Pretty Modern

Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil

Nonfiction, History, Americas, South America, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Pretty Modern by Alexander Edmonds, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alexander Edmonds ISBN: 9780822393115
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: December 13, 2010
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Alexander Edmonds
ISBN: 9780822393115
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: December 13, 2010
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Pretty Modern is a riveting account of Brazil’s emergence as a global leader in plastic surgery. Intrigued by a Carnaval parade that mysteriously paid homage to a Rio de Janeiro plastic surgeon, anthropologist Alexander Edmonds conducted research that took him from Ipanema socialite circles to glitzy telenovela studios to the packed waiting rooms of public hospitals offering free cosmetic surgery. The result is provocative exploration of the erotic, commercial, and intimate aspects of beauty in a nation with extremes of wealth and poverty and a reputation for natural sensuality. Drawing on conversations with maids and their elite mistresses, divorced housewives, black celebrities, and favela residents aspiring to be fashion models, Edmonds analyzes what sexual desirability means and does for women in different social positions. He argues that beauty is a distinct realm of modern experience that does not simply reflect other inequalities. It mimics the ambiguous emancipatory potential of capital, challenging traditional hierarchies while luring consumers into a sexual culture that reduces the body to the brute biological criteria of attractiveness. Illustrated with color photographs, Pretty Modern offers a fresh theoretical perspective on the significance of female beauty in consumer capitalism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Pretty Modern is a riveting account of Brazil’s emergence as a global leader in plastic surgery. Intrigued by a Carnaval parade that mysteriously paid homage to a Rio de Janeiro plastic surgeon, anthropologist Alexander Edmonds conducted research that took him from Ipanema socialite circles to glitzy telenovela studios to the packed waiting rooms of public hospitals offering free cosmetic surgery. The result is provocative exploration of the erotic, commercial, and intimate aspects of beauty in a nation with extremes of wealth and poverty and a reputation for natural sensuality. Drawing on conversations with maids and their elite mistresses, divorced housewives, black celebrities, and favela residents aspiring to be fashion models, Edmonds analyzes what sexual desirability means and does for women in different social positions. He argues that beauty is a distinct realm of modern experience that does not simply reflect other inequalities. It mimics the ambiguous emancipatory potential of capital, challenging traditional hierarchies while luring consumers into a sexual culture that reduces the body to the brute biological criteria of attractiveness. Illustrated with color photographs, Pretty Modern offers a fresh theoretical perspective on the significance of female beauty in consumer capitalism.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Vibrant Matter by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book The Postcolonial Careers of Santha Rama Rau by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book One Night on TV Is Worth Weeks at the Paramount by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Political Landscapes by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book The Politics of Possibility by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Undoing Monogamy by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Downwardly Global by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Phonology as Human Behavior by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Always More Than One by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book The Fierce Urgency of Now by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Men without Women by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book God of Many Names by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980–1983 by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book It's All in the Game by Alexander Edmonds
Cover of the book Masculine/Feminine by Alexander Edmonds
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy