Collapsing the Surfaces of Skin and Photograph in Cosmetic Minimally-Invasive Procedures. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hurst, Rachel Alpha Johnston
• Other Names: Lafrance Marc guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Body & society. Volume 24:Number 1/2(2018)
• Page Start: 175
• Page End: 192
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures -- cosmetic surgery -- feminist theory -- photography -- psychoanalysis -- skin; Human body -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 306.4613
• DOI: 10.1177/1357034X18766289
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1357-034X

Abstract

This article proposes that cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures – Botox injections, soft-tissue fillers, microdermabrasion, chemical peels and laser treatments – are an under-researched area and provide a number of promising paths for skin studies research. I argue that cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures collapse the difference between the surfaces of the photograph and the skin – the primary surfaces of cosmetic surgery – more successfully than cosmetic surgical procedures. More precisely, I maintain that the difference between photograph and skin is collapsed in two ways: first, through narrating the transformation of the skin's surface in a way that more closely matches the photographic promises of the cosmetic surgery industry; and, second, by depicting the surgical penetration of the skin through advertising photography. The article concludes by suggesting that further investigation into cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures could offer a new way to think about relationships between 'normative' and 'non-normative' skin modification practices.