In Search of the Eternal Smile
Contents
Cosmetic Surgery and Sense of Self
By Taina KinnunenEnglish
The paper analyzes “anti-aging surgery” as a way to manipulate the bodily representations of emotions. It is based on the interviews of Finnish patients and plastic surgeons. It argues that marks of aging have become synonymous with undesirable emotions, such as unhappiness and irritation. Thus, cosmetic surgery is used to reconstruct socially accepted emotions associated with youth. The paper shows how age surgery has created new standards for the ideally aged body.
Keywords
- cosmetic surgery
- beauty
- emotions
- ageing
- body