The Northern Renaissance motif of Weibermacht—the “power of woman”—depicted female beauty as a destabilizing force capable of undermining male authority, intellect, and divine order. These visual allegories, featuring figures such as Phyllis, Judith, and Delilah, warned of the dangers inherent in seductive appearance. Far from neutral, beauty was rendered as morally volatile, triggering cultural anxiety through its capacity to challenge patriarchal norms. This essay traces the legacy of Weibermacht into the contemporary domain of aesthetic plastic surgery, where the female body remains a contested site of power, autonomy, and moral scrutiny. In contrast to the passive muses of Renaissance engravings, today’s surgical patients actively reshape their bodies to gain social capital, control, and visibility. Yet these choices remain embedded in systems of visual regulation—social media filters, gendered expectations, and aesthetic hierarchies—that continue to penalize overt expressions of beauty. The surgically enhanced woman is often admired and simultaneously judged, much like her early modern counterpart. Drawing from art history, feminist theory, and clinical reflection, this essay proposes that plastic surgery represents not a departure from Weibermacht but its modern incarnation. Aesthetic enhancement is both a tool of empowerment and a trigger for moral unease. Through a conceptual triangle—connecting Weibermacht, beauty, and moral anxiety—the essay illustrates how the desire to transform appearance revives long-standing cultural tensions. Surgeons and patients alike operate within a symbolic space shaped by centuries of gendered imagery and judgment. Beauty, whether mythic or medical, remains both potent and policed.
Kun Hwang (Mon,) studied this question.