Experiments in Skin: Race and Beauty in the Shadows of Vietnam

Experiments in Skin by Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu explores the impact of the Vietnam War on contemporary ideas about race and beauty, highlighting the efforts of wartime scientists to alleviate the environmental and chemical risks to soldiers' skin and the development of pharmaceutical cosmetics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 16 April 2021
Publisher: Duke University Press

In her groundbreaking book, Experiments in Skin: Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu delves into the profound and enduring impact of the Vietnam War on contemporary notions of race and beauty. By centering skin as the focal point of these ideologies, Tu highlights the intricate connections between militarism, biomedical knowledge, and commercial cosmetics. Through her meticulous research, she uncovers the efforts of wartime scientists within the US Military Dermatology Research Program to mitigate the environmental and chemical hazards posed to soldiers' skin. These dermatologists, driven by a desire to protect white soldiers, inadvertently disregarded the vulnerability of African American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians to harm. Their groundbreaking experiments resulted in the development of pharmaceutical cosmetics, which are now widely used by women in Ho Chi Minh City to address the damage inflicted by the war's lingering toxicity. By demonstrating how the US military laid the groundwork for contemporary Vietnamese consumption of cosmetics and beauty practices, Tu unveils the intricate interplay between militarism, biomedicine, race, and aesthetics, revealing their material and metaphorical manifestations on the skin. This thought-provoking book offers a vital exploration of the enduring legacies of conflict and their profound impact on our understanding of beauty and identity.

Weight: 358g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478011774