Abstract
Scholars have debated the feminist critique of female beauty practices for years with the fundamental disagreement revolving around the notion of “agency.” This study used textual analysis to explore how the concept of “agency” has been employed in cosmetic surgery ads placed in large city magazines. Three themes emerged: realize your potential, pleasing yourself, and control your destiny. This research expands our understanding of how physicians are repositioning cosmetic surgery to women through discourses that empower, appeal to their sense of self, and play upon feminist sensibilities that privilege individual choice. This research also contributes to the literature surrounding the ongoing debate of agency by examining how it plays out in another form of text previously unexamined (physician advertising) and how it touches upon a new player in the health beauty system (physicians) rather than prior studies, which focus on idealized images in the media.
Highlights
Interest in cosmetic surgery has experienced progressive growth over the past 10 years
Certain scholars (Bartky, 1990; Bordo, 2003; Morgan, 1991; Tait, 2007; Wolf, 1991) argue that beauty practices, including cosmetic surgery, subordinate and oppress women by coercing them to resculpt their bodies to fit a male-defined vision of femininity
Sullivan’s (2001) descriptive study of cosmetic surgery ads compared a convenience sample of print ads from the early and late 1990s, revealing how physicians and their marketing agencies have shaped the image of cosmetic surgery through advertisements; a process we argue is intrinsically related to the market dynamics inherent in the business and politics of cosmetic surgery
Summary
Interest in cosmetic surgery has experienced progressive growth over the past 10 years. Others (Brooks, 2004; Davis, 1995, 2003; Etcoff, 2000; Young, 1992) cast women as agents, asserting that the decision to undergo surgery is an active process requiring reflexivity. This latter philosophy advocates a post-feminist way of thinking that Banet-Weiser & Portwood-Stacer (2006) argue erases an earlier call by Second Wave feminists “to engage in a collective struggle about issues of female subjection practiced on women’s bodies” Agency is reframed through the rhetoric of individual choice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
