Medicalization of Female Beauty: A Content Analysis of Cosmetic Procedures

Introduction Over the past decade, cosmetic procedure options have significantly increased to help individuals achieve the American cultural standards of beauty (Greenberg, Bruess, & Conklin, 2011). According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (2011), cosmetic plastic surgery includes surgical and nonsurgical procedures individuals undergo to reshape normal structures of the body as well as enhance appearance, confidence, and self-esteem. As technology in cosmetic procedures increase, the amount of patients undergoing these noninvasive and invasive procedures also increase (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2011). Most recent data from the 2010 U.S. Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Statistics revealed that there has been a 77% increase in total cosmetic procedures performed in the past decade, as well as over 13 million total cosmetic procedures were performed in 2010. Of these procedures, more than 12.6 million were performed on females with the top five female cosmetic surgical procedures performed being breast augmentations (296,000 procedures performed), rhinoplasty (189,000 procedures performed), liposuction (179,000 procedures performed), eyelid surgery (177,000 procedures performed) and tummy tucks (112,000 procedures performed). In addition, the top five minimally-invasive procedures females elected to have were botulinum toxin type A (5 million procedures performed), soft tissue fillers (1.7 million procedures performed), chemical peel (1.1 million procedures performed), laser hair removal (773,000 procedures performed), and microdermabrasion (666,000 procedures performed). In American society, diverse media marketing strategies and materials perpetuate the idealized standards of beauty among females by influencing a particular body image as well as providing convenient solutions to achieve this body image by undergoing surgery (Teague, Mackenzie, & Rosenthal, 2011). As cosmetic surgery is now widely available to assist females in reaching cultural beauty norms, previous literature revealed females may undergo breast augmentations to regain femininity without getting fat to fit the ideal feminine body portrayed by the media or may seek cosmetic procedures to self-treat body dysmorphic disorders (Jones, 2008). However, not everyone who turns to the solution of cosmetic procedures suffers from body image issues as cosmetic surgery and makeovers have become a commonplace in society (Greenburg et al., 2011). In relation to the body, cosmetic procedures can be viewed as a sociocultural occurrence of medicalization of female beauty and also the normalcy of these procedures to achieve perfectionism as well as receive therapy (Pitts-Taylor, 2007). Previous research indicates females are socially influenced to view their bodies through the lens of medical terminology including terms associated with aesthetic flaws and genetics as an issue in which they should seek the help of medical professionals (Gagne & McGaughey, 2002; Gillespie, 1996; Gimlin, 2000). Specifically, medicalization is a process that can be defined in which nonmedical problems are describes in terms of medical problems such as illnesses and disorders (Conrad, 1992). According to Sullivan (1993) cosmetic procedures are unique in the medicalization process as the risks of undergoing these procedures are minimized in order to achieve the female beauty ideal. Additionally, cosmetic surgery is not a means of practicing traditional medicine that focuses on improving health and wellness as well as physical functioning since it only improves appearance of individuals (Sullivan, 1993). Thus, individuals may seek treatments such as cosmetic procedures in order to fix their nonmedical problems. Females are heavily influenced to view beauty enhancing services such as cosmetic procedures as therapeutic treatments and rewards since they are advertised at the organizational level through a medical appeal approach (Black & Sharma, 2001). …