Larissa Boyhan and Annice Lappin |1
Use and Misuse of Cosmetic Surgery
Critical Interpretation of Culture Presenter notes
Slide One
Cover slide
Slide Two
During this presentation we will examines the use of cosmetic surgery and critically examine and
evaluates the cultural influences behind this.
Slide Three
Typical cosmetic treatments available;
Face & Neck Lift
Imaging & Clinical Photography
Mini Face Lift
Body Contouring After Major Weight Loss
Laser Tattoo Removal
Endoscopic Brow lift
Breast Augmentation
Leg Vein and Spider Vein Treatments
Lateral Temporal Lift
Breast Repositioning or Uplift
Male Rejuvenation
Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)
Breast Reduction for Women Breast Reduction
for Injections
Anti-Wrinkle
Men
Chemical Peels
Breast Reconstruction
Dermal Fillers
Hand Trauma
Led Phototherapy
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Dupuytren's Disease
Lipodissolve
Trigger Finger
Topical Retinoids
Ganglion Removal
Skin Rejuvenation and Resurfacing
Arthritis Surgery
Reconstructive Procedures
Skin Maintenance (Dermaclear)
Cleft Lip and Palate
Skin Peels
Hand Surgery
Microdermabrasion
Scar Revision
Acne Treatments
Tissue Expansion
Acne Scarring Treatments
Rosacea and Facial Capillaries/Redness
Birthmark Removal - brown
Skin Analysis
Birthmark Removal - port wine (red)
Rhinoplasty (Nose Reshaping)
Otoplasty (Ear Correction)
Microtia (Ear Reconstruction)
Neck Rejuvenation
Non Surgical Facial Shaping / Lifting
Chin Profile Alteration
Facial Implants
Hair Replacement
Injectable Fillers
Permanent Makeup
Arm Lift
Thigh Lift
Reconstructive Surgery
Keloid / Hypertrophic Scarring
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Facial Trauma
Facial Volume Loss
Skin Pigmentation Treatments
Post-Traumatic Deformities
Fat Deposit Reduction
Skin Resurfacing
Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck)
Freckles
Excessive Sweating Treatments
Liposuction
Gynaecomastia / man boobs
Wrinkle Treatments
Bodylift Surgery
Treatments
Photodynamic Therapy
Calf Implants
Micropigmentation (cosmetic tattoo) Plasma Skin Regeneration
Beauty Therapy Treatments
Injectable Lip Enhancement
Radio Wave Skin Surgery
Botox
Skin Needling
Micro pigmentation (cosmetic tattoo)
sunscreens
Dental
Topical Lightening Agents
Hair Stylist
Vbeam™ Vascular Laser
Hand Therapy
Manual Lymphatic Drainage
Massage Therapy
IPL
Laser Hair Removal
Slide Four
Interview with Heidi from ‘The City’ explaining her cosmetic surgery procedures.
Slide Five
Use of cosmetic surgery
• Aesthetic reasons – cosmetic surgery
changes the appearance which can
increase self esteem and therefore
quality of life.
• Reconstructive reasons – eg after
breast cancer, birth deformities,
disfigurements eg caused by accidents.
Eg work of Moira Kelly
Misuse of cosmetic surgery
• Aesthetic reasons - eg overuse of
cosmetic surgery having too many
procedures within a short space of time
to achieve a cultural ideal of a body
image – eg Heidi Montag
• Body dysphoria disorder (condition
where person’s body image is so
distorted that they continually have
Larissa Boyhan and Annice Lappin |3
•
Gender dysphoria (where a person
born into a body but considers
themselves to be the other sex,
therefore has a sex change and other
procedures to change from one sex to
the other)
•
•
cosmetic surgery to improve their
appearance).
Unattainable body image promoted
by mass media in particular glossy
magazines.
Industry – consumerism promoting
that this is normal everyone does this
Slide Six
Healthy effects of cosmetic surgery
• Increased self esteem
• Being able to contribute positively to
society.
• Being able to live a normal life
• Empowering to improve conditions of
life eg get a job
Unhealthy effects of cosmetic surgery
• Debt
• Major risks of surgery – ie infection,
organ failure, allergic reaction and
dissatisfaction.
• Surgeons operating out of desire for
money.
• Can reinforce restrictive models of
femininity.
Slide Seven
The Ethical guidelines given to cosmetic surgeons at the website for ‘The American Society for
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery states that;
A good plastic surgeon walks a fine line between the Hippocratic ideal of “doing no harm” and
giving the patient what he or she asks for. Obviously, the surgeon should put the health and
safety of the patient first in deciding whether or not to accommodate a patient’s request for a
particular procedure.
It also goes on to state there are many grey areas when it comes to the ethics of plastic surgery
such as with the use of new technologies and full disclosure to patients in regards to their
experience, judging the emotional state of a patient and when to make a call that ‘enough is
enough’.
Basically the society states that the judgment call is up to the individual surgeon.
sources:
 American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
 American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
Larissa Boyhan and Annice Lappin |4
Slide Eight
What are the influences at work on people’s decisions to have cosmetic surgery?
•
appearance-oriented ideology – high value on appearance, reinforced by mass media
•
patriarchal ideology – gender inequalities
•
cosmetic surgery technology promises women power, pleasure, and freedom, but
within the boundaries set by their appearance.
•
women's bodies become an object of consumption,
•
under the process of the beauty ideal women internalize unrealistic conceptions of
beauty and subsequently become engaged in materializing that ideal by participating in
the consumption of beauty production.
•
powerful human desire for self-improvement.
•
now live in a time where more is attainable for the individual (consumerism)
•
being accepted in society means conforming to a acceptable standard of appearance
Slide Nine
With the use of cosmetic surgery who stands to gain or lose?
Gain
• People with disfigurements such as
children that Moira Kelly works with
• Females – improving their status in the
community and their wealth
/opportunities.
• The advancement of Western Culture
as the ideal.
• Doctors – financial gain and for
QDOS of their research and abilities
• Fashion industry promoting their
product.
• Cosmetic Product Industry as in
moisturisers / makeup / perfume
Lose
• Females - the medicalisation of
appearance through cosmetic surgery
may serve to reinforce limited and
restrictive models of femininity.
• Western Cultural Imperialism – racial
minority groups internalise the body
image of the dominant cultural
ideology – improve social status eg
Asian American. Maybe unaware that
they are perpetuating the inequality and
oppression.
Slide Ten
The underlying commercial interests of cosmetic surgery can include ;
 technological advances and increased communication (globalisation) have lead to a
greater influence of the media (TV, film, magazines, internet) which focuses primarily on
the visual at the expense of other personal qualities.
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 Business – Cosmetic surgery as a business rather than restoration etc
 Media / fashion industry
 Stockholders in cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies.
Slide Eleven
Positive
 Equality of opportunity for all eg Moira Kelly’s work
 Quality of life eg for reconstructive surgery
Negative
 Societies acceptance of women being judged by their appearance more than men –
inequality and oppression.
 Imperialism of a Culture to the detriment of another e.g Asian American and Korean
Slide Twelve
Calling Ideologies to account;
 When aesthetic plastic surgery remains where it commenced, in the realm of the medical
system where it was intended to seriously benefit patients it is a positive contribution to
society.
 But when cosmetic surgery crosses entirely into the commercial world reinforcing
naturally unachievable stereotypes of beauty and its immediate focus is on benefiting the
business it can have a negative impact on the social construct of identity and feminism.
Slide Thirteen
Spiritual and moral dimension of this issue
 When cosmetic surgery is used address social justice issues such as to enhance the lives
of the disadvantaged or marginalised such as the work with Moira Kelly or with the
work of Fred Hollows foundation with the Indigenous communities of Australia then it
is having a positive impact on society.
 Cosmetic surgery has a positive impact on the lives of people when used in a responsible
manner such as reconstruction after trauma or due to disfigurements, as it can enable the
recipients to live a better quality of life.
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 When cosmetic surgery is marketed to society as a normal way to achieve the unrealistic
body images portrayed in the media it becomes a manipulative and exploitive force that
impacts on the identity formation of some members of society.
Slide Fourteen
References
 http://www.cosmeticsurgeryaustralia.com.au/ accessed on 25.3.10
 Rosemary Gillespie. Women, the Body and Brand Extension in Medicine
Cosmetic Surgery and the Paradox of Choice. Accessed at
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a904837204&db=all on
25.3.10
 Woo Keong Ja . The Beauty Complex and the Cosmetic Surgery Industry. Accessed
at
http://www.ekoreajournal.net/archive/detail.jsp?BACKFLAG=Y&VOLUMENO=44
&BOOKNUM=2&PAPERNUM=4&SEASON=summer&YEAR=2004 on 25.3.10
 Bryan C. Mendelson. Aesthetic/Cosmetic Surgery and Ethical Challenges.
Accessed at
http://www.springerlink.com/content/t1377x2656365447/fulltext.pdf?page=1 on
25.3.10
 Deborah A. Sullivan. Cosmetic surgery: the cutting edge of commercial medicine
in America Accessed at
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=XgPAzXxGGE4C&pg=PR12&lpg=PR12&dq=
ideology+of+cosmetic+surgery&source=bl&ots=_PqKyfXpbJ&sig=qmkWsukqMBl7yc
y-gNQcDfr2RXY&hl=en&ei=cS6rS82iEZSXkQX_qDEDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAw#v=on
epage&q=ideology%20of%20cosmetic%20surgery&f=false on 25.3.10