In this conversation…
The picture heard ‘round the Reddit Popular page1 has reignited the internet’s favorite form of is-that-misogyny? debate: Ladies, are we allowed to talk about what may or may not be happening on Taylor Swift’s face?
Plastic surgery speculation is an online sport in its own right, but the real story is what it tells us about our culture’s attitude toward cosmetic procedures (and the “feminist” way to participate) that the mere suggestion ignites such a fervent defense of Swift’s honor. The grand, widely celebrated deception of dermal filler is the foundation on which this melodrama is built.
Bonus Reading
“How long do dermal fillers really last? MRI scans provide evidence,” from Victorian Cosmetic Institute, a 5-year-old YouTube video clearly outlining the little-discussed long-term effects, plus this sort of clickbait-y follow-up about the risk of dissolver “destroying [your] face” by the same doctor, that explains how the dissolver—a substance called hyaluronidase—works2
“Hyaluronic Acid Filler Longevity in the Mid-face: A Review of 33 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies” in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open journal, July 2024
“On cosmetic procedures and the limits of ‘destigmatization,’” by Haley Nahman, November 2022
“In the Name of Beauty,” Tressie McMillan Cottom, 2019 (highly recommend this entire essay collection, Thick)
“Allie Rowbottom is no botox moralist,” by Brock Colyar for New York Magazine (also recommend Rowbottom’s novel, Aesthetica)
“We’re Having Fun, Right?” (Katie’s essay mentioned in the episode, about the unique psychological torment of entering a Sephora)
Down, Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne, which offers a definition of misogyny that focuses not on feelings of hatred toward women, but the social systems that enforce a patriarchal set of standards in women’s behavior
Time Stamps
0:15:00 - let’s talk about that viral picture of TS looking “crispy”
3:30 - Caro self-therapizes about why she has so many blind spots as a Swiftie haha lol
8:37 - Katie gives a crash course in filler (how it works, how we understand and misunderstand it)
18:00 - some thoughts on the effort to dEsTiGmaTiz3 Be@uTy, LadiEZ!
23:00 - the more injectables are democratized, the more that famous people will distance themselves from the endeavor
25:05 - caro claims botox as her latest roman empire, katie immediately chops her off at the knees
31:20 - do we no longer believe that beauty standards are dangerous?
32:23 — theory #1 regarding why people are so effing defensive about TS getting work done (keywords: feminism, honesty, amnesty, Alix Earle)
36:50 - theory #2 regarding why people are so effing defensive about TS getting work done (keywords: code switching, the aryan movement, branding)
38:40 - how race theory plays a foundational role in the plastic surgery/injectables conversation
44:20 - Katie’s Grand Unifying Theory of Filler™
51:35 - is it maybe a good thing that we’re culturally freaked out by injectables?
53:50 - theory #3 regarding why people are so effing defensive about TS getting work done (keywords)
55:50 - theory #4 regarding why people are so effing defensive about TS getting work done
57:00 - theory #5! how! high! will! they! go! (keywords: thinkers, objects, commodifiers)
1:01:50 - why the “my body my choice” argument is bullshit in the context of cosmetic surgery/injectables
1:05:00 - on the importance of being ruthless with systems and kind to people
1:09:50 - why beauty is the only form of capital that women are encouraged to pursue 🫠
1:12:45 - the irony of happiness myth surrounding the beauty standard (“I do this because it makes me happy/feel good!”)
1:19:50 - ever notice how women are allowed to age if they’re in artistic fields where their faces are hidden/obscured by their art, whereas singers and actresses basically face forced retirement before they can even develop their craft?????
1:26:00 - Katie and Caro make a lifelong blood oath
Katie here: I admit that my Popular page is probably more likely to surface all “hot” posts about Taylor Swift than your average Redditor. Let me have this one.
If you look for them, you’ll find threads like this one on skincare Subreddits about the undisclosed risks of dissolving filler, featuring chilling lines like this: “Please do you research prior to making an decisions regarding this product, it is a 60-year-old patent used off-label with zero peer-reviewed studies of its safety in aesthetics. There are zero regulations. Take care.”
Taylor Swift, Injectables, and Other Genres of Magical Thinking