Cathectic mechanisms of cosmetic surgery: Operation and recovery as a ritual-like process

Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 2024. Vol. 54. No. 4. P. 448–468.

Kurakin D.

Cultural sociology undertheorizes the emotional dimension of culture. In this study, I use the case of invasive cosmetic surgery to develop conceptual tools for filling this gap. Cosmetic surgery (i) brings a prominent and complex change in meanings of the self and the social image that goes far beyond mere appearance; and (ii) it involves intensive emotions of suffering, anxiety, and excitement. These two features reveal key similarities that cosmetic surgery shares with Victor Turner's model of the ritual of passage. I apply it to the case at hand and show that these emotions, which are usually either neglected or seen as mere ‘side effects’ of surgery, strongly affect meaning-making related to cosmetic operations, meanings of the self, and broader aesthetic conventions. To zoom into these hidden processes, I introduce a sketch of a Durkheimian theory of cathexis that enables us to recognize cultural, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms of cosmetic surgery's ‘extraphysical effects.’ I illustrate my approach using open data from Internet forums of cosmetic surgery consumers and other evidence from existing literature.

Keywords: культурсоциология, эмоции, emotion, ритуал, cultural sociology, ritual, катексис, culture and cognition, культура и познание, ритуалы перехода, cathexis, cosmetic surgery, ritual of passage, косметическая хирургия

Publication based on the results of: New trends of emotional life organization as a key context for human enhancement technologies (2022)