The New York Times piece, “Bodies Altered In Pursuit Of Beauty,” explores the work of photographer Zed Nelson — and how globalization is creating “an eerily homogenized look.”
Nelson says:
“The worldwide pursuit of body improvement has become like a new religion… I imagined the project in some way like a body of evidence, perhaps for a future generation, to see a point in history where the abnormal became normal, or at least normalized.”
Some people in China have their legs broken and fitted with steel rods in order to be taller. There are more nose jobs being performed in Iran than in any other country in the world. What does it mean when men and women everywhere want to be thin, hairless, wrinkle-free, narrow-nosed, and, above all, young-looking? How can a world with one, Western standard of beauty, be special, interesting, unique, creative, or inspiring? How is homogeneity anything but bland?
The real question is: With advertising and media broadcasting images of thin, hairless, wrinkle-free, narrow-nosed and young, world-wide, is it possible to reverse this trend? Because it would be amazing to instill the idea that working with what you’ve got is truly beautiful.
Bodies Altered In Pursuit of Beauty [NY Times]