ABSTRACT
Retired people are establishing an increasing variety of post-work lifestyles, yet the body remains problematic, occupying a complex and contradictory position in relation to ageing and its cultural possibilities. To that extent cosmetic surgery is less about anti-ageing and more to do with a general desire felt by many people to improve on their ‘natural’ appearance. Anti-ageing medicine remains very much a private business. Nevertheless, the rising popularity of cosmetic surgery has more than merely iconic value in demonstrating the plasticity of the ageing body. That a significant minority of people – usually those with considerable material resources – do choose to have aesthetic surgery to rejuvenate their appearance shows what the many without those resources might also do had they similar opportunities. Using cosmetic surgery to determine whether and how to ‘age’ is not just a matter of personal aesthetics.
