The Duty to Transform: Properly Refining the Body and (Re)defining Oneself in Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACT Current analyses of Asian cosmetic surgery and other beautification practices assess their use for economic gain (e.g., increasing chances of gaining employment when photos are required with applications) or improving one’s luck (e.g., removing features that are likely to make one’s life more difficult). However, my research in Thailand details broader concerns about being riap-roi (neat, orderly, completed and properly groomed). That is, rather than being merely “cosmetic”, these transformations address broad moral concerns about face, expressing appropriate social status, and the management of social interactions. Additionally, these body practices are also increasingly keyed to Korean and Japanese beauty ideals. The desire to look “white Asian” seeks to mould the self and the Thai nation in the context of a newly regionalised and racialised developed East Asia.