The Cross-Cultural Meanings of Cosmetic Surgery A Socio-linguistic Analysis of Three Spanish-Language Telenovela Adaptations

• In Event: 566 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. Gendered Lives

Abstract

The current paper utilizes social semiotics, multimodal discourse analysis, and dramatic dialogue methodologies (Van Leuween 2005; Richardson 2010) to explore the meanings of cosmetic surgery in three Spanish language telenovelas. Importantly, this paper aims to explore how discourse and images inform the meanings and representations of cosmetic surgery in three distinct sociocultural contexts: Colombia, The United States, and Spain. Thus, the present study focuses on the adaptations of the Colombian novel “Sin Tetas no Hay Paraíso” (Bolivar Moreno 2004) which depicts how disadvantaged Colombian women use cosmetic surgery as a vehicle for upward mobility in the context of drug trafficking, mafia, and violence. Three adaptations are analyzed: 1) the original Colombian series aired on channel Caracol in 2006, 2) the Telemundo adaptation aimed at Hispanic audiences in the United States in 2009; and 3), the Spanish adaption aired on Telecinco in 2008. The findings from this study reveal significant cultural variation -both visually and discursively- in terms of symbols of the representations beauty and cosmetic surgery. In Colombia, cosmetic surgery was dramatized as a tool leading to a transformation of self, a transition from childhood to adulthood, and a shift towards a hyper-sexualized female body. Conversely, the United States’s version associated it with monetary images, personal success, goals, and aspiration- findings consistent with cultural ideals such as the “American Dream”. Finally, the Spanish version was conservative and portrayed the least amount of explicit symbols of beauty and surgeries. As such, Spanish dramatists showed plastic surgery as a deviant act.

Author

• Isabelle Christine Beulaygue, University of Miami