Yaşlanma, Ölüm Kaygısı ve Gençlik Arayışı: Medikal Estetik Üzerine Nitel Bir Araştırma

Öz

Bu makale, kadınların “genç görünüm” ve “yaşlanma” konusundaki anlatılarına odaklanarak, yaşlanan bedenin işaret ettiği anlamlar arasında “ölüm kaygısı” nı ele almaktadır. Çalışma, yaşlanma belirtilerini yavaşlatma veya tersine çevirme amacıyla botoks ve dolgu uygulamalarının kullanımını merkezine almıştır. 2021-2022 yılları arasında Ankara’daki X Estetik Merkezi’nde yürütülen bu etnografik araştırma, saha çalışması ve katılımcı gözlem tekniğine dayanmakta olup, farklı yaş gruplarından kadınlarla gerçekleştirilen derinlemesine görüşmeleri içermektedir. Araştırma, katılımcıların “genç” ve “yaşlı” görünüme atfettikleri anlamlar çerçevesinde, özellikle bir katılımcının yaşlanmaya yüklediği “ölüm kaygısı” sorunsalı üzerine yoğunlaşmıştır. Bu bağlamda “yaşlılık” kavramı; “bireysellik”, “dünyevileşme”, “teknolojik gelişmeler”, “yaşlanmayı akılcılaştırma” ve “gençliğin idealize edilmesi” perspektiflerinden ele alınmış ve literatürle ilişkilendirilerek tartışılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular doğrultusunda, “yaşlılık” kavramının bireyde “ölüm kaygısı” yaratmasının, aslında “varoluşsal bir mücadele” ve “hayata anlam katma” çabası ile ilişkili olduğu ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• botoks ve dolgu enjeksiyonları
• genç görünüm
• yaşlanma
• ölüm kaygısı
• etnografik araştırma

Aging, Death Anxiety, and the Pursuit of Youth: A Qualitative Study on Medical Aesthetics

Öz

This article examines “death anxiety” as it relates to the aging body, focusing on women’s narratives surrounding “youthful appearance” and “aging”. The study explores the use of botox and filler applications to slow down or reverse signs of aging. Conducted at the X Aesthetic Center in Ankara between 2021 and 2022, this ethnographic research relies on fieldwork and participant observation techniques, supplemented by in-depth interviews with women from various age groups. The research investigates the “death anxiety” one participant attributed to aging, within the context of meanings participants assigned to “youth” and “old age”. The concept of “old age” is explored through the lenses of “individuality”, “secularization”, “technological advancements”, “rationalization of aging”, and the “idealization of youth”, and is discussed in relation to existing literature. Based on the findings, the research suggests that the concept of “old age” causing “death anxiety” is, in fact, linked to an “existential struggle” and the effort to “add meaning to life”.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• botox and filler injections
• youthful appearance
• aging
• death anxiety
• ethnographic research

Kaynakça

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