The market for aesthetic plastic surgery on the social media platform Instagram: emotion, well-being and intimacy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v44.21768

Keywords:

Market, Aesthetic plastic surgery, Emotion, Well-being, Intimacy

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between the market for aesthetic plastic surgery and the rise of influencers on digital social networks, aiming to identify how these influencers have engaged in advertising within this sector, shaping conceptions and desires around the ideal body. We argue that the narratives created by influencers evoke emotions to discuss the post-surgery body, especially positive emotions, normalizing the risks of surgical procedures. These narratives are sustained by a discourse of informality and intimacy, which contributes to the construction of the aesthetic surgery market and positions aesthetic surgery as a pathway to well-being. The qualitative research, conducted on Instagram, collected and analyzed content from four influencers, as well as the reactions of their followers to their posts. We processed the data obtained using Orange software to generate word clouds, enabling the identification of discursive patterns in the comments. We based our data analysis on the sociology of markets and concepts from Pierre Bourdieu, particularly cultural capital, offering significant insights into the relationships between the body and emotion in the contemporary social world.

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Author Biographies

Maria Chaves Jardim, UNESP- Araraquara

She is a Tenured Professor in Economic Sociology at the Department of Social Sciences at UNESP in Araraquara and the Graduate Program in Social Sciences at FCLar. Since June 2018, she has been the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Estudos de Sociologia at UNESP in Araraquara. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from UFSCar, having completed part of her doctoral studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS-Paris).

She was selected by the European Commission for a Hermes Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (FMSH-Paris), an institution with which she has maintained various academic partnerships since then. These collaborations involve regular short-term research stays in France and the mobilization of an extensive international network, in which she is strongly integrated. As a result, she also facilitates international research internships for her students.

She was part of the Young Researcher Program in Emerging Centers at FAPESP, with part of her research conducted at EHESS-France between 2008 and 2010, and she has had more than 60 projects approved by FAPESP.

Her research experience spans various fields, including the sociology of work, power, politics, elites, culture, and economic sociology. Her main research topics include the state and the market, capital/labor relations, pension system reform and pension funds, the financial market, the social construction of markets, new union strategies at the national and international levels, and forms of symbolic domination.

Since 2017, she has been working to develop a new approach in the social sciences: the socioanalysis of emotions. Inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's concept of socioanalysis, this approach aims to study emotions (such as love, hatred, mourning, etc.) as sociological phenomena.

Regarding her international engagements, she was a visiting professor at Paris-Dauphine University between 2014 and 2015. She is the leader of NESPOM-UNESP (Research Group on Society, Emotions, Power, Organization, and Market) and collaborates with the Economic and Financial Sociology Research Group (NESEFI) at UFSCar.

 

Natalia Souza de Lala, UNESP- Araraquara

Master’s student in the Graduate Program in Sociology at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP/IFCH). Holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from São Paulo State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP/FCLAr). Conducted scientific research during undergraduate studies with a FAPESP scholarship.

Luana Estela Di Pires, UNESP- Araraquara

PhD candidate in Social Sciences in the Graduate Program at the Faculty of Sciences and Letters of Araraquara – FCLAr/UNESP. Holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the same institution. Research fellow funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).

She has been a researcher at the Research Group on Society, Power, Organization, and Market (NESPOM-FCLAr) since 2018. She is a member of the editorial board of Cadernos de Campo (ISSN 2359-2419) and is responsible for the design of Estudos de Sociologia (e-ISSN: 1982-4718).

Her research focuses on Digital Sociology and Economic Sociology, particularly in social networks, influencer marketing, digital influencers, and the digital market.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from FCLAr/UNESP and participated in the Social Sciences Tutorial Education Program (PET) at FCLAr between 2017 and 2020.

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Published

2025-03-11

How to Cite

Jardim, M. C., Souza de Lala, N., & Di Pires, L. E. (2025). The market for aesthetic plastic surgery on the social media platform Instagram: emotion, well-being and intimacy. TOMO Review, 44, e21768. https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v44.21768

Issue

Vol. 44 (2025): TOMO Journal (Rolling Pass)

Section

SI: Digital Tecnologies and well-being: the perspective of the Sociology of Markets

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Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Chaves Jardim, Natalia Souza de Lala, Luana Estela Di Pires

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