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Cosmetic surgery for our research purposes pertains mainly to surgeries altering the visible appearance of an individual. Sex reassignment surgery does not fall under the 'cosmetic surgery' category in the context of our research goal since the surgical outcomes are not easily visible or apparent in social settings. Cosmetic surgeries discussed within the transitioning process include facial feminization surgery, chondrolaryngoplasty, mastectomy, breast implantation, and facial masculinization surgery (just to name a few).
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Popularity of Facial Surgeries Among Transitioning Individuals |
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Facial surgeries are sought out by many individuals who are transitioning since social recognition as the sex they desire to be perceived as is vital for their own self-identification. Ethnographic research suggests how sex is made real through inter-subjective recognition, therefore surgeries that reconstruct the most visible aspect of a body, the face, are wildly popular for those undergoing transition (Plemons 2017). The facial surgery in the highest demand among transitioning individuals is facial feminization surgery (FFS), which aims to 'feminize' the face by through the following procedures (Ousterhout 1977):
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As Eric Plemons states in his 2017 book, The Look of a Woman, "bodies do not come in mutually exclusive and sexually dimorphic forms," which indicates the subjectivity required for the determination of facial feminization surgical standards. Because differences in the male and female bodies are not rooted in biology, it is vital to understand the role of social norms and gender expectations in influencing surgical standards (Plemons 2017, 10). Problems arise when patient and physician subjective conceptualizations of gender and sex do not align, for negative patient feedback on the surgical results are dismissed with the presumption that these patients are unreasonable (Plemons 2015, 427). Because surgeries such as FFS are dependent on subjective views of gender, it must be acknowledged that transgender men and women cannot be completely dependent on surgeons and gender specialists for all the surgical information (Israel 1977). Depending too heavily on physician's input can lead to patient dissatisfaction because physicians frequently regard gender identity as irrelevant to care, therefore their lack of understanding "reinforces the hetero- and gender normative status quo" (Baker 2014). |