[10-11] Change your face, change your life? Prison plastic surgery programmes
Presentation language：English
Will more plastic surgery make fewer criminals?
A lot of doctors thought so in the middle of the 20th century. Or at least they claimed to, using the possibility of reform as a reason to offer plastic surgery to inmates as part of their rehabilitation. Between 1950 and 1979, more than 30 US States and several prisons in Canada and England had plastic surgery programs, some of which were part of federal grants designed to test the possibility that improving appearance would reduce recidivism rates amongst both male and female offenders.
This presentation will excavate the history of prison plastic surgery, situating the rhetoric of these programs in mid-20th century behavioralist approaches to identity. I will show that the narratives behind these interventions emphasized the need for a transformation of self-image that was damaged due to perceived unattractiveness and disfigurement. While the literature does pay some attention to societal factors, the overwhelming motivation behind these programs – as stated – was to change the character of the inmates by changing how they looked. As I explore these discourses, I will also pay attention to the ethics of these procedures, both in terms of the vulnerability of the prison population as experimental data and as training ground. At the same time, I’ll acknowledge that these programs gave inmates access to procedures they would otherwise not be able to afford; many of the doctors who engaged with these programs were also active in offering gender confirmation surgeries and other interventions for the trans prison population.
A lot of doctors thought so in the middle of the 20th century. Or at least they claimed to, using the possibility of reform as a reason to offer plastic surgery to inmates as part of their rehabilitation. Between 1950 and 1979, more than 30 US States and several prisons in Canada and England had plastic surgery programs, some of which were part of federal grants designed to test the possibility that improving appearance would reduce recidivism rates amongst both male and female offenders.
This presentation will excavate the history of prison plastic surgery, situating the rhetoric of these programs in mid-20th century behavioralist approaches to identity. I will show that the narratives behind these interventions emphasized the need for a transformation of self-image that was damaged due to perceived unattractiveness and disfigurement. While the literature does pay some attention to societal factors, the overwhelming motivation behind these programs – as stated – was to change the character of the inmates by changing how they looked. As I explore these discourses, I will also pay attention to the ethics of these procedures, both in terms of the vulnerability of the prison population as experimental data and as training ground. At the same time, I’ll acknowledge that these programs gave inmates access to procedures they would otherwise not be able to afford; many of the doctors who engaged with these programs were also active in offering gender confirmation surgeries and other interventions for the trans prison population.