Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea - Essay Example

Critique and Reaction to ‘Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea’ by Ruth Holliday and Jo Elfving Hwang The authors of ‘Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea’ have posed various questions in their quest to question the commonly held notion in this field. For instance, why is cosmetic surgery considered a feminist concept when more male patients are increasingly reported? Why is there limited research about male cosmetic surgery? Why is cosmetic surgery always associated with western influence while there are multiple players including tradition and health?

The central argument of the authors is that cosmetic surgery in South Korea is influenced by a hybrid of intersecting factors like negotiation between national and global standards of beauty, national identity, official and unofficial religious discourses, caring for oneself, aging, quest for social status and traditional attributes as opposed to the generally held notion that cosmetic surgery is only two-fold; as a feminist issues and as undesired effect of influence from westernization. The authors present this argument by questioning the previous research done on the field of cosmetic surgery.

The author has used different types of evidence to support his central argument. The major types of evidence used are statistical and judgment evidence. Statistical evidence is used to annul the notion that cosmetic surgery is a feminine issue. Drawing from official statistics, the author reveals that male patients make 10% of the total cosmetic surgery patients. Furthermore, according to Morgan (1991:30), the number is higher ranging between 30 and 40%. The most interesting thing with the convectional research is that, despite the increased number of male patients seeking the services of cosmetic surgeons, men have been left out of the discussion making the issue sound solely feminine.

Judgment evidence has been used to dispel the notion that Korean cosmetic patients are exclusively influenced by western effects. The authors have been able to make concrete inferences by drawing on the official facts and figure. Cosmetic surgery has been taken to signify a strong sense of indigenous identify as an individual has a mixture of both global and national beauty attributes. Furthermore, taking a few beauty aspects from different cultures demonstrates access to wider cosmopolitan identify with a more global perspective also informed by the local knowledge of concepts and beauty.

The authors have presented a well-researched and coherent piece of work. This work is well informed and largely avoids cases of bias by many instances of statistical evidence. Intensive research can be informed by the use of many references that have been cited in compiling this work. The fact that the authors chose to narrow the topic and use Korea as a case study is a strong point for this work. A wider focus area cannot be as authoritative as a narrow area. The structure of this work is also very appealing.

The use of the ‘introduction’ and ‘conclusion’ enables the readers to get a grasp of the topics and argument by scanning. However, the authors have fully dispelled that cosmetic surgery is largely influenced by western cultures. Although it’s not the only influence, western culture has also played a major role. This is because, the western slim and highly toned body has been adopted as the ideal globally and many women seek cosmetic beauty to achieve it. Imperatively, the whole piece of work has been very successfully in delivering the theme and central argument of the authors.

I highly agree with the argument of the authors; most people performing cosmetic surgery have different inspirations to do it other than beauty. Cosmetic surgery has been very effective in fixing physical faults, thus enabling people success in both marriage and work. Others are interested in fixing healthy problems and looking younger by preventing early aging.Work CitedRuth Holliday and Jo Elfving Hwang. “Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea” Body and Society 18(2012); 58-81.