Embedded Files
Knowledge of how a father views plastic surgery might influence how eager or reluctant their children would be telling others about having cosmetic surgery. This relationship may however be different for the men who participated in this study because fathers may have greater expectations regarding masculinity for their sons. Evidence of this suggestion was not found in this study because responses of males and females regarding paternal support for having plastic surgery were most identical for each response category, but the transmission of masculinity between fathers and sons could be an interesting area for future research regarding attitudes towards plastic surgery. The statistically significant relationship between paternal support and having plastic surgery with unlimited amounts of money (p=0.004) suggests that parental attitudes relate to financial considerations regarding plastic surgery. Although we live in a society dominated by men, one cannot assume that fathers are the financial heads of households. This finding does suggest however that fathers’ attitudes regarding plastic surgery and the cost of having such may procedures influence one’s attitudes towards plastic surgery. Fathers may be the parent to give their children knowledge of finances 41 and financial responsibility, but they may also be the parent who gives children what they want, so it is difficult to define the relationship between these two variables without understanding the strength and direction. Chi square tests were also used to determine the relationship between exposure to plastic surgery reality television shows and age (p=0.745) and race or ethnicity (p=0.243) but did not reveal statistical significance. No relationship was found between familial experience with plastic surgery and gender (p=0.157), racial or ethnic group (p=0.096) and age (p=0.773). The relatedness of parental attitudes with gender, race or ethnicity and age was tested by using chi square testing with the responses for perceived maternal and paternal support for having plastic surgery. No statistically significant relationship was found between maternal support and gender (p=0.086), racial or ethnic group (p=0.068), and age (p=0.475) or paternal support and gender (p=0.577), racial or ethnic group (p=0.794) and age (p=0.806). No significant relationships were identified between the three independent variables (family history regarding plastic surgery, parental attitudes towards plastic surgery, exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs) and the variables assessing participant demographics other than the significance of gender and exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs. This was not unexpected regarding age because although the age varied for the participants, the age range was narrow. Although it cannot be assumed, individuals of the same age group may share similar attitudes about a topic or have similar habits. I expected racial or ethnic group to be related to exposure to plastic surgery reality television shows, familial experience with plastic surgery and parental attitudes because of the influence that cultural expectations may have on value 42 formation. The lack of relationships between gender and familial experience and gender and parental attitudes showed that increased knowledge and the attitudes of other people close to an individual are not necessarily influenced by the gender of that individual. The analysis of the qualitative data collected in this study exhibited a pattern that showed how attitudes towards plastic surgery in college-aged men and women are affected by how others may perceive them if they have cosmetic procedures. Coding of responses into 20 words, phrases or themes (attention, cheating, disappoint parents, don’t care, family understands, friends understand, help others, judge, level of relationship dependent, natural beauty, never see them again, not want, personal/private, procedure dependent, procedure outcome dependent, proud, reveals unhappiness, taboo, talk about if asked, tell younger people, transparency) revealed why individuals are reluctant or eager to tell people other than family, other than friends, and other than close friends and family that they have gotten cosmetic surgery. The distribution of these responses for questions 16 through 21 is in Tables 10 through 15. Modifying the Body: Canadian Men’s Perspectives on Appearance and Cosmetic Surgery Rosemary Ricciardelli York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Philip White McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada In postmodern scholarship there has been a temporal shift to thinking of the body as malleable rather than fixed, which has opened space for the remaking of the self via the remaking of the body (Featherstone, 1991; Giddens, 1991). Among men, this process is thought to interact with shifting understandings of masculinity. In this study, 14 interviews were conducted to investigate experiences of masculinity, physical appearance and cosmetic surgery among Canadian men who had undergone or were contemplating cosmetic surgery. Responses suggest that bodily presentations and experiences of masculinity continue to influence how people feel about themselves and their perspective toward cosmetic surgery. Findings are discussed in relation to contemporary constructions of masculinity, body, and identity. Key Words: Body
Google Sites
Report abuse