Beautyscapes

Beautyscapes explores the global phenomenon of international medical travel, focusing on patient-consumers seeking cosmetic surgery outside their home country and on those who enable them to access treatment abroad, including surgeons and facilitators.

It documents the journeys of those who travel for treatment abroad, as well as the nature and power relations of the International Medical Travel (IMT) industry. Empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated, Beautyscapes draws on key themes of interest to students and researchers interested in globalisation and mobility to explain the nature and growing popularity of cosmetic surgery tourism.

Richly illustrated with ethnographic material and with the voices of those directly involved in cosmetic surgery tourism, Beautyscapes explores cosmetic surgery journeys from Australia and China to East Asia, and from the UK to Europe and North Africa.

Perhaps most importantly, this book is a good read. The characters are bright and affecting. Contradictions are brought to the fore and left unresolved, leaving the reader space to draw their own interpretations. It speaks particularly to the interests of scholars and students from sociology, Science and Technology Studies (STS), critical geography and anthropology, but will be useful to anyone who is curious about examining how global networks of practice form and hold together. Sociology of Health & Illness