“THE COLOR OF THE LASER”: A STUDY ON AESTHETIC INTERVENTION TECHNOLOGIES, GENDER AND RACE.

"The color of the laser": A study about aesthetic interventional technologies, gender and race.

Abstract

Abstract: This work studies the dissemination of new aesthetic intervention technologies and their relationships with the dimensions of gender and race. In particular, it focuses on the technology used for laser hair removal, taking into account the debate on the interference of technological development in the biomedical field with the influence and direct consequences of the ethnic-racial issue, with emphasis on the relationship between the use of technology and the marker of race. The research is linked to the project “New forms of circulation of knowledge and access to biomedical technologies: contemporary scenarios for bodily and subjective transformations” by Fabiola Rohden. The project seeks to guide body transformations in different contexts in which the search for procedures is confused with the search for health, highlighting the issue of self-improvement, the body and performance. For that, it uses the observation of social networks and the websites of companies that offer this procedure of aesthetic intervention. As for the analyses, the frequent appearance of the marker of race and social class is evident, and the apparent inconclusive discussion of the possibility of using laser hair removal technology for darker skin. Some companies claim to use a specific or more suitable technology to deal with all skin types, but it appears that, although the technology is intended to be “universal”, it favors treatment in people with lighter skin and not black skin. Also noteworthy is the search for the procedure by people who aim to lighten skin regions, bringing the racial dimension to the surface again. Keywords: Laser waxing. Aesthetics. Race.