Botox Nation

One of NPR's Best Books of 2017The first in-depth social investigation into the development and rising popularity of Botox The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery estimates there are about two-and-a-half million Botox procedures performed annually, and that number continues to increase. The procedure is used as a preventive measure against aging and a means by which bodies, particularly women’s, can be transformed and “improved” through the appearance of youth. But why is Botox so popular, and why is aging such a terrifying concept? Botox Nation draws from engaging, in-depth interviews with Botox users and providers as well as Dana Berkowitz’s own experiences receiving the injections. The interviews reveal the personal motivations for using Botox and help unpack how anti-aging practices are conceived by, and resonate with, everyday people. Berkowitz is particularly interested in how Botox is now being targeted to younger women; since Botox is a procedure that must be continually administered to work, the strategic choice to market to younger women, Berkowitz argues, aims to create lifetime consumers.Berkowitz also analyzes magazine articles, advertisements, and even medical documents to consider how narratives of aging are depicted. She employs a critical feminist lens to consider the construction of feminine bodies and selves, and explores the impact of cosmetic medical interventions aimed at maintaining the desired appearance of youth, the culture of preventative medicine, the application of medical procedures to seemingly healthy bodies, and the growth and technological advancement to the anti-aging industry. A captivating and critical story, Botox Nation examines how norms about bodies, gender, and aging are constructed and reproduced on both cultural and individual levels.

This book is an essential text for anyone interested in sociology and the body. Beautifully written and personally reflexive, it is a wonderful example of the drawing together and application of different strands of social theory -- symbolic interactionism, feminist theories of embodiment and post-structuralism, among them. While taking very seriously the epic sociological dilemma of structure vs. agency, it demonstrates quite explicitly how the self and the corporeal are constructed via an emerging body technology like Botox; in turn, it shows how the meanings of such technologies are made concrete in and through the bodies of contemporary women -- including the author's own body., When we think of body modification, we think of surgery -- like liposuction, face lifts, breast augmentation. Dana Berkowitz's exciting work dramatically expands the discussion to include nonsurgical procedures -- which account for 80% of all procedures. Combining deft fieldwork, detailed interviews, and daring autoethnography, Berkowitz broadens and deepens our understanding of the cosmetically altered but not surgically redefined body., This book is a significant contribution to understanding the ways in which the aging body is commodified in contemporary societies and how promissory discourse may shape views and actions and have inequitable outcomes. It will prove invaluable to those interested in the body and society, the sociology of health and illness, and the dynamics of new and emerging treatment markets., The writing is approachable, and the research is well-documented in an appendix, making the volume suitable for methods courses.

Dana Berkowitz is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Louisiana State University. She is the author of Botox Nation: Changing the Face of America.