The “before and after” dispositive in intimate aesthetic surgeries: new ways of materializing gender norms

Abstract

This article analyzes the production of images and narratives circumscribed around the dispositive before and after. It argues that the dissemination of aesthetic standards, especially on social networks, operates in order to prescribe a necessary transformation and improvement of the self. It analyzes reports of experiences of women who underwent the so-called intimate surgery (nymphoplasty or reduction of the labia minora) with the intention of aesthetic improvement. The testimonies come from a discussion group around these procedures on the internet. In cases where surgical interventions are negatively evaluated, the before and after are not performed as expected. In this scenario, women tend to  resignify the need for surgery and recognize the imposition, by society, of idealized body standards. This process is discussed through the debate about post-feminism and gender constraints.