814784105
- eISBN:
- 9781479840052
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814784105.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Health, Illness, and Medicine
This introductory chapter briefly discusses beauty culture, the shared set of language, meanings, norms, and practices focused on the cultivation of attractiveness. The topic is essential in ...
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This introductory chapter briefly discusses beauty culture, the shared set of language, meanings, norms, and practices focused on the cultivation of attractiveness. The topic is essential in answering the question of how much people are obsessed with disfiguring their faces in order to look “beautiful.” Not only have rates of cosmetic surgery skyrocketed, but other methods for optimizing appearance have proliferated, too. Skin whitening, cosmetic dentistry, Botox injections alongside other facial fillers, and laser skin resurfacing are on the rise, rapidly shifting bodily and cultural infrastructure. Correspondingly, the desire to be intervened upon has solidified as a widely shared cultural longing, contingent on social class and access to resources. Research also indicates that most people would pursue cosmetic surgery if not for financial constraints. The chapter highlights surgical work that is labelled as “reconstructive,” which is aimed at repairing those facial features deemed untenable and even disfiguring.Less
This introductory chapter briefly discusses beauty culture, the shared set of language, meanings, norms, and practices focused on the cultivation of attractiveness. The topic is essential in answering the question of how much people are obsessed with disfiguring their faces in order to look “beautiful.” Not only have rates of cosmetic surgery skyrocketed, but other methods for optimizing appearance have proliferated, too. Skin whitening, cosmetic dentistry, Botox injections alongside other facial fillers, and laser skin resurfacing are on the rise, rapidly shifting bodily and cultural infrastructure. Correspondingly, the desire to be intervened upon has solidified as a widely shared cultural longing, contingent on social class and access to resources. Research also indicates that most people would pursue cosmetic surgery if not for financial constraints. The chapter highlights surgical work that is labelled as “reconstructive,” which is aimed at repairing those facial features deemed untenable and even disfiguring.
