The Regulation of Gender: Cosmetic Surgery, Regulatory Processes and Femininity

Abstract

The last decade has seen regulatory discourse on cosmetic surgery explode. Much of the focus first rested on the now well-publicised issue of silicone breast implants, which were the subject of major hearings held by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991 and 1992. Debate in Australia was initiated in 1991 by the Therapeutic Device Evaluation Committee (TDEC) on behalf of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This debate began as a result of the investigations pursued by the FDA,¹ and its recommendations were in large part determined by parallel recommendations in the United States.² In this chapter I examine a range of sources dealing with the regulatory discussion of cosmetic surgery, including the FDA hearings on silicone breast implants, as well as the 1999 New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC)³ Inquiry into cosmetic surgery. The material examined in this chapter is drawn from a geographically diverse range of sources, but this does not mean the regulatory processes undertaken are separate. For example, US deliberations are central to those undertaken in Australia because class action damages cases brought by Australian silicone implant recipients have been heard in US courts and are subject to US rulings.⁴