Correcting the Wrong: Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery in Reality Television Show

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2020
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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en
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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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.
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