{"product_id":"pretty-modern-alexander-edmonds-9780822348016","title":"Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil","description":"\u003ci\u003ePretty Modern\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting account of Brazil's emergence as a global leader in plastic surgery. Intrigued by a Carnaval parade that mysteriously paid homage to a Rio de Janeiro plastic surgeon, anthropologist Alexander Edmonds conducted research that took him from Ipanema socialite circles to glitzy \u003ci\u003etelenovela\u003c\/i\u003e studios to the packed waiting rooms of public hospitals offering free cosmetic surgery. The result is provocative exploration of the erotic, commercial, and intimate aspects of beauty in a nation with extremes of wealth and poverty and a reputation for natural sensuality. Drawing on conversations with maids and their elite mistresses, divorced housewives, black celebrities, and favela residents aspiring to be fashion models, Edmonds analyzes what sexual desirability means and does for women in different social positions. He argues that beauty is a distinct realm of modern experience that does not simply reflect other inequalities. It mimics the ambiguous emancipatory potential of capital, challenging traditional hierarchies while luring consumers into a sexual culture that reduces the body to the brute biological criteria of attractiveness. Illustrated with color photographs, \u003ci\u003ePretty Modern\u003c\/i\u003e offers a fresh theoretical perspective on the significance of female beauty in consumer capitalism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alexander Edmonds\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0822348012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780822348016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Duke University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/13\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.06lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.23w x 0.78d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2011","brand":"Alexander Edmonds","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43926534947071,"sku":"9780822348016","price":28.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_fd308062-51e9-44fe-b05f-effaebfddad9.jpg?v=1681083605","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/pretty-modern-alexander-edmonds-9780822348016","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}