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Plastic Surgery in China in Fiction

Plastic Surgery in China in Fiction. Carlissa King Justin DiCosola Yohanna Briscoe November 4 th 2009. Background. Yu Hua (余华) Born in 1960 in Hangzhou. High School during Cultural Revolution. James Joyce Award in 2002 Brothers Portrays loss of traditional values

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Plastic Surgery in China in Fiction

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  1. Plastic Surgery in Chinain Fiction CarlissaKing Justin DiCosola YohannaBriscoe November 4th 2009

  2. Background • Yu Hua (余华) • Born in 1960 in Hangzhou. • High School during Cultural Revolution. • James Joyce Award in 2002 • Brothers • Portrays loss of traditional values • Unhappy, unprincipled greed • Compares Cultural Revolution China to Capitalist China • NY Times Interview

  3. Key Terms and Characters • Baldy Li: Organizer of the Hymen Competition • PR Liu: In charge of public relations • Wandering Zhou: Itinerant charlatan who sells artificial hymens and “Boobs” cream • Song Gang: Eventually works for Zhou, and agrees to get a “boob job” • Hymen: (discuss) • Boobs: (discuss)

  4. Discussion Topics • Plastic Surgery and… • Gender • Males control conception of female beauty. • Female performance of virginity • Performance of the bodyand uses of a gendered modified body. • Narrative • Satirical narrative shines light on the obsession of consumption. • Class & Social Mobility • Agency and transforming the body. • Access vs. desire • Economics • The use of modified bodies to stimulate consumption and profit.

  5. Goals of Discussion • Contextualizing plastic surgery in Chinese Fiction. • Deconstructing the reading of Brothers and identifying key themes and motifs used to convey Yu Hua’s satirical message. • Discussing the effects of economic growth and class distinction on modern Chinese concepts of female beauty. • Who maintains these ideals and who creates them? • Examining the reality of plastic surgery versus its fictionalization.

  6. Quotes for discussion Gender: • Misogyny of beauty constructs; • “PR Liu then suggested perhaps it was somewhat inappropriate for all the judges to be men. Shouldn’t they also have some female judges? Baldy Li, however, disagreed, and said with a wave of his hand, “I don’t want and women. ‘It is ultimately us men who decide which women are pretty or not, so what point is there in’ including women?” ~Page 475 Brothers

  7. Quotes for discussion Gender: • Selling the intact hymen; • “The [virgin] competition will help promote traditional Chinese culture, increase the self-respect and ultimately the self-confidence of today’s women, and at the same time support higher standards of health and hygiene...” • “…The hymen plays a crucial role in preventing the invasion of foreign microbes, protecting the internal reproductive system, and preserving the body’s reproductive ability” ~Page 477; Brothers

  8. Quotes for discussion Gender: • What the competition was really about… • “PR Liu didn’t realize that Virgin Beauty #1358 wasn’t actually a virgin anymore but was infact already a mother. After spending three thousand yuan having hymen-recon surgery, she had traveled to Liu Town to participate in the competition. Upon arriving, she immediately figured out what the competition was really all about.” ~Page 516; Brothers • “She admitted that indeed, she had a two year old daughter, but she nevertheless insisted that she was still a virgin. She explained that, spiritually, she would always be a virgin, because she had maintained her spiritual purity” ~Page 527; Brothers

  9. Quotes for discussion Class & Social Mobility: A Callous pursuit to acquire wealth… • “As long as it will help us earn money, I’m willing to do anything.” ~Song Gang; Page 549, Brothers

  10. Quotes for discussion Economy: • Constructing a Hymen Economy; • “eventually the people of Liu Town came to appreciate the significance of the hymen economy. The county hospital, together with the rural clinic below it, was, of course, the first to benefit from the trend” • “Now that everyone in Liu- men and women, old and young- knew what hymen-recon surgery was, they said, ‘It is as simple as having double eyelid surgery” ~Page 479; Brothers

  11. Group Activity • Groups of 4 to 5 • Work together to create your own aesthetics based economy. • Fictionalize the use of plastic surgery, create a reason for the procedure and design a press release to support your cause. • 15 Minutes to prepare in groups;

  12. Fiction Vs. Reality • The Business of Artificial Hymens • China’s Miss Ugly Competition • Plastic Surgery Facts • In July 2006, China imposed on ban on television and radio advertising for products that promised breast enhancement, weight loss or increased height. The Beijing news service reported: “Recently some medical organizations have exaggerated the results of treatment provided using experts and previous patients on television commercials to mislead others."

  13. Bibliography Yu, Hua. Brothers. Trans. Eileen Cheng-Yin-Chow and Carlos Roja. New York: Pantheon, 2009. Print. http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20051012_1.htm

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