Women's search for their mother's gaze through repetitive cosmetic surgery

Abstract

The current study is interested in the archaic body image of women who undergo repetitive cosmetic surgeries. Since the mothers gaze and mirroring are fundamental in the construction of the archaic body image, the objective of this study is to examine the mothers gaze __ and specifically, the distorted gaze__ and its implications on these womens body image and repetitive cosmetic surgeries. It is hypothesized that young women who undergo repetitive cosmetic surgeries are seeking to fulfill and respond to their mothers own phantasy of an ideal image of a perfect body and appearance, which was projected upon them. The study applies a qualitative research design to analyze three case studies of young Lebanese women, aged between 25 and 32, who underwent repetitive cosmetic surgeries. The instrumentation tools used are semi-structured interviews, a projective test (Thematic Apperception Test) and a self-report questionnaire (Cosmetic Procedures Screening Questionnaire) which measures the severity of body image disturbance. The results reveal that the mothers of these women do not have a healthy and stable body image. While placing significant value on physical appearance, they reflect a distorted gaze to their daughters. Having internalized this gaze and the mothers projections of ideal beauty and physical appearance, the daughters show problems in their body image and undergo cosmetic surgeries to answer their mothers phantasy. The main conclusion is that these young women__ through their repetitive cosmetic surgeries and unconscious fulfillment of their mothers phantasies of a perfect body__ are in fact searching for their mothers loving and genuine gaze.