Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Alexander Edmonds is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.

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"A fresh, smart, insightful, entertaining, and compelling book about a topic--cosmetic surgery--that many of us thought had self-combusted in the 1990s amid irresolvable debates about whether women who wanted bigger breasts were subjects with agency or duped victims of the 'beauty myth.' "Pretty Modern" rises from the ashes of those debates to provide us with exciting new ways of thinking about what plastic surgery is, what it means, and what it does. It is first-rate anthropology and a wonderfully perceptive study of Brazil."--Don Kulick, author of "Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes"

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Pretty Modern

Duke University Press

Contents

Illustrations.....................................................................viiiIntroduction. In the Universe of Beauty...........................................1PART ONE. The Self-Esteem in Each Ego Awakens The Siliconadas.....................37The Philosopher of Plstica.......................................................47Without Tits There Is No Paradise.................................................57A Brief History of Self-Esteem....................................................75Hospital School...................................................................89The Right to Beauty...............................................................102Aesthetic Health..................................................................114PART TWO. Beautiful People Preta..................................................123Magnificent Miscegenation.........................................................127The National Passion..............................................................135Nanci's Rhinoplasty...............................................................143My Black Is My Brand..............................................................150Role Models.......................................................................162The Economy of Appearances........................................................167Creating and Modeling Nature......................................................177Aesthetic Medicine and Motherhood.................................................183The Vanity of Maids...............................................................195Lens of Dreams....................................................................204I Love Myself.....................................................................219Conclusion........................................................................239Acknowledgments...................................................................253Notes.............................................................................257References........................................................................269Index.............................................................................287

Chapter One

The luxuriant nature that enchanted early travelers to Brazil still survives in the massive urban rainforest that runs through many sections of Rio de Janeiro. There are streets where the transition from city to dense tropical foliage is so fast that they seem to me like a passage to another world. Our taxi turns onto one of these roads, winding steeply up from the neighborhood of Gvea into the mist-shrouded green ridge flanking the South Zone. My friend Hermano is taking me to a birthday party to introduce me to a plstica patient, Preta Gil. After doing a Ph.D. in anthropology, Hermano left academia and now divides his time between Globo Network in Rio and Brasilia, where he advises the minister of culture, Gilberto Gil, on Internet policy. Gilberto, one of Brazil's biggest pop stars, was appointed to the post by President da Silva, becoming one of the first black ministers in Brazilian history.

The party is for Gil's daughter, Maria, who is the sister of Preta. When we arrive, around thirty people are mingling on the veranda of a villa. Though we're only a few minutes' drive up from the shopping district, the only evidence of the city is the cobblestone road curving through a verdant valley below. It's a humid evening and the air seems thick with beijinhos, perfume, and the sweet caramel scent of doce de leite. The women are produzida, "dressed up," in high heels, and dance together in a circle to favorites of MPB (Msica Popular Brasileira; a lumpy genre that mixes pop, rock, and traditional rhythms like samba). The men stand in clusters drinking. It feels like many other Carioca parties, except that many of the authors of the songs played by the DJ are in attendance.

I recognize a few faces from similar gatherings or else from LP photos. There is Sandra—Gil's "ex" and Preta's mother—a tough-looking blond woman dressed in a flowing white dress. Next to her, pale and shy, is Ded, the ex-wife of another MPB star, Caetano Veloso. I feel awkward trying to do "research" here and drift over to the bar. Hermano intercepts me, though, and introduces me to Maria. I am introduced as the antroplogo da plstica.

"Fala serio! [Really!] I just did one now too."

Hermano laughs, "What?"

"Ah, a lipo. Here." Maria pats the outside of her thighs, then smooths down her dress.

"The links are complicated," Hermano explains. "Her ex-girlfriend is here, but she now goes out with that guy, whose ex-girlfriend goes out with ..." I quickly lose track, but retain the description of Maria, who "s namora menina," "only goes out with girls." I am reminded of the surprised reaction of a visiting American friend who went to a lesbian disco and encountered women decked out in the de rigueur Carioca fashion of long hair, high heels, and extra tight jeans. She was disappointed that there seemed to be little "critique of normative femininity" in queer Rio, but I have long since realized that interest in plastic surgery in Brazil cuts across subcultures, identities, and professions. Preta now joins us. I recognize her from the cover of Raa magazine, a glossy monthly marketed to Afro-Brazilians. Like her sister she has straight, long hair and light-colored eyes. Though her name means "black," she could fit into a number of color terms in colloquial Portuguese. There are more introductions and beijinhos.

"Plstica?" Preta says, "I already did all of them. I love them. Call me."

The next week I arrange to meet Preta at her condo in a beach neighborhood, where she lives with her father. Preta greets me in the frigid, marble lobby, dressed in a golden velour tracksuit, sleeves rolled up to expose her tattoos. Walking to the car, she explains that her dad is upstairs giving an interview to the New York Times on Brazil's innovations with intellectual property rights. Gil has been active in the global open-source movement, making a portion of his songs available for free downloading.

We start talking about Preta's career as a singer as we merge into the line of traffic crawling south out of the city. Her CDs—which blend pop and Brazilian funk—have been a modest success. But with a reputation for spontaneity and straight talk, she has also become known as a media "personality." Today she is going to a rehearsal for a television program that pairs artistas and athletes with professional dancers in a ballroom dance contest. Preta has achieved a certain notoriety. "When I launched my first CD, Preta, I decided to pose naked on the cover weighing 68 kilos. Naked—no, all you could see was part of my breasts. It was done discreetly. I couldn't believe the reaction. How can a fatty [uma gordinha] pose naked?"

Appearing nude in a Playboy-type magazine in Brazil is considered to be a normal "career move" for celebrities. The problem was not with her nudity but with her weight. "I don't fit into certain beauty standards, and the public couldn't handle this. But I have the right, because it's my body. It was artistic expression. I have nothing to do with marketing. I'm a daughter of tropicalismo, and...