h ps://www.in e ace.o g.b
eISSN 1807-5762
1/4
Deba es
The pe ec ion indus y: human o pos -human?
discussion
In “We pos -humans: om genesis o eedom”, Pusse i c i ically e lec s on he meaning o
wha we can unde s and oday as “human” ollowing, in pa icula , he g owing use o medical
bio echnologies (such as endoc inology, gene ic enginee ing, cosme ic su ge y, and de ma ology)
o be e men pu poses. While he his o y o he human species has always been accompanied
by p ac ices o body ans o ma ion due o humans’ inhe en aspi a ion and ension o
cons uc , al e and imp o e hei own sel es, he con empo a y p oli e a ion o less in asi e and
low-cos cosme ic p ocedu es has p o ided us inc edible chances o ans o m-abili y and new
oppo uni ies o “molding” he body we would like o ha e. D awing om Remo i’s1 concep
o an h opo-poiesis, which indica es he a ious p ocesses o sel -cons uc ion o he indi idual
pa icula ly om he poin o iew o body modi ica ion, Pusse i a gue ha we a e ac i ely
engaged in a con inuous p ocess o sel -cons uc ion hanks o socializa ion, accul u a ion,
and ou delibe a e p ac ices o body modi ica ions. A eeling o incomple eness spu s
(a) Ins i u o de Ciências Sociais,
Uni e sidade de Lisboa.
A enida P o esso Aníbal
de Be encou , 9, 1600-189.
Lisboa, Po ugal.
Social media, beau y s anda ds and he disc imina o y
bias in body ans o ma ion p ac ices: a commen a y
on why pos human hinking ma e s
Mídias sociais, pad ões de beleza e o iés disc imina ó io nas p á icas de
ans o mação co po al: um comen á io sob e a impo ância do pensamen o
pós-humano
Las edes sociales, los es ánda es de belleza y el sesgo disc imina o io en
las p ác icas de ans o mación co po al: un comen a io sob e po qué es
impo an e el pensamien o pos humano
Ma ia Conce a Lo Bosco(a)
<[email p o ec ed]>
Lo Bosco MC. Social media, beau y s anda ds and he disc imina o y bias in body ans o ma ion p ac ices: a
commen a y on why pos human hinking ma e s. In e ace (Bo uca u). 2021; 25: e210155
h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/in e ace.210155
Social media, beau y s anda ds and he disc imina o y bias in body ans o ma ion ... Lo Bosco MC
2/4
In e ace (Bo uca u) h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/In e ace.210155
ou imagina ion and d i es us o c ea i ely explo e new ways o being and aspi e o ideals
we a e encou aged o mee , esponding o he economic demands and socio-cul u al
expec a ions o he socie y we li e in. Taken in a dialogical ela ionship, we al e ou body
and sel in a con inuous p ocess o adap a ion o, ein en ion o , and esis ance o he
wo ld a ound us. The idea acco ding o which we ha e always been pos human - no only
because o ou in ima e and mu ual ela ionship wi h ou non-human o he s bu i s and
o emos because we a e always mo ing owa ds a u u e ision o ou sel es - is no new2.
Pusse i’s o iginal con ibu ion lies in he ocus on he biopoli ical and social
implica ions o cosme ic p ocedu es in p ac ices o sel - ans o ma ion and body
modi ica ion, and he ole o social media applica ions - such as Ins ag am - as media o s
o hegemonic models o beau y, success, compe i i eness, and high-s anda d pe o mance.
These hegemonic ideals inco po a e, p omo e and ein o ce disc imina o y and acialized
bias. In his sense, ou an h opo-poie ic endea o is subjuga ed o ex eme indi idualism
and ma e ialis ic consume ism and i s elos (inhe en pu pose) is o aspi e o a body
image modeled by hegemonic depic ions o beau y and o speci ic li es yles associa ed
wi h he idea o success. E en knowing how ‘pe ec bodies’ on Ins ag am and social
media pla o ms a e o en highly edi ed and manipula ed, we consume a no ma i e and
s anda dized ( isual) beau y cul u e and i s beau y p oduc s and li es yle and equally expose
images o ou bodies o ollowe s, hus u ning ou sel es in o consumable objec s o o he s’
oyeu is ic gaze. Indi idualism, na cissism, pe ec ionism: hey a e all igu es o loneliness.
The dialogical o he he e is missing. Socializa ion has boiled down o i s digi al semblance.
Acco ding o Pusse i3 a new “homo plas icus” eme ges:
Homo plas icus is a “ ans o me ”, a phenomenon in p og ess, changing and
cons an ly adap ing o he expec a ions and demands o he public, which
ci cula es in an ambi alen space be ween he impossible ideal image and he
conc e e body; he syn he ic and he soma ic, he illusion and he eali y, he
an asy and he desi e, he objec o consump ion and he consuming subjec ,
he i ual and he eal, he public and he p i a e. (p. 11, ansla ion is mine)
Since he so-called digi al e olu ion, which began in he la e hal o he 20 h cen u y
and con inues o he p esen day, ou daily li e is ex ensi ely a ec ed by and in e wined
wi h i ual eali y. The cul u e ha his la e con eys can inco po a e iolen and
disc imina o y alues - such as acialized beau y ideal ha p e e ence Eu ocen ic
ea u es o e ha o A ocen ic ea u es, body commodi ica ion, ideals o pe ec ion and
pe sonal success - ha can be uly de imen al o ou well-being.
Bu how he body design ma ke (such as plas ic su ge y o ins ance) mobilizes
a acialized ‘beau y my h’ and how his la e ep esen s a key ope in Po uguese
na ional iden i y, conside ing i s colonial his o y? The ex o e looks some e e ences
ha discussed he mo al dimension o beau y and ha could ha e en iched he deba e
in a compa a i e pe spec i e. Fo ins ance, Edmonds and Leem4 ha e discussed how
ace has been enac ed di e en ly in he h ee na ional con ex s wi h la ge cosme ic
su ge y ma ke s ( he US, Ko ea, and B azil) acco ding o he changing poli ics
Social media, beau y s anda ds and he disc imina o y bias in body ans o ma ion ... Lo Bosco MC
3/4In e ace (Bo uca u) h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/In e ace.210155
o di e ence and beau y ideals. Simila ly, he olume edi ed by Heilbo n5 add esses
how in mode n wes e n socie ies he cons uc ion o he sel (especially o women) has
g a i a ed a ound sexuali y and sensuali y. Equally impo an is he ecen deba e on
he ole played by media in he con ex o e hnic and acial s udies (c . Special issue on
Race and Media published in he E hnic and Racial S udies Jou nal6); media indeed a e
inc easingly in luen ial sys ems o powe and knowledge ha ma e no only o poli ics
and ins i u ions bu also o public cul u e and ecogni ion. I is hen c ucial o add ess
hei ole in shaping public discou ses and deba es abou ace and acism.
The eme gence o social ne wo ks has p o ed hei use ulness inso a as hey ha e
made possible connec ion and communica ion whe e he e was no possibili y o
ace- o- ace in e ac ion and mee ing. Bu hese in e media y de ices ha e also isola ed
ou bodies and subjuga ed hem o ideals o pe ec ion and ela ed discu si e egimes
ha seem a om make us heal hy o happy. Pusse i’s e lec ion does mo e han
ocus on he possible e hical conce ns o ou ela ionship wi h (bio) echnologies and
i s implica ions o humani y; she looks a he eme gence o a wide socio-poli ical
issue: he hegemonic and no ma i e ideals o beau y and pe ec ion cha ac e izing
con empo a y p ac ices o body ans o ma ion and design inco po a e and ep oduce
disc imina o y and acializing concep ualiza ions o bo h body and iden i y. The au ho
hen ad oca es he u gency o add ess he his o ical and socio-cul u al condi ions
unde lying hese high s anda ds o pe o mance and beau y equi ed by ou socie y,
as well as o explo e he biopoli ical and a ec i e dimensions implici in he desi e o
amelio a e de e mina e psychical o beha io al ai s.
I acknowledge he au ho ’s choice o using he no ion o pos human in o de o
show he di e en ex en s o he complexi y o he phenomenon she analyzed; he “pos ”
in pos human indica es i s and o emos an ali e and open no ion o he human
ha canno be paci ied in he language7. Pos human hinking helps us o ecognize
he c ea i e s eng hs o non-no ma i e bodies o acialized subjec s - subjec ed o
endless en a i es o domes ica ion - inso a as i ques ions he cen al and dominan
posi ion ha ce ain p i ileged ca ego ies o humans – man, whi e, Caucasian – ha e
occupied and s ill occupy in he public sphe e. Bo owing Bachela d’s de ini ion
o an h opocen ism as an “epis emological obs acle”8, I a gue ha by p omo ing
a p ede e mined idea o wha a body is o should be, no ma i e concep ualiza ions
o beau y and pe o mance ep ess and silence he dis up i e and c ea i e a ie y o
expe ience o li ing ( h ough) di e en bodies and iden i ies. We li e ou body as he
lieu pa excellence o con inuous p ocesses o ans o ma ion. As he same concep s (and
aspi a ions) o well-being, happiness o be e men a e inc easingly shaped by o ms o
indi idualism, consume ism, and commodi ica ion, we a e now called o ace complex
challenges. Ideals o pe ec ion esponding o no ma i e s anda ds o beau y and
pe o mance could de e mine misleading pa hs o sel - ans o ma ion and lea e humans
wi h a sick elos, one ha eludes any ho izon o sel -ca e and solida i y. Re hinking he
human oday means imagine an e hos in which humans a e commi ed in a con inuous
exe cise o go beyond hei indi idualis ic pu poses and emb ace communi y and
solida i y alues. The e o e, i is necessa y o e lec and ely on ou an h opo-poie ic
abili y o c ea e new sha ed models o collec i e alues and c i ically con on and
anscend he social, poli ical, and economic o ces o ou hegemonic ision o socie y.
Social media, beau y s anda ds and he disc imina o y bias in body ans o ma ion ... Lo Bosco MC
4/4In e ace (Bo uca u) h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/In e ace.210155
Con lic o in e es
The au ho has no con lic o in e es o decla e.
Copy igh
This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0
In e na ional License, BY ype (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en).
Edi o
An onio Pi hon Cy ino
Submi ed on
03/01/21
App o ed on
04/12/21
Re e ences
1. Remo i F. Fa e umani a. I d ammi dell’an opo-poiesi. Ba i: Edizioni La e za; 2013.
2. B aido i R. Pos human, all oo human: owa ds a new p ocess on ology. Theo y Cul
Soc. 2006; 23(7-8):197-208.
3. Pusse i C. Nós, pós-humanos: da gênese à libe dade. In e ace (Bo uca u). 2021;
25:e200306. Doi: h ps://doi.o g/10.1590/in e ace.200306.
4. Edmonds A, Leem SL. Making aces acial: how plas ic su ge y enac s ace in he US,
Ko ea and B azil. E hnic Racial S ud. 2020:1-19. Doi: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/01419
870.2020.1791353.
5. Dua e L. O impé io dos sen idos: sensibilidade, sensualidade e sexualidade na cul u a
ociden al mode na. In: Heilbo n ML, o ganizado . Sexualidade: o olha das ciências
sociais. Rio de Janei o: Zaha ; 1999. p. 21-30.
6. Ga an T. Ga an Ti ley’s acism and media. E hnic Racial S ud. 2020; 43(13):2356-94.
7. B aido i R. The pos human. Camb idge: Poli y P ess; 2013.
8. Bachela d G. The Fo ma ion o he scien i ic mind: a con ibu ion o a psychoanalysis
o objec i e knowledge. Bos on: Beacon P ess; 1986.