Beauty as labour: cosmetic capitalism and gendered control in contemporary Korean and Japanese fiction

Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face (2020) and Meiko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs (2020) portray cosmetic surgery and aesthetic labour as strategies for navigating beauty capitalism, gendered work, and social expectations. This study employs Naomi Wolf’s beauty myth and Sandra Bartky’s disciplinary femininity to conduct a qualitative comparative textual analysis through close reading and thematic analysis. It examines how beauty intersects with employability, visibility, economic survival, and self-esteem. The study reveals that women internalize beauty standards through self- monitoring and body regulation, transforming cosmetic practices into labour for achieving recognition and financial security. Kyuri’s cosmetic surgeries reflect Seoul’s appearance- centric job market, while Makiko’s interest in breast augmentation is shaped by ageing, unstable employment, and the fear of losing social and economic presence. Despite differing vulnerabilities, both women address structural insecurities through body modification, demonstrates that cosmetic surgery is shaped by gendered and economic pressures than empowerment. Comparing South Korea and Japanese women’s fiction, the study illustrates that cosmetic capitalism operates within distinct socio-economic frameworks yet results in common pattern of self-monitoring and limited agency. It argues that beauty functions as labour, economic capital, and social control, reframing cosmetic surgery as a negotiation of vulnerability rather than self-expression.