Archive for the ‘cosmetic’ Category
Body Fashions
Before cosmetic surgery became widely accessible, fads in body fashion mirrored fads in garment fashion. The fragile woman with an 18-inch waist was the ideal in Victorian times and required draconian corseting to effect. Throughout history a pale complexion has nearly always been more fashionable than a tan because pale skin denotes a woman who does not have to labor outdoors. During the mid-nineteenth century, high fashion also dictated tiny lips, produced through creative makeup, and big behinds (thus the bustle). Read the rest of this entry »
Altering the Body
PUBLIC ALTERATIONS: COSMETIC MEDICINE AS ENTERTAINMENT
It is 7:30 on a weeknight. Your boss made you work late and you are rushing home, hoping there will be enough leftovers in the fridge for your supper. You hate to admit it, but you are addicted to reality TV. Tonight your favorite show is on, you don’t have Tivo, and you never did figure out how to program your VCR. The dramatic theme music is just starting, and the television screen flashes pictures of the three or four chosen ones. Each was destined to be unattractive and undesirable but now is about to be made queen (or king) for a day or perhaps even forever. Read the rest of this entry »
BUSINESS OF COSMETIC MEDICINE
We can no longer use only the term “cosmetic surgery” to describe the wide and increasing array of medical procedures available for the purpose of enhancing appearance. Therefore, I use the terms cosmetic medical care, cosmetic medical service, cosmetic medicine, cosmetic intervention, and cosmetic procedure to refer to any operation or less invasive medical procedure that is performed on what most people would consider normal features, usually for the purpose of lessening or enhancing their prominence, correcting minor irregularities that would be too minimal to qualify as reconstructive surgery, or reducing the signs of childbearing or aging. In general, people seek cosmetic interventions to change aspects of their bodies that they consider unfl attering. Read the rest of this entry »
Cosmetic Medicine at the Millennium
“Do you know what thirty is? It’s the beginning of middle age. Thirty to fifty. From fifty on you have no right or reason to expect to live another day.” (John O’Hara)
THE NEW CULTURAL PARADIGM
Visits to a cosmetic surgeon used to be a rich woman’s best kept secret. Today they represent merely one option in the endless public parade of equal opportunity lifestyle choices that constitutes cosmetic medicine. Now as in the past the selections consumers make frequently have less to do with health than with fad and fashion statements. Cosmetic interventions are about normalizing—that is, striving to achieve current cultural norms of appearance. They are also promoted as ways to restore or obtain beauty, Read the rest of this entry »
plastic surgery or cosmetic products
The theme is not about plastic surgery. At least, not exactly. It is
about the latest trend in pop culture that has appropriated what
we have always called cosmetic surgery, added a wide array of nonsurgical
procedures purported to make us look better for less, and
created a freewheeling retail industry that operates in lockstep with
the entertainment world. Read the rest of this entry »