Cosmetic Enhancement Of The Body And Identity Essay

Cosmetic enhancement is the use of medical intervention to achieve a goal that is either socially created, or personally created (Adams, J., 2010). These body improvements are often done to improve one’s self-esteem, romantic life, or to fit within a social or cultural criteria (Adams, 2010). Cosmetic enhancement of the body and identity has always been a luxury in which only the rich and famous could afford, but within our forever developing consumerist society it is becoming more rapidly available to the general public. The consumerist society in which I speak of is the society which we live in today. This society has been the result of modern capitalism. Karl Marx explains that capitalism is the bourgeoisie versus the working class, where the bourgeoisie (which are the capitalists) exploit the working class (McLennan, G., McManus, R., Spoonley, P., 2010). Marx believed that the capitalists were to blame for the rapidly increasing materialistic society, which has created li ves to revolve around material things, and of course, money (McLennan, et al., 2010). This consumer society which is said to be by Marx born from capitalism is all about setting marks and deadlines, so that people will always feel the need to consume (Bauman, Z., 2001). Therefore with the development of consumerism people become more focused on their desires and wants, more than their actual needs. This is where the notion of body enhancements come in, as people became more self-absorbed which createsShow MoreRelatedThe Beauty Of Cosmetic Surgery899 Words   |  4 Pagesfocus on personalities to celebrity body-parts and their artificial enhancement. The interest of celebrity is gazing at their body-parts, and it links the relationship between celebrity culture and cosmetic surgery. 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