Women, Doctors and Cosmetic Surgery: Negotiating the ‘Normal’ Body

247 Pages·2009·0.651 MB·English

by  Rhian Parker (auth.)

Women, Doctors and
Cosmetic Surgery
Negotiating the ‘Normal’ Body
Rhian Parker
Women, Doctors and Cosmetic Surgery
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Women, Doctors and
Cosmetic Surgery
Negotiating the ‘Normal’ Body
Rhian Parker
Associate Professor, The Australian National University
© Rhian Parker 2009
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-57400-7
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
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Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
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Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted her right to be identifi ed
as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries
ISBN 978-1-349-36505-0 ISBN 978-0-230-24664-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230246645
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
To all my family, and particularly the women, who are all great role models.
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
1. Introduction 1
2. Cosmetic Surgery and the ‘Normalisation’ of the Body:
A Short History 13
3. The Female Body and Body Image: A Historical Perspective 25
4. Social and Feminist Theories and the Body 38
5. Into Battle for the Cosmetic Surgery Market 60
6. The ‘Why’ of Cosmetic Surgery: Patient and
Doctor Motivations 74
7. Communication and Cosmetic Surgery 103
8. A Risky Business? Understanding Risk in Cosmetic Surgery 134
9. Overview 168
10. Looking Forward … Looking Back 209
Notes 214
Bibliography 215
Index 233
vii
Acknowledgements
I would first like to acknowledge the assistance, time and willingness to
share their experiences that participants gave this study. Without such
generosity research such as this would not be possible.
I am grateful for the support of a number of colleagues and friends
for their advice, guidance and patient encouragement over the course of
this project. I would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution
of Paul Komesaroff, Leon Piterman and Kelsey Hegarty.
I thank my family, Stephen, Ruth, Hannah and Alice for accompanying
me on this journey and for never doubting my ability to complete the
book. Above all, I thank my parents who are no longer with me but who
taught me about the value of learning and instilled in me the confidence
to achieve.
viii
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Introduction
Everyone who opens this book will have a view about cosmetic surgery
and anyone who watches television or reads women’s magazines can not
fail to notice the growth in the number of programs and articles dedi-
cated to cosmetic surgery. Whatever we think about cosmetic surgery, it is
becoming increasingly common and accessible. While some evidence sug-
gests that men are becoming increasingly interested in cosmetic surgery,
it is women who are the main recipients of cosmetic surgery and of the
media’s attention. Because of this, this book only deals with women and
cosmetic surgery and it unashamedly situates cosmetic surgery as a gen-
dered practice. That is, women are over-represented as cosmetic surgery
patients and men are over-represented as cosmetic surgery practitioners.
This book tells of the cosmetic surgery experiences of both women and
their doctors. It describes an empirical study that seeks to unpick these
experiences and make sense of the process of cosmetic surgery. It does not
pretend to be a theoretical précis, but it does critique past theorising in
this area and attempts to move the theoretical debate beyond the duality
of women as victims and women as agents towards an understanding of
the complex interactions within cosmetic surgery and the pivotal role the
doctor plays in the outcomes of cosmetic surgery.
Academics have detailed the extent of the media’s obsession with
cosmetic surgery. For example, Brooks (Brooks, 2004: 42), in a study of
women’s magazines in the US, found a large number of articles on cos-
metic surgery in four prominent and popular magazines. Fraser (Fraser,
2003b) in an Australian study discusses the way cosmetic surgery is
covered in women’s magazines and the way in which the advertising of
cosmetic procedures became more obvious during the 1990s. Women are
the main consumers of cosmetic surgery and are the main participants in
media stories that focus on cosmetic surgery. There are a number of TV
1