Museum of Notable Realities
RECOA
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Collected Dermafutures
RECOA: PRO-YOUTH AND INDIVIDUAL SKIN CARE
Long ago on Recoa, resource scarcity caused a divide between the haves and have-nots. The dominant group were young, paranoid white men who controlled all resource rationing. Though resources eventually became abundant, Recoan society still equated societal value with having pale, young-looking skin.
BioDesigners developed products which peeled off layers of skin and surgeries which replaced an individual's aging skin with lab-grown samples of their youthful skin.
Figure 1: Psychological impacts of Beauty Industry on Self-Perception of Skin [see ref.].
These skin interventions caused frequent adverse reactions for people with darker skin, enlisting people of color in an endless cycle of yearning for lighter skin due to rampant racism and colorism, then their bodies being punished for using products which were not made for them. ​On Recoa, an equation of youth and whiteness with value leads to individual obsession, self-maintenance, and psychological distress around shameful imperfections.
Inhabitants seek
individual survival during a
resource depression
and create a
societal divide
Inhabitants seek individual survival during a resource depression and create a societal divide
Colorism and
ageism spikes
Colorism and
ageism
spikes
Resources become plentiful. BioDesigners create products and services to lighten and de-age skin
Resources become plentiful. BioDesigners create products and services to lighten and
de-age skin
Body, skin, and age dysmorphia
abound. People of color experience
poor health
due to adverse reactions to skin products and services developed for white people
Body, skin, and age dysmorphia abound. People of color experience poor health due to adverse reactions to skin products and services developed for white people
BioDesigners invent the "Skin Pension" to replace aging skin with young skin
BioDesigners invent the
"Skin Pension" to replace
aging skin
with young
skin
Society is structured around
cosmetic capitalism;
Recoans struggle
to earn the
luxury of youthful, light skin
Society is structured around cosmetic capitalism;
Recoans struggle
to earn the
luxury of youthful, light skin
Recoans fight to earn the luxury of youthful, light skin.
Figure 2: Skin Pension Youthful Replacements.
Figure 3: Skin Pension Surgery Complications.