Home : Book details : Book description

Description of  Under the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery, Boundary Work, and the Pursuit of the Natural Fake

Most women who elect to have cosmetic surgery want a natural outcomea discrete alteration of the body that appears unaltered. Under the Knife examines this theme in light of a cultural paradox. Whereas women are encouraged to improve their appearance, there is also a stigma associated with those who do so via surgery. Samantha Kwan and Jennifer Graves reveal how women negotiate their unnaturalbut hopefully (in their view) natural-lookingsurgically-altered bodies. Based on in-depth interviews with 46 women who underwent cosmetic surgery to enhance their appearance, the authors investigate motivations for surgery as well as womens thoughts about looking natural after the procedures. Read more