Pretty Modern Brazil Analysis
Alexander Edmonds explores the different characteristics of beauty that have allowed Brazil to emerge as a global leader in plastic surgery in his ethnography, Pretty Modern. Throughout it, Edmonds discusses Brazilians’ construction of beauty and the shifting views of treatment and enhancement, giving the largest voice to women. Drawing from conversations with people of varied socialite circles, he investigates the structural, cultural, psychological, and historical factors that influence beauty such as the implications of sensuality that are embedded in plastic surgery. By the end of his ethnography, however, the neglected viewpoint within this realm of beauty is that of those who do not want to receive surgery. Through my own brief discussions
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with young Brazilian women, I gained further insight into those who refuse or do not have access to this normalized beauty standard that exists within Brazil. I interviewed two young women attending PUC-Rio University who gave me a glimpse into this counter-culture regarding plastic surgery.
A topic that Edmonds discusses is the right to beauty, more specifically, the right to either cosmetic or reconstructive plastic surgery within Brazil’s public hospitals. As shown by Edmonds, however, it can be very difficult to differentiate between the two (Edmonds 2010:55). This topic was brought up in my own conversation with one of the young women I spoke with, Paulina, when she mentioned she has not received any plastic surgery herself, and has no plans of getting it. Nonetheless, she believes surgery that is “corrective or has health related issues” should be a right for all, however, aesthetic surgery should not. She attributed the aesthetic surgery to be deeply rooted in the media portraying different ideas for how the body should be. “I think the media in general makes women feel bad about their body because they establish an unreachable body type,” she said. “Women in Brazilian media often have plastic surgery, and show their own body as a representation of a “healthy” one.” This body type in the media, as shown by Edmonds, is so prevalent that it often coincides with modernity for many of these public figures, thereafter becoming a modern practice for people of all social classes in Brazil (Edmonds 2010:73).
Similarly, the other young woman that I interviewed, Deborah, spoke about this as a modern practice as well.
She believes that plastic surgery should only be a right when reconstructive because aesthetic surgery, more often than not, is problematic within the media. “The people in media have a large influence in other people’s lives.” Although we may not explicitly chase after these body types,” she says “we allow for these images to subconsciously tell us that is what we also want to look like.” The two young women, through their comments, seem to disagree with a point of view that Edmonds brings up regarding cosmetic surgery having a direct relationship to health. For these young women, there appears to be a disconnect in terms of aesthetic surgery and health. Plastic surgery, only when considered reconstructive, appears to serve a social purpose. On the other hand, most people that Edmonds spoke with seemed to think that both aesthetic and reconstructive surgery are a part of health, explaining why most public hospitals offer it for free even when the funds are allocated only for reconstructive surgery. Surgeons have made an argument that since cosmetic surgery can be psychological, it coincides with mental health and something worth treating (Edmonds
2010:56).
Another psychological component of plastic surgery Edmonds discussed is self-esteem. In the ethnography, Edmonds discusses how self-esteem has become a new tactic used in the beauty industry. The idea that appearance has a psychological facet is important because it implies that aesthetic surgery is a cure (Edmonds 2010:76). In my own interviews, both young women approached this topic hesitantly. Paulina was uncertain about how to approach the issue of self-esteem because she acknowledged that sometimes low self-esteem did motivate other woman to get aesthetic surgery, but didn’t seem to agree that the surgery was necessarily a cure. Deborah also spoke along the same lines. She recognized that “some people get it because they want to become happier with themselves which is a misuse of plastic surgery.” Reaffirming this use of plastic surgery, Edmonds includes conversations numerous times with women who mentioned wanting to fix something about themselves. However, he frames it in a way that suggests that these people are compelled to participate in plastic surgery and are reasonably exercising their right to do so. All through the while, he also gets the perspective of the surgeon, who may not always understand why women with great bodies want to make their body “more perfect,” (Edmonds 2010:222) allowing the reader to make their own conclusion regarding self-esteem within the realm of beauty.
These two young women may have chosen to opt out of this practice, but both at least knew one other person who had participated in it, further asserting its prevalence in Brazilian society. One of the young women, Paulina, mentioned family members who had received breast augmentations or reductions. All of her family members had the surgery right after pregnancy, interestingly coinciding with Edmonds idea that plastic surgery corresponds with transformative events. He speaks about women using such practice to further create a notion that there is a line between the role as a mother and as a sexual being, and reinforces the idea that the two are in conflict (Edmonds 2010:184). Deborah also had family members who had undergone plastic surgery, also after pregnancy, but took hard stance against plastic surgery. She saw plastic surgery as assimilating to the greater Brazilian society, losing her own individuality. This popular culture of beauty had not consumed her, suggesting not all of Brazilian women are “slaves of beauty” (Edmonds 2010:237).
Although I only spoke to two young Brazilian women, I got a glimpse into the missing voices of Edmonds’ ethnography. Those who do opt out of plastic surgery also serve an important voice and their inclusion would have serve for a more well-rounded investigation in order to allow the reader to make their own decision on where they stand on this beauty standard. Nonetheless, Alexander Edmonds does an incredible job of weaving theory into the different arguments of construction of beauty, making it much more informative and allowing me to work through my own opinions of plastic surgery.
with young Brazilian women, I gained further insight into those who refuse or do not have access to this normalized beauty standard that exists within Brazil. I interviewed two young women attending PUC-Rio University who gave me a glimpse into this counter-culture regarding plastic surgery.
A topic that Edmonds discusses is the right to beauty, more specifically, the right to either cosmetic or reconstructive plastic surgery within Brazil’s public hospitals. As shown by Edmonds, however, it can be very difficult to differentiate between the two (Edmonds 2010:55). This topic was brought up in my own conversation with one of the young women I spoke with, Paulina, when she mentioned she has not received any plastic surgery herself, and has no plans of getting it. Nonetheless, she believes surgery that is “corrective or has health related issues” should be a right for all, however, aesthetic surgery should not. She attributed the aesthetic surgery to be deeply rooted in the media portraying different ideas for how the body should be. “I think the media in general makes women feel bad about their body because they establish an unreachable body type,” she said. “Women in Brazilian media often have plastic surgery, and show their own body as a representation of a “healthy” one.” This body type in the media, as shown by Edmonds, is so prevalent that it often coincides with modernity for many of these public figures, thereafter becoming a modern practice for people of all social classes in Brazil (Edmonds 2010:73).
Similarly, the other young woman that I interviewed, Deborah, spoke about this as a modern practice as well.
She believes that plastic surgery should only be a right when reconstructive because aesthetic surgery, more often than not, is problematic within the media. “The people in media have a large influence in other people’s lives.” Although we may not explicitly chase after these body types,” she says “we allow for these images to subconsciously tell us that is what we also want to look like.” The two young women, through their comments, seem to disagree with a point of view that Edmonds brings up regarding cosmetic surgery having a direct relationship to health. For these young women, there appears to be a disconnect in terms of aesthetic surgery and health. Plastic surgery, only when considered reconstructive, appears to serve a social purpose. On the other hand, most people that Edmonds spoke with seemed to think that both aesthetic and reconstructive surgery are a part of health, explaining why most public hospitals offer it for free even when the funds are allocated only for reconstructive surgery. Surgeons have made an argument that since cosmetic surgery can be psychological, it coincides with mental health and something worth treating (Edmonds
2010:56).
Another psychological component of plastic surgery Edmonds discussed is self-esteem. In the ethnography, Edmonds discusses how self-esteem has become a new tactic used in the beauty industry. The idea that appearance has a psychological facet is important because it implies that aesthetic surgery is a cure (Edmonds 2010:76). In my own interviews, both young women approached this topic hesitantly. Paulina was uncertain about how to approach the issue of self-esteem because she acknowledged that sometimes low self-esteem did motivate other woman to get aesthetic surgery, but didn’t seem to agree that the surgery was necessarily a cure. Deborah also spoke along the same lines. She recognized that “some people get it because they want to become happier with themselves which is a misuse of plastic surgery.” Reaffirming this use of plastic surgery, Edmonds includes conversations numerous times with women who mentioned wanting to fix something about themselves. However, he frames it in a way that suggests that these people are compelled to participate in plastic surgery and are reasonably exercising their right to do so. All through the while, he also gets the perspective of the surgeon, who may not always understand why women with great bodies want to make their body “more perfect,” (Edmonds 2010:222) allowing the reader to make their own conclusion regarding self-esteem within the realm of beauty.
These two young women may have chosen to opt out of this practice, but both at least knew one other person who had participated in it, further asserting its prevalence in Brazilian society. One of the young women, Paulina, mentioned family members who had received breast augmentations or reductions. All of her family members had the surgery right after pregnancy, interestingly coinciding with Edmonds idea that plastic surgery corresponds with transformative events. He speaks about women using such practice to further create a notion that there is a line between the role as a mother and as a sexual being, and reinforces the idea that the two are in conflict (Edmonds 2010:184). Deborah also had family members who had undergone plastic surgery, also after pregnancy, but took hard stance against plastic surgery. She saw plastic surgery as assimilating to the greater Brazilian society, losing her own individuality. This popular culture of beauty had not consumed her, suggesting not all of Brazilian women are “slaves of beauty” (Edmonds 2010:237).
Although I only spoke to two young Brazilian women, I got a glimpse into the missing voices of Edmonds’ ethnography. Those who do opt out of plastic surgery also serve an important voice and their inclusion would have serve for a more well-rounded investigation in order to allow the reader to make their own decision on where they stand on this beauty standard. Nonetheless, Alexander Edmonds does an incredible job of weaving theory into the different arguments of construction of beauty, making it much more informative and allowing me to work through my own opinions of plastic surgery.