This engaging introduction to Japan's burgeoning beauty culture
investigates a wide range of phenomenon--aesthetic salons, dieting
products, male beauty activities, and beauty language--to find out
why Japanese women and men are paying so much attention to their
bodies. Laura Miller uses social science and popular culture sources
to connect breast enhancements, eyelid surgery, body hair removal,
nipple bleaching, and other beauty work to larger issues of gender
ideology, the culturally-constructed nature of beauty ideals, and
the globalization of beauty technologies and standards. Her
sophisticated treatment of this timely topic suggests that new
body aesthetics are not forms of "deracializiation" but rather
innovative experimentation with identity management. While
recognizing that these beauty activities are potentially a form
of resistance, Miller also considers the commodification of beauty,
exploring how new ideals and technologies are tying consumers even
more firmly to an ever-expanding beauty industry. By considering
beauty in a Japanese context, Miller challenges widespread assumptions
about the universality and naturalness of beauty standards.

Download File Size:3.29 MB

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