News

Laurie Essig, associate professor of sociology and director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Program, says that plastic surgery remains popular in the U.S. but the number of Americans choosing to fix their noses has decreased.


The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics. Middlebury is a member organiztion of The Conversation.

Essig, author of “American Plastic: Boobs, Credit Cards, and Our Quest for Perfection,” says there could be several reasons for the decline. “Popular media is increasingly depicting beautiful characters of all races,” writes Essig, who also points to data from the Pew Research Center that states that everyone in the U.S. will be a racial or ethnic minority by 2055.

Essig’s story in The Conversation, an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics, appeared in MarketWatch.com and other media outlets.

The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics and edited by journalists for the general public. It publishes short articles by academics on timely topics related to their research. Middlebury is a member organization of The Conversation. The Conversation’s stories are picked up by the Associate Press as well as other media.