Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment
This project aims to unwrap some of the complexities related to female beauty and the body. It reflects on the second wave radical feminist view that beautifying the female body serves to attract male approval via the male gaze, both of which are deeply entrenched in patriarchal power. This perspect...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lodz University Press
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Qualitative Sociology Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/3979 |
| _version_ | 1818268073567715328 |
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| author | Alessandra K. Heggenstaller Asta Rau Jan K. Coetzee Anne Ryen Ria Smit |
| author_facet | Alessandra K. Heggenstaller Asta Rau Jan K. Coetzee Anne Ryen Ria Smit |
| author_sort | Alessandra K. Heggenstaller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This project aims to unwrap some of the complexities related to female beauty and the body. It reflects on the second wave radical feminist view that beautifying the female body serves to attract male approval via the male gaze, both of which are deeply entrenched in patriarchal power. This perspective positions cosmetic surgery as a disempowering act for women. In riposte, we turn to third wave liberal feminist ideas to engage with the narratives of ten participants who tell of their personal experiences of, and motivations for, undergoing a cosmetic intervention. We undertake an in-depth exploration of these lifeworld experiences and the interplay of subjectivity and intersubjectivity in the women’s encounters. Findings suggest that a cosmetic intervention is often obtained for the self as opposed to satisfying the “other.” Importantly, cosmetic interventions allow a process to occur in which an individual’s physical body becomes better aligned to her sense of self. From this liberal feminist perspective, cosmetic surgery is positioned as an empowering act. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:32:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-99d0d01e73ef44d49fd491e0911f9d67 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1733-8077 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:32:42Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Lodz University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Qualitative Sociology Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-99d0d01e73ef44d49fd491e0911f9d672022-12-22T00:12:59ZengLodz University PressQualitative Sociology Review1733-80772018-12-01144486510.18778/1733-8077.14.4.043979Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)EmpowermentAlessandra K. Heggenstaller0Asta RauJan K. CoetzeeAnne Ryen1Ria Smit2Alessandra K. Heggenstaller, Asta Rau, Jan K. Coetzee - University of the Free State, South AfricaUniversity of Agder, NorwayLone Star College, U.S.A., University of Johannesburg, South AfricaThis project aims to unwrap some of the complexities related to female beauty and the body. It reflects on the second wave radical feminist view that beautifying the female body serves to attract male approval via the male gaze, both of which are deeply entrenched in patriarchal power. This perspective positions cosmetic surgery as a disempowering act for women. In riposte, we turn to third wave liberal feminist ideas to engage with the narratives of ten participants who tell of their personal experiences of, and motivations for, undergoing a cosmetic intervention. We undertake an in-depth exploration of these lifeworld experiences and the interplay of subjectivity and intersubjectivity in the women’s encounters. Findings suggest that a cosmetic intervention is often obtained for the self as opposed to satisfying the “other.” Importantly, cosmetic interventions allow a process to occur in which an individual’s physical body becomes better aligned to her sense of self. From this liberal feminist perspective, cosmetic surgery is positioned as an empowering act.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/3979Feminist ThinkingCosmetic SurgeryPhenomenologyLifeworldSocial ConstructivistEmbodimentSelf-EmpowermentFemininity |
| spellingShingle | Alessandra K. Heggenstaller Asta Rau Jan K. Coetzee Anne Ryen Ria Smit Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment Qualitative Sociology Review Feminist Thinking Cosmetic Surgery Phenomenology Lifeworld Social Constructivist Embodiment Self-Empowerment Femininity |
| title | Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment |
| title_full | Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment |
| title_fullStr | Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment |
| title_short | Reflecting on Female Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery and (Dis)Empowerment |
| title_sort | reflecting on female beauty cosmetic surgery and dis empowerment |
| topic | Feminist Thinking Cosmetic Surgery Phenomenology Lifeworld Social Constructivist Embodiment Self-Empowerment Femininity |
| url | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/qualit/article/view/3979 |
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