We Don't Want Grandmothers with Fancy Noses and Brazilian Buttocks.

This study explores the role of cosmetic surgeons in Tehran as cultural intermediaries who integrate diverse cultural repertoires—related to ethnicity, gender, age, class, and religion—into the practice of cosmetic surgery. In particular, the research foregrounds the gendered dimensions of beauty and sexuality, focusing on how these procedures contribute to the medicalization of beauty and the construction of gendered and sexualized bodies in late modernity.

Drawing on Kuipers’ (2022) theoretical model, which is based on Lamont’s cultural process model (Lamont, Beljean & Clair (2014) of inequality, the research highlights how surgeons mediate ideals of beauty and contribute to reinforcing social inequalities in Iranian society. Cosmetic surgery is widely accepted, for women but also increasingly for men, as part of a widely accepted beauty regime (Kuipers 2022).

Through semi-structured interviews with 20 cosmetic surgeons, in-depth interviews with three project managers of cosmetic clinics, 27 days of observation (4 to 6 hours per day), and participation in cosmetic surgery conferences, the study reveals how surgeons’ recommendations, often shaped by socio-economic background, gender, age, religion, and ethnicity, affect decisions regarding cosmetic procedures. These decisions, in turn, reflect the pervasive medicalization of beauty and its impact on the construction of modern sexual self.

The research highlights the gendered and sexualized dimensions of these interactions, showing how cosmetic surgeons, by acting as gatekeepers to specific standards of beauty, contribute to the medicalization of bodies and the reinforcement of symbolic boundaries. Ultimately, cosmetic surgeons not only integrate cultural ideals into their practice but also actively participate in the reproduction of social stratification and the construction of sexualized selves, thereby deepening cultural divides within Tehran.