Motivational narratives and assessments of the body after cosmetic surgery

From disabled tourists to impaired cyborg tourists: What would it take to transform?

Despite the media reports and governments promoting tourism as a fundamental right for everyone, traveling is still not accessible for disabled people. This study has highlighted the need to make tourists with disabilities accessable for inaccessible destinations. Cyborg products in the form of technological implants can make tourists with disabilities accessable for inaccessible destinations. Since tourists with a mobility disability (TMD) will be one of the primary beneficiaries of technological implants, little is known about their acceptance of technological implants during traveling.Therefore, this study assesses the willingness of TMD to use technological implants during traveling through a qualitative research approach. The results from thematic analysis identified two main themes: the use of assistive devices during traveling with four sub-themes (freedom of traveling, physical and attitudinal barriers, cost, and additional assistance and battery issues), and drivers of impaired cyborg tourists with seven sub-themes (independence, improved well-being, convenience/ease of use, social inclusion, positive emotions, motivation, and other issues). The study contributed to the literature by introducing drivers of impaired cyborg tourists along with previously identified concepts. The results also provided implications for the stakeholders of the tourism industry.

Australian women's motivations for, and experiences of, cosmetic surgery: A qualitative investigation

Little qualitative literature has examined women's motivations for undergoing cosmetic surgery or their experiences throughout the surgery process (e.g., consultation, aftercare, and recovery). To fill this gap, we interviewed 15 Australian women (M_age = 37.67) who had undergone cosmetic surgery. We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis from which we generated five overarching themes. Broadly, participants described the 'cosmetic surgery lifestyle' as being normalised in contemporary Australian society. In terms of their own cosmetic surgery experiences, several expressed suffering from severe depression immediately post-surgery. Most participants also discussed how interactions with other people influenced their cosmetic surgery journeys. For instance, several described having problematic and/or distressing interactions with cosmetic surgeons, while others spoke to the lack of emotional support they received from romantic partners. Finally, almost all participants described how cosmetic surgery was a decision they made 'for themselves' (i.e., completely independent of external influence), yet, paradoxically, described how negative comments made by others drove them to cosmetic surgery. These findings contribute to existing feminist accounts of cosmetic surgery and highlight ethical concerns regarding how cosmetic surgery is practiced in Australia.

Body image and acceptance of cosmetic surgery in China and the Netherlands: A qualitative study on cultural differences and similarities

There is an established relationship between acceptance of cosmetic surgery and psychological factors, including body image. However, qualitative research among diverse cultural groups is needed to provide a more fine-grained understanding of the influences on women's attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. In this study, 20 Chinese and 20 Dutch women aged 18-50 years (M_Chinese = 34.20; M_Dutch = 34.70) participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified three themes that captured the factors that women perceived to foster favorable attitudes towards cosmetic surgery: (a) sociocultural pressures (e.g., normalization of cosmetic surgery, appearance-focused peers); (b) intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., beauty-ideal internalization, social comparison); and (c) benefits of beauty (e.g., attracting men, socioeconomic benefits). Conversely, two themes captured the factors perceived to reduce favorable attitudes towards cosmetic surgery: (a) intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., unconditional body acceptance, self-confidence); and (b) external considerations (e.g., health risks, financial costs). Overall, Chinese and Dutch participants shared many similarities in their opinions about what might affect cosmetic surgery consideration. The most striking cross-cultural differences concerned perceived socioeconomic benefits of beauty (mainly Chinese women) and women's conceptualization of body appreciation. This study may enable a more comprehensive understanding about the factors influencing Chinese and Dutch women's attitudes towards cosmetic surgery, and the nuances in these relationships across these cultures.

Benefit-Seeking or Risk-Taking? Examining the Portrayal of Cosmetic Surgery in Chinese News, 2000-2019

Analyzing 311 news articles published in representative Chinese newspapers, this study investigated how cosmetic surgery (CS) was represented in Chinese media from 2000 to 2019. Employing a coding scheme based on prior literature and sampled data, the study analyzed both features of the articles and profiles of the patients in the media. Results showed significant differences in media reporting across issue categories, reporting frames (benefit-focused, risk-focused, neutral), sources of information, drivers for and impacts of having surgeries. Among all the reasons for obtaining CS, boosting career confidence was ranked at the top. Additionally, significant differences in reporting were observed across types of the newspapers, gender of the patients, and time periods of the coverage. Implications of the findings for health promotion and regulation were discussed in reference to the social, cultural, and media context in China.

The Effect of Cosmetic Surgery on Sexual Self-Esteem: Attitudes toward Body Image and Well-Being in Married Women

BACKGROUND

Nowadays in different communities, we are confronting an ever-increasing trend of cosmetic surgeries. The present research was carried out with the aim of investigating sexual self-esteem, attitude to body image and well-being in married women aged from 20 to 30 years old before and after cosmetic surgery in Tehran, Iran.

METHODS

The research was a semi-experimental design with pre- and post-test. The statistical population consisted 80 married women. The research sample was selected by means of the convenience sampling approach. This group was similar in terms of age, education, and marital status. The research data were accumulated using the Zeanah and Schwarz sexual self-esteem questionnaire, the Fisher body image questionnaire and the Ryff psychological well-being questionnaire, and were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The average scores of all three variables, involving “sexual self-esteem”, “body image” and “well-being” were dramatically different before and after cosmetic surgery (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

It can be ascertained that people after cosmetic surgery had higher sexual self-esteem, were more satisfied with their body image, and experienced more well-being.

Side effect experiences of South Korean women in their twenties and thirties after facial plastic surgery

Background

Rates of plastic surgery procedures have increased dramatically over the past several decades, especially for the women in South Korea.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective experience of South Korean women in their twenties and thirties with facial plastic surgery (FPS) side effects.

Participants and methods

Seven women who have suffered from FPS side effects participated in this study. Data were collected from July to September 2015 through individual in-depth interviews using open-ended questions and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method, which is a Husserlian phenomenological approach.

Results

Six themes, and 25 subthemes, were found. Major themes were “choosing FPS to gain a new self”, “facing an unintended self”, “trying to accept a changed self”, “making efforts to overcome the situation”, “coming to know a new world”, and “pursuing a new lifestyle”.

Conclusion

This study raises social awareness on the risk of plastic surgery side effects, which could prevent unnecessary plastic surgery. It also suggests the need for a deeper understanding of women’s biopsychosocial suffering from plastic surgery side effects.

A comparison of body image concern in candidates for rhinoplasty and therapeutic surgery

Background

Body dysmorphic disorder among patients referring for cosmetic surgeries is a disorder that if not diagnosed by a physician, can cause irreparable damage to the doctor and the patient.

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare body image concern in candidates for rhinoplasty and therapeutic surgery.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 212 patients referring to Loghman Hospital of Tehran for rhinoplasty and therapeutic surgery during the period from 2014 through 2016. For each person in a cosmetic surgery group, a person of the same sex and age in a therapeutic surgery group was matched, and the study was conducted on 60 subjects in the rhinoplasty group and 62 patients in the therapeutic surgery group. Then, the Body Image Concern Inventory and demographic data were filled by all patients and the level of body image concern in both groups was compared. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 16, Chi-square test as well as paired-samples t-test. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

In this study, 122 patients (49 males and 73 females) with mean age of 27.1±7.3 between 18 and 55 years of age were investigated. Sixty subjects were candidates for rhinoplasty and 62 subjects for therapeutic surgery. Candidates for rhinoplasty were mostly male (60%) and single (63.3%). Results of the t-test demonstrated that body image concern and body dysmorphic disorder were higher in the rhinoplasty group compared to the therapeutic group (p<0.05).

Conclusion

Results of this study showed that the frequency of rhinoplasty candidates is higher in single male subjects. In addition, body image concern was higher in rhinoplasty candidates compared to candidates for other surgeries. Visiting and correct interviewing of people who referred for rhinoplasty is very important to measure their level of body image concern to diagnose any disorders available and to consider required treatments.

Assessing the Moderating Effect of the End User in Consumer Behavior: The Acceptance of Technological Implants to Increase Innate Human Capacities

Today, technological implants are being developed to increase innate human capacities, such as memory or calculation speed, and to endow us with new ones, such as the remote control of machines. This study's aim was two-fold: first, to introduce a Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) model of technology acceptance to explain the intention to use this technology in the field of consumer behavior; and second, to analyze the differences in the intention to use it based on whether the intended implant recipient is oneself or one's child (i.e., the moderating effect of the end user). A multi-group analysis was performed to compare the results between the two groups: implant "for me" (Group 1) and implant "for my child" (Group 2). The model largely explains the intention to use the insideable technology for the specified groups [variance explained (R (2)) of over 0.70 in both cases]. The most important variables were found to be "positive emotions" and (positive) "subjective norm." This underscores the need to broaden the range of factors considered to be decisive in technology acceptance to include variables related to consumers' emotions. Moreover, statistically significant differences were found between the "for me" and "for my child" models for "perceived ease of use (PEU)" and "subjective norm." These findings confirm the moderating effect of the end user on new insideable technology acceptance.

Plastic surgery trends parallel Playboy magazine: the pudenda preoccupation

BACKGROUND

Aesthetic vulvovaginal procedures are being performed with increased frequency. Many experts have suggested that the growing demand for these procedures relates to the availability and revealing nature of nude images on the Internet and in other media.

OBJECTIVES

The authors examined chronologically organized nude photographs from a popular magazine and objectively measured the position of the vulva relative to the center of focus to observe trends for the past 6 decades.

METHODS

Playboy magazine centerfold photographs from 1954 to 2013 were analyzed and categorized. The positions of the vaginal area (V-line) and the breast area (N-line) were measured in relation to the horizontal midline of the photograph. Images also were assessed for degree of grooming and exposure of the breast and pubic areas, as well as visibility of the pudendal cleft, labia majora, and labia minora.

RESULTS

Four hundred ninety images met inclusion criteria for the analysis. Full exposure of the V-line increased from 0 instances in the 1950s to 78.6% of images from 2010 through 2013 (P<.001). Moreover, the V-line position became 41.0% closer to the photographic midline (P=.045).

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate a trend toward increased visibility and prominence of the female genitalia as the focal point of popular nude photographs.

Quality of life before and after cosmetic surgery

This article reviews the literature regarding the impact of cosmetic surgery on health-related quality of life (QOL). Studies were identified through PubMed/Medline and PsycINFO searches from January 1960 to December 2011. Twenty-eight studies were included in this review, according to specific selection criteria. The procedures and tools employed in cosmetic surgery research studies were remarkably diverse, thus yielding difficulties with data analysis. However, data indicate that individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery began with lower values on aspects of QOL than control subjects, and experienced significant QOL improvement post-procedurally, an effect that appeared to plateau with time. Despite the complexity of measuring QOL in cosmetic surgery patients, most studies showed an improvement in QOL after cosmetic surgery procedures. However, this finding was clouded by measurement precision as well as heterogeneity of procedures and study populations. Future research needs to focus on refining measurement techniques, including developing cosmetic surgery-specific QOL measures.

Passing through: meanings of survivorship and support among Filipinas with breast cancer

Breast cancer among Filipinas in the United States is a major but largely neglected cancer disparity. In 2004, a community- university partnership resulted in the first Filipina breast cancer support group in the San Francisco Bay Area. Building on this partnership, we explored the social and cultural contexts of Filipinas' experiences with breast cancer to inform development of culturally appropriate and sustainable support services and outreach. We utilized multiple qualitative methods (participant observation, individual and small group in-depth qualitative interviews) to identify meanings of survivorship and support. Interviews and observations revealed the influences of social context and immigration experiences on women's understandings of cancer, what "surviving" cancer means, and what it means to take care of someone with breast cancer (or be taken care of). Our findings highlight the importance of a transnational perspective for the study of immigrant women's experiences of cancer and survivorship.

[Study of the benefits after body contouring surgery at the university hospital in Lille]

BACKGROUND

Cutting the excess of skin body contouring surgery in post-massive weight loss patients seems to only improve functional and aesthetic disorders. But other benefits can be determinated such as psychosocial effects. The first two are usually evaluated. The last two are rarely researched. The goal of this study is to evaluate the benefits of body contouring surgery by comparing patient satisfaction on these different aspects.

METHODS

One hundred thirty-four patients with more that 30 kg's weight loss had body contouring surgery at the university hospital in Lille between June 2004 and June 2008. Seventy-eight patients agreed to respond to a study on quality-of-life improvements after body contouring surgery which evaluated aesthetic, functional, and psychosocial aspects. The data were compared before and after the surgery to assess the benefits of the surgery in these areas.

RESULTS

All the aforementioned aspects were clearly improved with the body contouring surgery. However, the improvement in the physical aspects seems to be somehow disappointing, not living up to the patients expectations. Exactly 52.5 % of the patients wanted morphologic alteration, while the scars were well tolerated in 78.2 % of the cases. On the other hand, psychosocial discomfort was improved in ways not expected by the patients. Two new findings were remarkable: a decrease of 56.7 % in the sense of feeling depressed and an improvement in finding a job after body contouring surgery.

CONCLUSION

The psychosocial improvements represent the true benefits of body contouring surgery.