Surface Imaginations: Cosmetic Surgery, Photography, and Skin

by Rachel Alpha Johnston Hurst

Versatile, trendy, and resilient, the global cosmetic surgery industry shows no signs of decline, especially with its promises, not just of aesthetic improvement, but of absolute transformation. Introducing the concept of "surface imagination," Rachel Hurst discusses the fantasy that a change to the exterior will enhance the interior, or that the outside is more significant because it fashions the inside. Drawing on psychoanalysis, feminist theory, popular culture, the history of medicine, and interviews with women who have undergone cosmetic procedures, Hurst explores the tensions between the two primary surfaces of cosmetic the photograph and the skin. The photograph, an idealized surface for envisioning the effects of cosmetic surgery, allows for speculation and retouching, predictably and without pain. The skin, on the other hand, is a recalcitrant surface that records the passage of time and heals unpredictably. Ultimately, Hurst argues, the fantasy of surface imagination corroborates the belief that one's body is mutable and controllable, and that control over one's body permits control over one's social, emotional, and mental suffering. Acknowledging the varied experiences and opinions of the patients interviewed, but also critiquing the promises made by the industry, Surface Imaginations develops an innovative approach to thinking about cosmetic surgical transformations through the seduction of surfaces.

276 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2015

Reviews

[Chloe]

i cant forget about this book. i havent finished it but i will always remember it.

[Anna]

Review forthcoming in Library Journal. Raises a lot of interesting questions, though I felt her interview pool of seven was problematically small and she was really enamored with psychoanalytic theory.