Study Guide, Anth 2263

Week 4

Reading 1: Edmonds (2007)

Keywords:
 Ethnographic fieldwork - the primary methodology employed by sociocultural anthropologists.
Ethnography involves immersion in the daily lives of a particular community of people for an
extended period of time for the purpose of collecting various types of data about that
community.
 povāo -
 plástica -
 Hermeneutics - the theory and methodology of interpretation.
 Market economy - the economic system where supply and demand direct the production of
goods and services.
 Libidinal - relating to the libido (sex drive)
 Pygmalion complex -
 mestiçagem - physical characteristics of mixed racial backgrounds that are thought of as crucial
to establishing a modern Brazilian identity.

Questions:
1. How has the Brazilian media portrayed the growth of cosmetic surgery in Brazil?
2. What is the therapeutic rationale for cosmetic surgery? How is socioeconomic inequality fueling
the desire for surgery?
3. What does the list of commonly encountered occupations (among cosmetic surgery recipients)
indicate about changing social trends in Brazilian society?
4. Identify the standard beauty ideals (padrāo) that the historian, Freyre, helped to embed in
Brazilian national thought.
5. How do desires for particular types of appearance reveal discrimination and racism within
Brazilian society?
6. How have social relationships changed over past decades in Brazil? What impact did these
changes have on rates of cosmetic surgery and why?
7. Why can plástica be thought of as an expression of hope? What are the people hoping for
besides beauty?
8. Critical thinking question: Do you agree that “plástica” is a legitimate form of medicine? Why or
why not?
9. Reflection question: How do you feel about cosmetic (optional) surgery in pursuit of beauty
ideals? What aspects of your cultural/educational background do you think have influenced your
opinions?
 Study Guide, Anth 2263

Reading 2: Simpson and Pullen (2018)

Keywords:
 Aesthetic - concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.
 Body work -
 Body appearance work -
 Habitus - socially ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions. The way that individuals perceive the
social world around them and react to it.
 Organizational landscape - ways of perceiving and feeling reality (also known as worldview or
pathos) that are based on a set of meanings assigned to particular things/spaces.
 Badass -
 Bodyscape -

Questions:
1. What community was studied through ethnographic fieldwork? Where? What are the research
questions addressed in this article?
2. How do the examples of nurses, hairdressers, and nail salon workers reveal power dynamics in
social relationships?
3. How is “cool” defined in the article? How do tattoo artists embody cool?
4. List the ways that non-conformity manifests in the organizational landscape of the tattoo studio.
5. Why is tattooing perceived as unconventional artistry?
6. How are responsibility and professionalism evident in the organizational landscape of the tattoo
studio?
7. Critical thinking question: Can you think of another industry where “body appearance work”
(i.e., the way that members of the industry look) is considered critical to the legitimacy,
promotion, and sale of that industry’s products or practices?