Refashioning Race - by Alka Vaid Menon (Paperback)

About the Book

"Cosmetic surgery was once associated with a one-size-fits-all approach, modifying patients to conform to a single standard of beauty. As it has become more accessible worldwide, changing beauty trends have led to a proliferation of beauty standards for members of different racial groups. Alka V. Menon takes us inside the world of cosmetic surgeons, journeying from a sprawling convention center in Kyoto to boutique clinics in the multicultural countries of the United States and Malaysia. She shows how surgeons generate and apply knowledge using racial categories and how this process is affected by transnational clinical and economic exchanges. Surgeons not only measure and organize but also elaborate upon racial differences in a globalized field of medicine. Focusing on the role of cosmetic surgeons as gatekeepers and producers of desired appearances, Refashioning Race argues that cosmetic surgeons literally reshape race--both on patients' bodies and at the broader level of culture"--

Book Synopsis

Cosmetic surgery was once associated with a one-size-fits-all approach, modifying patients to conform to a single standard of beauty. As this surgery has become more accessible worldwide, changing beauty trends have led to a proliferation of beauty standards for members of different racial groups. Alka V. Menon enters the world of cosmetic surgeons, journeying from a sprawling convention center in Kyoto to boutique clinics in the multicultural countries of the United States and Malaysia. She shows how surgeons generate and apply knowledge using racial categories and how this process is affected by transnational clinical and economic exchanges. Surgeons not only measure and organize but also elaborate upon racial differences in a globalized field of medicine. Focusing on the role of cosmetic surgeons as gatekeepers and producers of desired appearances, Refashioning Race argues that cosmetic surgeons literally reshape race--both on patients' bodies and at the broader level of culture.

From the Back Cover

"Both fresh and realistic in its viewpoint, Refashioning Race finally reveals how race works in cosmetic surgery!"--So Yeon Leem, Assistant Professor, Dong-A University

"An excellent and innovative work that cuts across multiple levels of analysis. Alka Menon breaks new ground and revises assumptions regarding race and cosmetic surgery. Readers will be able to see race as a tool in the hands of surgeons."--Maxine Craig, author of Sorry I Don't Dance: Why Men Refuse to Move

Review Quotes

"Overall, Refashioning Race makes an original and rich contribution to the scholarly bodies of work (no more puns, I promise) on body/embodiment, beauty, cosmetic surgery, and race, as well as science and technology studies and the growing subfield of the sociology of expertise."

-- "Social Forces"

About the Author

Alka V. Menon is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University.