Cosmetic surgery

Technologies of the Gendered Body

Week 12

What is cosmetic surgery?(Healthcare Commission 2004: 12)“[…] operations and other procedures that

revise or change the appearance, colour, texture, structure or position of bodily features, which most would consider otherwise to be within the broad range of ‘normal’ for that person.”

Statistics (2009)British Association of Plastic Surgeons (

www.baaps.org.uk)36,482 procedures (up 6.7% from 2008)90% of procedures carried out on womenProcedures on men up 21% (to 3623)Male breast reduction up from 323 to 581

(81% increase)Facelifts for women down by 8%

Statistics (2006)Top five procedures for men:

Top 5 procedures for women:

Rajiv Grover (consultant plastic surgeon)“This year, we have recorded a dramatic rise

in a number of male surgical procedures, probably due to heightened media attention, which has allowed men to realise the positive outcomes that can be achieved. The continued popularity of brow lifts and eyelid surgery may mean that patients still keen to have rejuvenating treatments despite the recession, are choosing more cost-effective measures such as targeting one particular feature, rather than having a whole facelift.”

Douglas McGeorge(Consultant plastic surgeon)“Those considering an aesthetic

surgery should always be aware that no procedure is without risk. When performed under the right circumstances, cosmetic surgery can have a positive psychological impact and improve quality of life.”

Representations of cosmetic surgerySpectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgery”Excess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”

See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com

Representations of cosmetic surgerySpectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgeryExcess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”

See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com CelebrityThe seeking of perfection / youth

Representations of cosmetic surgerySpectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgeryExcess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”

See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com CelebrityThe seeking of perfection / youthThe “quick fix”; “nips and tucks”

Representations of cosmetic surgerySpectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgeryExcess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”

See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com CelebrityThe seeking of perfection / youthThe “quick fix”; “nips and tucks”Normalised form of consumption – “reveal

parties”; Botox parties; gifts; treats

Feminist resistance to cosmetic surgery

Rethinking cosmetic surgeryCosmetic surgery as a “dilemma rather than

a form of self-inflicted subordination” (Kathy Davis 1995: 180) - Surgery is both desirable and problematic

Women are seeking normal bodies, rather than beautiful ones – women are negotiating “the differences between their own bodies and ideal female beauty” (Gimlin 2002: 7)

Women do not return for repeated surgeries (focussed body project)

Rethinking cosmetic surgery“Cosmetic surgery transforms more than a

woman’s appearance; it transforms her identity as well” (Davis 2003: 75)

But – places women in a double bind – the “taint of inauthenticity” (Gimlin 2002: 104); the problem of passing.

Surgery always requires a defence: (a) that they deserve surgery; and (b) convincing themselves that the revised appearance is connected to the self.

Rethinking cosmetic surgeryDecisions are undoubtedly shaped by ideas

about what constitutes beauty / the measuring of women’s value by their appearance. But…

“[…] to portray the women I talked to as cultural dupes, as passively submitting to the demands of beauty, is to misrepresent them badly. A more appropriate image, I would suggest, is to present them as savvy cultural negotiators, attempting to make out as best they can within a culture that limits their options.” (Gimlin 2002: 106)

Cosmetic surgery as the eradication of differenceRacial / ethnic surgeries – makes us uneasy

socially / culturally in a way that other surgeries do not.

Surgery on people with Down’s Syndrome (see Davis 2003: Epilogue):

“This particular case made me stop thinking about the people who have cosmetic surgery or the practitioners who perform it or even the media that promote it and, instead, to start wondering why the world I live in prefers to disguise difference rather than confront it.” (Davis 2003: 143)

Feminist utopias?Kathryn Pauly Morgan –

“Ms Ugly” competitionsOrlan“Utopian models

privilege the flamboyant, public spectacle as feminist intervention and deprivilege the interventions which are part of living in a gendered social order” (Davis 2003)

ConclusionsSurgery is growing in popularity, but remains

controversial.Feminists such as Debra Gimlin and Kathy Davis have

argued against outright rejection of cosmetic surgery, however problematic it is. Instead, they suggest that we should see surgery as a dilemma for women, and as a means of negotiating identity.

Those undergoing surgery are aiming to be “normal”, not beautiful.

Surgery can be understood as the attempt to eradicate difference – this reflects (and potentially problematises) the ways we conceptualise “others”