Chapter 4 looks at the more recent (and largely negative) concept of ‘perfectionism’ and, specifically (and with some reservations), at the distinction between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism within socio-psychology. This chapter looks critically at a recent ethical discussion by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics of cosmetic procedures designed to give people a ‘perfect body,’ but also notes that some form of obsessive perfectionism seems to be a feature of artistic, sporting and even moral genius. It offers human examples of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, including Steve Jobs, Ludwig Wittgenstein and the theatre producer Peter Brook, and concludes that perfectionism can be both dysfunctional and functional.

Following Marilyn Strathern, social anthropologists have interrogated the “awkward relationship” between anthropology and feminism. This chapter revisits the awkwardness of British social anthropology by looking at its problematic relationship not only with feminism but also with anthropology “at home” and with ethical or moral judgments. Its focus is on cosmetic surgery and other quasi-medical cosmetic procedures such as the use of botulinum toxins (e.g., Botox) and dermal fillers. The chapter discusses the tension between anthropological and feminist approaches, revealed when the anthropologist is tasked with taking an ethical stance. It draws on the experience of the anthropologist having, in their early career, to defend anthropology “at home” and, in their late career, chairing a bioethical committee on the ethics of cosmetic procedures, and concludes that there are times when anthropology and feminism best serve each other by maintaining a mutually critical relation: by continuing to trouble each other.