Media Histories of Skin

The final chapter of this book begins by summarising the key points and central arguments, reiterating the study’s primary aim: to unravel the relationship between dermatology and news writing by exploring Victorian media coverage of skin in its various conditions—diseased, wounded, and intact. It then explains that, by drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, the case studies revealed the multifaceted uses of skin as both a lived experience and a tangible discursive symbol laden with profound social meanings. A rhetorical analysis of news articles has yielded insights into the interplay between dermatology, journalism, and social reform movements of the Victorian era, highlighting the lasting impact of this relationship on contemporary news media practices. Due to its rhetorical ductility, skin and related discourses came to embody earlier instances of what scholars starting from the twentieth century called ‘news values’, in particular, drama, conflict, magnitude, novelty, cultural proximity, continuity, and newspaper’s agenda. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the broader implications of studying the media representation of skin. It bridges past, present, and future, positioning this work towards developing comprehensive media histories of skin to shed light on the role media can play in highlighting connections between skin problems and human rights violations.