Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea Essay

Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea - Essay Example is influenced by a hybrid of intersecting factors like negotiation between national and global standards of beauty, national identity, official and unofficial religious discourses, caring for oneself, aging, quest for social status and traditional attributes as opposed to the generally held notion that cosmetic surgery is only two-fold; as a feminist issues and as undesired effect of influence from westernization. The authors present this argument by questioning the previous research done on the field of cosmetic surgery. The author has used different types of evidence to support his central argument. The major types of evidence used are statistical and judgment evidence. Statistical evidence is used to annul the notion that cosmetic surgery is a feminine issue. Drawing from official statistics, the author reveals that male patients make 10% of the total cosmetic surgery patients. Furthermore, according to Morgan (1991:30), the number is higher ranging between 30 and 40%. The most interesting thing with the convectional research is that, despite the increased number of male patients seeking the services of cosmetic surgeons, men have been left out of the discussion making the issue sound solely feminine. Judgment evidence has been used to dispel the notion that Korean cosmetic patients are exclusively influenced by western effects. The authors have been able to make concrete inferences by drawing on the official facts and figure. Cosmetic surgery has been taken to signify a strong sense of indigenous identify as an individual has a mixture of both global and national beauty attributes. Furthermore, taking a few beauty aspects from different cultures demonstrates access to wider cosmopolitan identify with a more global perspective also informed by the local knowledge of concepts and beauty. The authors have presented a well-researched and coherent piece of work. This work is well informed and largely avoids cases of bias by many instances of statistical evidence.