ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the sociological approach to the research and development and mass marketing of skin-whitening biotechnology as an unregulated but lucrative sector of the healthcare (and wellness) industry. The aim of this analysis is to reveal the multi-layered and complex social and economic policies and discourses which have enabled the rise and the globalization of anti-ageing and skin-whitening biotechnology as an unregulated and privatized healthcare industry. In this work, anti-ageing and skin-whitening biotechnology are examined as an emerging and privatized healthcare niche market that promises to reverse visible signs of ageing and could make the users’ face and skin appear youthful and healthy-looking. Anti-ageing and skin-whitening biotechnology is promoted to consumers as a painless, easily accessible and less invasive means of achieving a youthful appearance and anti-ageing wellness. These complex and intersecting dynamics will be revealed through careful content analysis of promotional brochures, technical reports and scholarly works pertaining to anti-ageing and skin-whitening biotechnology.
