Sociological Study of the Motivation and Consequences of Cosmetic Surgery in Women in Ilam City

In recent years, the phenomenon of cosmetic surgery has been favored by many Iranian women, including Ilami women. The sociological reason of this phenomenon has attracted the attention of many researchers. The present study was conducted with the aim of sociologically investigating the phenomenon of cosmetic surgery among women. This research is applied from the point of view of the goal, and in terms of the method of data collection, it is qualitative and of thematic analysis type. The data of the study was collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 women aged 30 to 65 from Ilam city, who have experience in cosmetic surgery, through targeted sampling. Data analysis was done during three stages of open, central and selective coding. In the open coding stage, 78 codes were finalized. 15 subcategories were identified in the axial coding stage. In the third stage, 6 main categories were identified, which expressed the qualitative dimensions of the attitude of women with cosmetic surgery experience. In the category of negative self-image of women, sub-dimensions of mental negativism, fear of rejection and defensive reactions strengthening the family structure; In the category of external normative pressures, sub-dimensions of advertisements and propaganda programs, social norms, social interpretation of the individual, religious-belief ideas and trust in the expertise of doctors; In the category of internal normative pressures, sub-dimensions of body expressiveness, internal motivations for beauty acquisition and competitiveness; In the category of psychological fields, sub-dimensions of cognitive-psychological bases and medical coercion. In the category of operational feedback of surgery, sub-dimensions of positive and negative outcomes were identified, and in the category of education of high economic and social base, sub-dimensions of economic-social base were identified.