Pretty Modern
Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil is a book by anthropologist Alexander Edmonds published by Duke University Press in 2010. Edmonds examines plastic surgery as a social domain and uses it to explore the social, medical and psychological landscape and conflicts in modern-day Brazil. In this book, he seeks to answer the question "how did plastic surgery—a practice often associated with body hatred and alienation—take root in this city known for its glorious embrace of sensuality and pleasure?” He examine what constitutes a perfect Brazilian body and how the social and racial dynamic of Brazil affect this. Synopsis The book contains three main sections, each addressing a particular aspect of plastic surgery culture in Brazil. Edmonds uses mainly interviews and observations of procedures as well as academic theories and publications. He interviews an array of people from various socio-economic backgrounds. Part One: The Self-Esteem in Each Ego Awakens This section of the book examines the roles of medicine and psychology in defining physical defects as an illness. It focuses on the career and philosophy of Dr. Ivo Pitanguy and his idea that everyone has "the right to beauty" and how the lines between what constitutes reconstructive and