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Ugly Bodies, Pretty Bodies Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies and the Inhumanity of Culture
- Author(s):
- Anastasia Salter (see profile)
- Date:
- 2011
- Group(s):
- GS Children’s and Young Adult Literature, GS Speculative Fiction
- Subject(s):
- Young adult literature
- Item Type:
- Article
- Tag(s):
- children's literature, identity, dystopia
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6D318
- Abstract:
- Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies imagines a society where the body is under total control and the universal beauty of the body after dramatic reconstructive surgery at sixteen guarantees that everyone will be “equal.” To the young adult readership, such a world holds understandable appeal: the idea of avoiding the pains of coming to age in one’s own body is a tempting one. The utopian construct of a society where all difference, and thus all conflict, is erased is a popular social fantasy. But Westerfeld offers his audience more than a vision of a status-less utopia: he offers insight into what might come of humanity losing its connection to its own bodies. His world of Pretties is truly one where beauty is only skin-deep, and all the beautiful creations of culture have been abandoned for a new world of instant gratification and meaningless social relationships.
- Notes:
- Pre-print version of article published in Winter 2011
- Metadata:
- xml
- Published as:
- Journal article
- Status:
- Published
- License:
- All Rights Reserved
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