In the last five years we’ve seen the rise of a right-wing vision of body modification, from looksmaxxing with peptides, extreme diets, and jaw breaking to the rise of so-called “Mar-a-Lago face.” These trends are entwined with the MAHA movement, substituting the perfection of the self for universal care. An increasingly medicalized cosmetics industry pushes invasive procedures as nearly mandatory for cis women. Meanwhile, the same people who engage in extensive body modification in the name of preserving traditional gender ideals are keen to deny surgery and hormones to trans people, and anyone seeking a non-normative gender presentation. What can we make of this contradiction, and what can we learn from the ways that fascist politics play out on the body itself?
