This document discusses cosmetic surgery trends and representations. It notes that in 2009, over 36,000 cosmetic procedures were performed in the UK, with 90% on women. While facelifts decreased for women, procedures increased for men, especially male breast reduction. The document also discusses feminist perspectives on cosmetic surgery, noting debates around whether it empowers or subordinates women. Feminists argue surgery can be a way for women to negotiate their identity within cultural beauty standards.

1. Cosmetic surgery
Technologies of the Gendered Body
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2. 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.”
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3. 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 women
Procedures on men up 21% (to 3623)
Male breast reduction up from 323 to 581 (81%
increase)
Facelifts for women down by 8%
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4. Statistics (2006)
Top five procedures for men:
Top 5 procedures for women:
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5. 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.”
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6. 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.”
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7. Representations of cosmetic
surgery
Spectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgery”
Excess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”
See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com
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12. Representations of cosmetic
surgery
Spectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgery
Excess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”
See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com
Celebrity
The seeking of perfection / youth
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14. Representations of cosmetic
surgery
Spectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgery
Excess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”
See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com
Celebrity
The seeking of perfection / youth
The “quick fix”; “nips and tucks”
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17. Representations of cosmetic
surgery
Spectacle – “extreme cosmetic surgery
Excess – the “scalpel slave” / “surgery junkie”
See www.awfulplasticsurgery.com
Celebrity
The seeking of perfection / youth
The “quick fix”; “nips and tucks”
Normalised form of consumption – “reveal parties”;
Botox parties; gifts; treats
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19. Feminist resistance to cosmetic
surgery
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20. Rethinking cosmetic surgery
Cosmetic 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)
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21. 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.
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22. Rethinking cosmetic surgery
Decisions 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)
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23. Cosmetic surgery as the
eradication of difference
Racial / 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)
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24. Feminist utopias?
Kathryn Pauly Morgan –
“Ms Ugly” competitions
Orlan
“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)
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25. Conclusions
Surgery 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”
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