The Biopolitics of Beauty: Cosmetic Citizenship and Affective Capital in Brazil

268 Pages·2017·2.61 MB·English

by  Alvaro Jarrín

The Biopolitics of Beauty
Cosmetic Citizenship and Aff ective Capital
in Brazil
Alvaro Jarrín
university of california press
The Biopolitics of Beauty
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The Biopolitics of Beauty
Cosmetic Citizenship and Aff ective Capital
in Brazil
Alvaro Jarrín
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship
in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and
institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2017 Alvaro E. Jarrín
Chapter 2 is based on the following article: Alvaro E.
Jarrin, “The Rise of the Cosmetic Nation: Plastic
Governmentality and Hybrid Medical Practices in Brazil,”
Medical Anthropology 31, no. 3 (2012): 213–228,
reproduced with permission from Taylor & Francis.
Chapter 4 is based on the following essay: Alvaro E.
Jarrin, “Favela Models: Sexual Virtue and Hopeful
Narratives of Beauty in Brazil,” in Girls’ Sexualities and
the Media, edited by Kate Harper, Yasmina Katsulis,
Vera Lopez, and Georganne Scheiner Gillis (New York:
Peter Lang, 2013), ISBN: 9781433122767, reproduced
with permission from the editors and Peter Lang.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jarrín, Alvaro, 1980- author.
Title: The biopolitics of beauty : cosmetic citizenship and
aff ective capital in Brazil / Alvaro Jarrín.
Description: Oakland, California : University of
California Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2017006866| isbn 9780520293878
(cloth : alk. paper) | isbn 9780520293885 (pbk. : alk.
paper) | isbn 9780520967212 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Surgery, Plastic—Social aspects—Brazil. |
Biopolitics—Brazil. | Public health--Social aspects—
Brazil. | Plastic surgeons—Social aspects—Brazil. |
Beauty, Personal—Social aspects--Brazil.
Classifi cation: lcc rd119 .j37 2017 | ddc 617.9/
50981—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006866
Contents
Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Biopolitical and Aff ective
Dimensions of Beauty 1
1. The Eugenesis of Beauty 28
2. Plastic Governmentality 54
3. The Circulation of Beauty 76
4. Hope, Aff ect, Mobility 102
5. The Raciology of Beauty 128
6. Cosmetic Citizens 156
Conclusion: Thinking of Beauty Transnationally 188
Notes 203
Bibliography 217
Index 231
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Illustrations
1. Photographing a working-class patient before surgery / 23
2. Photograph from Penna and Neiva’s scientifi c expedition / 33
3. A comparison of body types in Irajá’s Morphology of Woman / 45
4. An equation presented in Irajá’s Morphology of Woman / 46
5. Ivo Pitanguy monitoring a surgery at the Santa Casa da
Misericórdia / 60
6. Medical residents verifying that breast implants are even / 71
7. A medical resident marking the body of a working-class
patient / 87
8. A working-class patient about to undergo a breast augmentation
surgery / 91
9. Internet meme portraying a racialized caricature of a samba
queen / 141
10. An Acta Cirurgica Brasileira image portraying the “negroid
nose” / 149
11. An Acta Cirurgica Brasileira image showing a corrected “negroid
nose” / 150
12. Tissue cut from a patient’s abdomen during an
abdominoplasty / 169
13. Extensive necrosis in a patient after an application of polymethyl
methacrylate / 178
vii
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