A Perfect Plastic World Draft

In today’s world, every aspect of life has a standard that is considered “normal”. This concept of normalcy is justified statistically, as an average calculated from the general population. These standards are perceived as “ideal” or desirable in a population of people who share the same values. Despite the idea of “ideal” differing in various populations of people, the consequences of not fitting into the “norm” are the same; those who don’t meet the criteria are deemed as inferior to societal conformers. As social beings, humans have an instinctual impulse to be accepted and approved as a member of society and therefore, will do anything to fit in. In “Constructing Normalcy” by Lennard J. Davis, Davis explains how the idealization of normalcy encourages a movement towards eugenics and places pressure on humans to work towards an “ideal form” that will allow them to contribute to the “progress” of the human race. A huge propagation of this concept has taken root in South Korea. In South Korea, beauty standards have created a list of specific measurements and features that are considered “ideal”, causing a huge industry boom in plastic surgery as men and women alike attempt to obtain the ideal beauty standards promoted by society. These ideals however, are unattainable, as the standards are unrealistic and unnatural. As other parts of the world begin to notice these beauty trends, a light is brought to the extremes people are willing to go through to be considered a part of the “ideal”. From this information, it can be said that the South Korean beauty trend extends the arguments made in “Constructing Normalcy” by Lennard Davis that statistically, an ideal is created in society that encourages the uniformity and perfection of the human race, leaving those who deviate from the ideal in rejection and isolation.

In “Constructing Normalcy”, Davis begins by explaining the difference between what was traditionally considered ideal and the eugenic manifestation of ideal that is based upon statistics. Dating back to the seventeenth century, the word “ideal” was defined by a divine body that was unattainable by humans (Davis 4). From this definition, everyone was considered to be an equal as they were all beneath a standard attainable by none other than the gods. Under these conditions, people were comfortable with their own bodies and had no desire to strive towards looking a certain way because they knew they could never live up to societal ideals and in turn were not expected to do so. However, this concept of the “ideal” changed in the nineteenth century. Where the traditional concept of ideal had “no imperative to be the ideal,” the statistical ideal introduced “the idea of a perfectible body undergoing progressive improvement” (Davis 8). This perfect body was based upon the branch of knowledge known as statistics, which quantified what was considered “normal” or “average”. The idea of an ‘obtainable’ ideal surfaced but this concept was misleading because no matter how close one came to achieving the ideal, they could never successfully reach the standard as it was simply inhumane to the point of being impossible. An example of this ideal at work is in today’s world, supermodels are painted as the ideal; amazing, tone, fit bodies with perfectly sculpted, beautiful faces. However, even though it may seem like these models are fulfilling the ideal, they are actually creating an illusion that they are. Supermodels need hours of hair, make-up and editing in order to look a certain way; this process is not practical nor is it readily available, making it a traditional ideal that can never be obtained by anyone but some divine force. Despite the absurdity of this concept, the goal of eugenics is still to rationalize their desire to improve the human race by statistically justifying the categorization of people as being either “normal” or “abnormal”. This way of viewing people isolates and eventually brings extinction to those who deviate from the “norm”.  It was believed that if everyone possessed the same qualities that were considered ideal, there would be progress towards the “perfect race”. In other words, the eugenic manifestation of ideal, in terms of Davis’ theory, is the physical eradication of people who deviate from the desirable to create a new race of people who are “ideal” or in other words “perfect”. In essence, eugenics of this time period wanted to commit a genocide of those who did not meet certain standards. Davis’ co

ncept is redefined by South Korea’s beauty standards because in South Korea, a eugenic ideal of beauty is enforced that plays an influential role in how one is perceived in society. This eugenic ideal may not be the physical eradication of people like in Davis’ piece, but it is the eradication of cultural features and essentially of ethnic identity as well. The concept stems from the fact that “…in contrast to Western cultures, the external aspects of self (your social status, clothes, gestures, and appearance) versus the inner aspects (thoughts and feelings) matter more here,” Eunkook Suh, a psychology professor at Yonsei University, in Seoul, explained. He elaborates that, “In Korea, we don’t care what you think about yourself. Other people’s evaluations of you matter more.” This ideal includes having a round forehead instead of a flat one, having double eyelids but not sunken eyelids, protruding eyebags, a modest, medium-sized nose bridge, a “V-line” face, and extremely pale, white skin as illustrated by Figure 1. The desired features are far from

the traditional Asian features and mimic those of westerners. The adoption of these features effectively ‘erase’ the Asian from people who are by birth, genes, and ancestry Asian. Every year millions of Koreans consult plastic surgeons to quantify and rank their features on how close they are to the “ideal” human condition. From this point, they then proceed to spend millions of dollars on procedures that will bring them as close to this condition as possible. According to the Business Insider, “Some estimates have suggested that around one in three South Korean women between 19 and 29 have had plastic surgery.” (Jacobs & Zheng 2) Although those who choose to undergo these procedures believe that they are inching closer to the societal “ideal” but in reality, there are in the same position of those who decide to stay natural. This is because, just like the idyllic supermodels, these men and women, like the ones displayed in Figure 2, do not actually look like how they actually present themselves. For one, if these people were to reproduce, their children would not have any of their altered features, because

these are not characteristics they were born with, nor are they in their genes. Another point is that these people still don’t meet the “ideal” because despite the changes they have undergone, they will always have characteristics such as small almond shaped eyes, that indicate their race and ethnic identity. With their ideal being a “westerner look”, their ideal is in fact unattainable just like in a traditional sense, except in this case, people in society actually believe they can fulfill the standards. On the other hand, those who choose not to undergo any procedures begin to stick out as everyone around them try to fit the “ideal” are perceived as being better looking while those who refuse to conform look “unimproved” (Marx 6). Looking “unimproved” elicits negative responses and causes rejection in Korea. Not only are Koreans particular about following beauty standards, their livelihoods also depend on how close their fit the “ideal”, exemplifying why many people want to conform. Humans that express the “ideal” are rewarded through social acceptance (depending on how close their embodiment is) with a higher social status. Davis mentions how all the beautiful women of Crotona, Greece, lined up to have their ideal feature or body part painted by Francois-Andre Vincent Zeuxis as it was an honor to be a part of contributing to the ideal figure of Aphrodite (Davis 4). However, the women who did not have any parts that could be characterized as “ideal” received no attention and were not used for any paintings because no one wanted to document those who did not conform to the “norm” as they were considered people with “disabilities”. Davis even states that “Our culture offers profound disincentives and few rewards to identifying as disabled” (Davis 268)  This meaning that those who are closer to attaining the conditions of ideal normalcy are rewarded socially as they are helping the “progression towards a perfect race”. Korea’s social system supports this notion as there are many benefits for those who undergo procedures and embody the ideal, while those who choose to stay natural have little to no advantages and usually live a much harder life than those who adhere to the social norms. One social advantage is that Korea is a hugely competitive society, and having a beautiful face is a great weapon in the job market because beautiful people are always chosen first. According to Marx, “Job applicants are typically required to attach photographs to their resumes” (Marx 1). This demonstrates that those who embody the ideal are rewarded with a better quality of life because they are often recruited for jobs over those who deviate from the ideal. Another reward includes the acceptance of the community around you. South Korea is home to over 51 million, most of whom will readily acknowledge and compliment those who are deemed as ideal while ignoring those who don’t fit as well. This attention leads those who fit the ideal of normalcy to having a greater chance of getting married, having kids, and being a functional member of society. When in search for marriage candidates, people are usually in search for qualities of the “ideal” in hopes that these attributes will also be passed along to children. The competitive nature of Korea causes parents to want the best and more for their children, as their kids will be competing against all the other children in academics, sports and of course in beauty. It is not uncommon for parents to gift their children with plastic surgery for a high-school graduation, but the goal is to breed traits that are close to the “ideal” and eliminate the unwanted characteristics out of the future generations. Therefore those who are far away from what is considered “ideal” have a harder time finding a partner who is willing to start a family with them. Overall, those who are closer to what is perceived as “normal” according the Korean standards, are usually rewarded with acknowledgement and a better quality of life.

 

As a concluding thought, Lennard Davis’ “Constructing Normalcy” is redefined by the South Korean standard of beauty as they both illustrate the statistical eugenic “ideal” that benefit those who conform and put non-conformers at a disadvantage. This system creates categories of “normal” and “abnormal” that is systematically violent and oppressive. The violence stems from the fact that people feel the need to not only change themselves but undergo dangerous and life-changing procedure. Aside from the physical aspect, it is also emotionally violent as people are constantly being judged based on their appearance. People have no room for self-expression and are subject to constant criticism. This can create damaging situations of low self-esteem and mental illness. Those who choose to be expressive are deemed as being “disabled” since one cannot achieve what is seen as desirable and “normal”. The only way for this societal “caste-system” to be resolved is to create an “ideal” than is similar to the traditional definition; one that is unattainable. A caste-system is the categorization of people based on characteristics such as skin color, race, economic, and religion. In this case, categorization is based on how close people are to the ideal. However, if the characteristics set for comparison is truly unattainable and it is made known that this “ideal” standard is not meant to be achieved by simply glorified, then it places everyone below the ideal and on an equal playing field. This way, no one can be deemed as “abnormal” or “disabled” because the ideal is something that no human has and therefore no human is “perfect”. If no one is perfect, there is no need for a “perfect” race because everyone would be deemed “normal”. As a concluding thought, the idea of eugenic “idealism” is a systematically oppressive system that has no benefit in terms of social relations.

 

 

Citations

Baer, Drake. “Why South Korea Is the Plastic Surgery Capital of the World.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 22 Sept. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-is-the-plastic-surgery-capital-of-the-world-2015-9.

 

Davis, Lennard J. The Disability Studies Reader. Routledge, 2010.

 

Jacobs, Harrison. “People Have the Wrong Idea about the 3 Most Popular Procedures in South Korea, the Plastic Surgery Capital of the World.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 28 June 2018, www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-plastic-surgery-gangnam-biggest-misconception-2018-6.

 

Kim, Ariana. “Why You Probably Aren’t ‘Attractive’ In South Korea.” The Odyssey Online, 10 July 2018, www.theodysseyonline.com/you-probably-arent-attractive-in-south-korea.

 

Marx, Patricia. “The World Capital of Plastic Surgery.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/23/about-face.