The body

• Thesis: (Define the body). This can be evident through scarification, tattoos and beauty standards. This can reveal how the body is socially constructed by body modification, as these factors demonstrate the way in which different societies within different cultures have different standards of how a body should look. The Biopsychological Functionalism theory argues how humans require a sense of belonging, which elucidates the reasons for people modifying their bodies, which is to fit into a societies standards or a certain social group
• Link to Pretty Modern
• Anthropologist argument: Anthropologists argue that the "skin is a barrier" of "interior and exterior" expressions of individuality
• Edmonds' ethnography


  • Examines the pervasive influence of beauty ideals on the construction and modification of the body in Brazil
  • Explores how individuals engage in various practices, including cosmetic surgery, dieting, and exercise, to conform to culturally specific standards of beauty
• Brazilian women aspire to achieve the ideal of the "globeleza"


  • Characterized by a slim, toned physique and Eurocentric features
• Motivation behind individuals' decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures

  Reveals the social and psychological significance attached to bodily transformation
• Edmonds documents the motivations behind individuals' decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures through interviews and participant observation
• Pretty Modern: 'Delves into the medicalization of the body through the proliferation of cosmetic surgery in Brazil'
• Medicalization of the body

  • Rise of the aesthetic surgery industry
  • Implications for notions of beauty, health, and self-esteem
• Cosmetic procedures


  • Breast augmentation
  • Liposuction
  • Buttock implants
• Cosmetic procedures are marketed as solutions to perceived bodily imperfections, reflecting broader societal anxieties surrounding physical appearance
• Individuals


  • Viviane, a young woman who undergoes multiple cosmetic surgeries in pursuit of beauty and social acceptance
• Embodiment and Identity


  The body serves as a site for the negotiation of identity and social belonging
• Edmonds' exploration


  • How beauty practices intersect with notions of class, race, and gender, shaping individuals' experiences of embodiment and selfhood
• Cosmetic surgery


  • Often framed as a means of upward mobility for women from marginalized backgrounds, enabling them to access opportunities and social networks otherwise unavailable to them
• Edmonds' approach


  Uses ethnographic vignettes to illustrate the complex ways in which the body becomes a locus for the performance and negotiation of identity within Brazilian society
• Pretty Modern: 'Situates the Brazilian beauty industry within the broader context of globalization and consumer culture'
• Edmonds' book


  • Traces the transnational flows of beauty ideals, aesthetic norms, and medical technologies that shape the beauty practices of Brazilian individuals
  • Examines how global media, advertising, and celebrity culture influence perceptions of beauty and inform individuals' desires for bodily transformation
  • Provides examples of how Brazilian cosmetic surgeons capitalize on these global trends, marketing their services to both domestic and international clients seeking to enhance their physical appearance
• Ethical Considerations and Body Politics

  • Edmonds grapples with the ethical implications of cosmetic surgery and beauty practices in Brazil
  • Critically examines the power dynamics inherent in the beauty industry
  • Questions who benefits from the commodification of the body and who is marginalized or exploited in the process
  • Discusses issues of consent, agency, and bodily autonomy, particularly in relation to the pressures faced by women to conform to unrealistic beauty standards
  • Prompts readers to reflect on the broader societal implications of beauty ideals and the politics of the body in contemporary Brazil