Postfeminism and the knife: cosmetic surgery accounts of young Thai women

Chintrakarn, Chalisa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7751-1904 (2024). Postfeminism and the knife: cosmetic surgery accounts of young Thai women. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Since early 2010s, cosmetic surgery (CS) has come into vogue across Asia, including Thailand especially among women. Feminist scholars have extensively explored CS, with some of this scholarship underlain by the concept of postfeminism. Postfeminism centres around aesthetic/psychological/professional self-containment and self-empowerment, as well as self-monitoring and scrutiny from other women. Postfeminism has been increasingly examined concerning Asian locales. However, there has been scarce feminist research on not only young Thai women’s CS experiences, but also the applicability of postfeminism in the Thai context. This thesis thus aims to critically examine the reflective CS accounts of young Thai women through the lens of feminist theory. The research questions of this study are: 1) what informs young Thai women’s decisions to undergo CS?; 2) what are their post-operative experiences? To investigate these questions, semi-structured online interviews were undertaken with 50 young Thai women who had CS and five Thai cosmetic surgeons. The thesis has found that the reflective CS accounts of young Thai women are greatly underpinned by postfeminism, with several influences about Thai society and East Asian countries. These Thai and East Asian influences cohere with Chinese physiognomy; the collectivist and conservative basis of Thai society; Thai and Korean popular culture; and Korean and Thai-Chinese beauty styles. This thesis makes the prime theoretical contribution surrounding the entanglement between women’s self-confidence/esteem and looks; various characteristics of appearance-focused surveillance from men and women alike; and the distinctiveness of this project from postfeminist manifestations in the West.

Type of Work:	Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)
Award Type:	Doctorates > Ph.D.
Supervisor(s):	Supervisor(s) Email ORCID Hall, Kelly UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Whiteman, Julie UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Budgeon, Shelley UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Widdows, Heather UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Licence:	All rights reserved All rights reserved
College/Faculty:	Colleges > College of Social Sciences
School or Department:	Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Funders:	None/not applicable
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
URI:	http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/14847

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