Feminist Identification and Aesthetic Body Modification

• In Event: 039 - Regular Session. Sociology of the Body: New Directions in Body Studies

Abstract

In this study we examine the relationship between feminist identification and aesthetic body modification. The feminist literature points to two competing theoretical perspectives about aesthetic body modification. One perspective maintains that women who engage in aesthetic body modification are cultural dopes and victims of an oppressive patriarchal and capitalistic culture. The other contends that women who engage in aesthetic body modification are rational and savvy cultural actors who undergo these practices to empower themselves. From these theoretical perspectives, we develop and test several research hypotheses using survey data from a diverse sample of college students (n=1,377) at large public research universities in California, Texas, and New York. Specifically, we examine the relationship between feminist identification and aesthetic body modification practices, as well as measures of body satisfaction. Results inform theoretical discussion about what identifying as a feminist means for aesthetic body modification.

Authors

• Samantha Kwan, University of Houston

• Mary Nell Trautner, State University of New York-Buffalo