Fake breasts and power: Gender, class and cosmetic surgery

SynopsisDrawing on on-going ethnographic research with young, white, working class British women who have paid for breast augmentation surgery, this article addresses questions about consumption, class and gender. It sets out to explore the relationship between agency, identity and the consumption of ‘fake’ breasts and the factors that make cosmetic surgery a meaningful part of a sample of young women's social world. The article attempts to identify how participants use ‘fake’ breasts in order to reposition themselves in terms of gender and class hierarchies. At the same time however, it remains critical of the structural context in which this form of consumption represents either the only or the best strategy through which to attain their goals. In so doing, it aims to contribute to wider feminist debates on cosmetic surgery and agency through a focus on the market and the structural context within which women choose to consume fake breasts.

► Fake breasts are used in order to reposition women in gender and class hierarchies.
► Fake breasts are experienced as symbols of social status.
► Feminist debates on cosmetic surgery should explore the market.
► Researchers on cosmetic surgery should explore how choices are made.
► The market for cosmetic surgery is differentiated and this impacts on choice.