Journal of East China Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) ›› 2022, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (6): 145-152.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2022.06.016

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Remaking Body in a Changing World:Aesthetic Plastic Surgery as Techniques of the Body

Jing-wen FANG   

  • Accepted:2022-10-14 Online:2022-11-15 Published:2022-12-03

Abstract:

The aestheticization of the body extends aesthetics to the field of technology and thus strengthens the necessity of the aesthetic transformation of the body; while the medicalization of aesthetics extends medicine to the aesthetic scope and provides the technical possibility for the aesthetic transformation of the body. The combination of these two trends makes aesthetic plastic surgery an important technology for body modification. With unattainable aesthetic standards presented by a perfect body image and constantly changing body aesthetic trends, the aestheticization of the body makes the medical intervention through aesthetic plastic surgery natural and reasonable. The potential health risks and aesthetic risks of aesthetic plastic surgery as an invasive surgery may lead to new demands for body modification and consequently makes the project continue. It’s worth pointing out that, in a rapidly changing social context, remaking body through aesthetic plastic surgery might not be the end of change, since it is probably instrumental for a life change.

Key words: aesthetic plastic surgery, aestheticization of the body, medicalization of aesthetics, transform