Surgical passing: Or why Michael Jackson’s nose makes ‘us’ uneasy1  

Oleh:

Davis, Kathy

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Feminist Theory vol. 4 no. 1 (Apr. 2003), page 73–92.
Topik: beauty; body/politics; cosmetic surgery; ‘ethnic surgery’; ethnicity; intersectional theory; racial science; racism
Fulltext: 73.pdf (126.47KB)

Isi artikel

Since the emergence of cosmetic surgery at the turn of the 20th century, individuals in the US and Europe have looked to cosmetic surgery not only as a way to enhance their appearance, but also as a way to minimize or eradicate physical signs that – they believe – mark them as ‘different’, that is, other than the dominant, or another, more desirable, ‘racial’ or ‘ethnic’ group. In my article, I raise the question of how such ethnic cosmetic surgery might differ from other types of cosmetic surgery (such as breast augmentations for ‘enhancing’ femininity or face-lifts to eliminate signs of aging) and, more generally, whether ethnic cosmetic surgery raises different normative or ethical issues. After a brief foray into the history of cosmetic surgery and its connections with racial science, I turn to the current practice of ethnic cosmetic surgery, situating it in contemporary political controversies about race and beauty. I draw upon the case of Michael Jackson – arguably the best known recipient of this kind of cosmetic surgery – in order to analyze how cosmetic surgery for people of color or for the ‘ethnically marginalized’ is framed in a discourse of ‘race’ and the consequences this framing has for feminist thinking about embodiment and embodied identity. Finally, I return to the relative ease or unease that cosmetic surgery evokes among its critics.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali