KINE 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Plastic Surgery
4 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Cosmetic Surgery
According to the author, what are some common criticisms of cosmetic surgery and of those
who choose it?
Cosmetic surgery is dangerous. “Health experts estimate that the chance of
serious side effects from breast augmentation are between 30% and 50%”
Obsession with physical appearance. “Those who have cosmetic surgery are so
obsessed with appearance that they risk their lives to be more attractive”
The body has come to be understood and related to as commodity. “The body
is a symbol of selfhood, but its relation to its inhabitant is shaped primarily by the
individuals capacity for material consumption”
Cosmetic surgery is addictive. “… Those who undergo it will complete one
operation only to discover some new flaw”
The author is critical of many of these criticisms. What points does she make about them?
No evidence that cosmetic surgery is in general addictive. “… The ambitions of those
women who undergo plastic surgery often stop far short of attaining ideal beauty…
plastic surgery frequently achieves the exact goals intended by those who undergo it”
Criticisms of plastic surgery fail to acknowledge the complex, multidimensional
nature of the motivations of those who under go it. “...Criticisms of plastic surgery
understate the extent to which this activity involves gender at an intersection with age,
race, ethnicity, and even class”
Women’s experiences are not studied. “criticisms over look the experience of the
women who have plastic surgery”
What is the goal of the author’s research?
Gimlin’s research is to understand cosmetic surgery as a socio-cultural phenomenon by
analyzing the recounted experiences of women who choose to undergo cosmetic surgical
procedures.
What is Gimlin’s research method?
Fieldwork in a long island plastic surgery clinic and interview with the surgeon and
twenty of his female patients.
Patients ranged in age from 24-50
Procedures range from breast augmentation, nose jobs, face-lifts, eye-reshaping, tummy
tucks, and liposuctions
All women were Asian-American or European American
Gimlin explains that two of the women she interviewed (Ann-Marie and bonnie) expressed
concerns about cosmetic surgery at opposite ends of continuum. What are these concerns?
Concerns included: financial cost, health risks, physical readiness, self-image, what
people would think of the individual (that undergoes cosmetic surgery), and by
undergoing cosmetic surgery what does that say about the society we live in.
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Document Summary
Health experts estimate that the chance of serious side effects from breast augmentation are between 30% and 50% . Those who have cosmetic surgery are so obsessed with appearance that they risk their lives to be more attractive . The body has come to be understood and related to as commodity. The body is a symbol of selfhood, but its relation to its inhabitant is shaped primarily by the individuals capacity for material consumption . Those who undergo it will complete one operation only to discover some new flaw . The author is critical of many of these criticisms. No evidence that cosmetic surgery is in general addictive. The ambitions of those women who undergo plastic surgery often stop far short of attaining ideal beauty plastic surgery frequently achieves the exact goals intended by those who undergo it . Criticisms of plastic surgery fail to acknowledge the complex, multidimensional nature of the motivations of those who under go it.
