Beautyscapes: Mapping cosmetic surgery tourism

Product Description
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 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.
Review
'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, 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
From the Back Cover
Beautyscapes is a fascinating and vibrant exploration of the rapidly developing global phenomenon of international medical travel. Documenting the complex and sometimes fraught journeys of those who travel abroad for treatment, this book focuses on patient-consumers and those who enable them to access treatment abroad, including key figures such as surgeons and facilitators.
Empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated,
Beautyscapes draws on key themes of interest to students and researchers interested in globalisation and mobility, such as gender and class, neoliberalism, social media, conviviality and care, to explain the nature and growing popularity of cosmetic surgery tourism. As well as looking at the nature and power relations of the transnational medical travel industry, the book challenges myths about vain and ill-informed travellers seeking surgery from 'cowboy' foreign doctors, yet also demonstrates the difficulties and dilemmas that medical tourists - especially cosmetic surgery tourists - face.
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. It will be of interest to students and academics in Sociology, Geography, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Health Studies and Tourism Studies.

About the Author
Ruth Holliday is Professor of Gender and Culture at the University of Leeds
Meredith Jones is Reader in Gender and Media Studies, and Director of the Research Centre for Global Lives at Brunel University London
David Bell is Professor of Cultural Geography at the University of Leeds