Week 4: MedTech + Art

  This week's topic is by far the most fascinating to me of all four topics I've encountered in this course. Human bodies are nature's masterpieces, precise yet flawed artworks. Clothes and makeup can temperarily decorate the surface of out bodies, but only medicine can change us permanently from the interior.

  

  Medicine has enabled people, especially women, to become more beautiful by doing plastic surgeries. Among all countries, South Korea is probably the most famous for their plastic surgeries. It is estimated that at least one-fifth of women in Seoul have done the surgery, and it is common for Korean people to discuss this matter during daily conversations. Almost every celebrity in Korea did plastic surgery before their debut. Below is a photo of my favorite K-pop girl group f(x).

  

  Medicine has also provided a solution for people who feel that they are born with the wrong gender. Transgender surgeries change a person's gender by altering his/her sexual characteristics to those of his/her preferred gender. Men in Thailand are known for their inclination to transform to women, also known as "ladyboys". They usually start when they are very young by injecting female hormones. However, many Thai men now do the surgery only to be able to participate in sexual services.

Sources

Jackson, Peter. 'Intersections: Performative Genders, Perverse Desires: A Bio-History Of Thailand's Same-Sex And Transgender Cultures'. Intersections.anu.edu.au. N.p., 2003. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue9/jackson.html>

Marx, Patricia, John Seabrook, and Rebecca Mead. 'The World Capital Of Plastic Surgery'. The New Yorker. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/23/about-face>

Vesna, Victoria. 'Medicine Pt2'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>

Vesna, Victoria. 'Medicine Pt3'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>

YouTube,. 'Pattaya Walking Street Ladyboy'. N.p., 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oYCehu1Fdo>

Images Used

F(X). 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://i.imgur.com/vc2EgfC.jpg>

Grey's Anatomy. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://netflixlife.com/files/2015/03/Greys-Anatomy.jpeg>

Ladyboys. 2007. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/att/site1/20070215/xin_59020415202076465187.jpg>