Surgery Junkies: Wellness and Pathology in Cosmetic Culture (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780813540481)

​Despite the increasing prevalence of cosmetic surgery, there are still those who identify individuals who opt for bodily modifications as dupes of beauty culture, as being in conflict with feminist ideals, or as having some form of psychological weakness. In this ground-breaking book, Victoria Pitts-Taylor examines why we consider some cosmetic surgeries to be acceptable or even beneficial and others to be unacceptable and possibly harmful. Drawing on years of research, in-depth interviews with surgeons and psychiatrists, analysis of newspaper articles, legal documents, and television shows, and her own personal experience with cosmetic surgery, Pitts-Taylor brings new perspectives to the promotion of "extreme" makeovers on television, the medicalization of "surgery addiction," the moral and political interrogation that many patients face, and feminist debates on the topic. Pitts-Taylor makes a compelling argument that the experience, meanings, and motivations for cosmetic surgery are highly social and, in doing so, provides a much needed "makeover" of our cultural understanding of cosmetic surgery.

Author: Victoria Pitts-Taylor
ISBN-10: 0813540488
ISBN-13: 9780813540481
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Language: English
Published: 04/25/2007
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.59lbs
Size: 8.47h x 6.21w x 0.55d