The ease of accessibility, improvements in safety and technology,
media attention, growing acceptance by the public, or an
increasingly superficial culture: whatever the reason, cosmetic
surgery is more popular today than ever. In 2005, in the United
States alone, there were nearly two million aesthetic
operations-more than quadruple the number from 1984, along with
more than eight million non-surgical procedures. Innovative
surgical methods have also brought cosmetic improvements to new
areas of the body, such as the ribs, buttocks, and genitalia.
Despite the increasing normalization of cosmetic surgery, however,
there are still those who identify individuals who opt for bodily
modifications as dupes of beauty culture, as being in conflict with
feminist ideals, or as having some form of psychological weakness.
In this ground-breaking book, Victoria Pitts-Taylor examines why we
consider some cosmetic surgeries to be acceptable or even
beneficial and others to be unacceptable and possibly harmful.
Similarly, why are some patients considered to be psychologically
healthy while others deemed pathological? When is the modification
of our appearance empowering and when is it a sign of weakness?
Drawing on years of research, her personal experience with cosmetic
surgery, analysis of newspaper articles and television shows, and
in-depth interviews with surgeons, psychiatrists, lawyers, judges,
and others, Pitts-Taylor brings new perspectives to the promotion
of "extreme" makeovers on television, the medicalization of
"surgery addiction," the moral and political interrogation that
many patients face, and feminist debates on the topic.
While many feel that cosmetic surgery is a deeply personal choice
and that its pathology is rooted in the individual psyche,
Pitts-Taylor makes a compelling argument that the experience,
meanings, and motivations for cosmetic surgery are highly social. A
much needed "makeover" of our cultural understanding of cosmetic
surgery, this book is both authoritative and thoroughly
engaging.
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