Correcting the Wrong: Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery in Reality Television Show
Date
2020
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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en
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Abstract
Many people have benefited from undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery such that they are happier
with their bodies as a result of the procedures. However, there are many people who instead feel
nothing but regret, as their surgeries left them with deformed, or botched, physical appearances
in need of reconstruction. In the reality television show Botched, reconstructive plastic surgeons
Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif work to correct not only the appearances of those whose
past plastic surgery experiences have left them with deformed figures, but also those whose
deformities occurred naturally or by injury. I explore the past and present complex dynamic that
exists between reconstructive and aesthetic surgery as well as how their opposition has had
implications on our perceptions of the body. This is completed through both a discussion of the
history of plastic surgery and an analysis of Botched. My analysis showed that Botched
reinforces normalized perceptions of aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery, with aesthetic
often being associated with negative results and unnecessary danger, and reconstructive surgery
often depicted as the positive savior of the deformed. The rationales behind an individual’s
desire to undergo plastic surgery vary. However, seeking what one understands to be the “perfect
body” seems to be a prominent explanation, one that holds numerous complexities that requires
further exploration.