Implanting empowerment? : a discourse analysis of cosmetic surgery and power in The Swan

Abstract

Using the reality television show, The Swan , as a narrative frame, my Master's thesis explores the discursive construction of feminine subjectivity, empowerment, liberation, choice, self-esteem and resistance in the context of televised cosmetic surgery and "expert" makeovers from a feminist poststructuralist perspective. Reflecting on neoliberalism and feminist re-articulations of Foucault's theories of control and normalization, this research sought an understanding of how such televisual productions participate in the regulation of "feminine" bodies within the neoliberal context of self-care. A qualitative discourse analysis of the entire series has uncovered that The Swan reinforces a very specific ideal of femininity based almost solely on the physical body, while discursively constructing cosmetic surgery as a tool of empowerment and liberation, as well as a virtuous requisite for self-care.