Plastic Surgery Obsession

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Wtf? I mean seriously. Celebrities are idiots for doing it to get movie roles, but at least I can see it as somewhat legit. Their career depends on it. Maybe without the balloon lip puffing and the implants, they'd be serving meals at Denny's, and doing poorly at it. But what about soccer moms getting lipo? Does a 35 year old mom of four need new boobs? And what of all this thousands of dollars worth of cosmetic dentistry? Not braces people, I'm talking about people having their teeth ripped out to have implants put in so they're perfect.

I dunno. Maybe I resent it because it is hard enough to fit in with the way I am (Aspie) and now unless you've got thousands of dollars worth of disposable income and you're willing to risk your life on an operating table for the sake of what you think are perfect boobs or an ass with a bit less cellulite...now it's even harder. The standards are disgusting, and I hate the fake-ness of all of it. We're given one body. Maybe it isn't perfect. I hate my teeth, but they're not awful and I'd rather have what I've got than implants or whatever else. What happened to acceptance? Do people realize they're destroying themselves for some abstract goal of perfection?

BLaaaah.

I'm kind of annoyed that the standards are being raised higher. And I'm not willing to get breast implants or whatever to meet them.

I agree it is stupid, God gives us a body and some decide to alter it like that, i saw this show this 1 celeb had so many surgerys to her face and now years later her face is distorted, she looks like a cat, it was horrific, and look at 'Jacko' for another example.

Its sad, all these Dr's that could benifit society helping real sick people are instead being taken up to do unnessisary surgeryes to those with all this money. people cant be happy with the way they look and years down the line they will look even worse.

Ill never do any of that, if I want to look better ill get excersize, heh. Nobody is perfect and thatll make you look even worse in the end. I cant beleive society almost encourages this.

There was this really good line on the first season of Nip/Tuck in which this drug dealer compared plastic surgery to heroin. Something along the lines that both plastic surgery and heroin are in high demand because people hate themselves. Then of course there is Christian Troy's ( one of the plastic surgeons in Nip/Tuck) famous stance on the subject which is; if your not perfect why even bother existing.

Did Christian Troy have a definition of "perfection"?

The celebrities all start to look the same by the time they've had their collagen lips, breast implants, eyebrow lift and botox.

They look boring - a face with lines and flaws is much more interesting to look at.

Helen

I'm quite proud of my squishy, Sid-like body. I don't feel that need to be thin. The thing about today's society is that women feel a need to be thinner and have larger boobs. They don't want to deal with what god has given them. I think that celebrities have more money than brains. Teenage girls and young women are starving themselves to get that size 8 body. So I'm a size 24! That doesn't make me less of a person.

i think people should accept themselves for who they are, not be constantly trying to change themselves

Thank you for posting this Siuan. I resent being expected, as a woman, to look eternally young like I'm 19. I have no problem with plastic surgery if it is to correct something such as a cleft palate or something like that. American society is just sick when we consider the resources that are wasted on people trying to maintain the illusion of youth and perfection. I have seen celebrities that have had work done and it really doesn't make me believe that they are 20 years old. The pursuit of beauty seems almost like a new religion. I have a theory that many people are a mess inside and have not developed themselves either intellectually or spiritually and so of course they are distressed when the facade of youth is gone and it is harder to overlook one's internal flaws when the bloom of youth is no longer there. I am who I am and what is the point in trying to be somebody I'm not?

I realize that physical attraction will always be a part of the equation when it comes to dating, marriage, romantic relationships. What I find appallling is that in America many people who fit the ridiculous standards can get away with a lot of stuff. I don't watch much television because I am sickened by the shallow values portrayed. I am 37 and while I certainly won't refer to a previous era as "the good old days" since there has never been a perfect time in history, I can remember a time when there were t.v. shows that encouraged values such as kindness, honesty, etc. Many qualities such as honesty, kindness, intellectual growth, sense of humor, etc. will still remain even when one is no longer 20 anymore. How sad that so many people spend so much time and resources chasing a futile image of perfection. I have a magnet that says "Youth is a gift but Age is an Art!" This obsession with physical perfection is a reflection of a society that is spiritually bankrupt and does not value what is truly important. Imagine the absurdity of a funeral in which a person is remembered for their physical attributes "She wore a size 4 her entire life. She kept her face free of wrinkles, and wow, that really made the world a better place. Her chest defied the law of gravity. Her long legs made the community a much better place. Her teeth were perfect. We will all miss such a vision of perfection." I am LOL imagining the sheer absurdiy of someone being remembered only for their physical attributes. I remember a quote from Brave New World "You can't consume much if you sit still and read books." We could also say "You can't consume much if you accept yourself the way you are and if you sit still and develop your inner qualities.

Lia

In a general sense, I believe that people should be free to do whatever they want as long as it does not harm anyone directly. This includes any type of body modification, for any purpose, whether it's shaving, tattooing, or lyposuction.

However, on a societal level, I am concerned about the trend of increasing amounts of plastic surgery. Are people overlooking the fact that all surgery is dangerous and painful?

While this may seem to contradict what I just said, I do see a clear difference between surgery and body modifications that can be done by people outside the medical profession, without drugs (as in shaving or tattooing). Anaesthesia and internal injuries create huge risks.

I agree with several of the above posters that natural bodies are beautiful. I enjoy the diversity among people's appearances.

Death to commercial television.
Death to circumcision.

i need to gain weight, i look like kate moss

When I see a stick thin bleached blonde clone of a woman, I think "damn there goes what might have been a beautiful woman. And if shes just trying to keep in fashion poo on her for not going her own way and being her own person."

The blonde Barbie ideal is simply not attractive to me. Its like looking at a guy, or a 90 year old lady or a 5 year old, or a German Shepard. I see em but they dont do a thing for me attractive wise. I must be defective.

You know whaT I like and dont see enough of? The accessory that sets an outfit off? A sicere warm smile.

Having longed for a different body (a girl's) all my life, I finally came to the realization that it could be had.

All I have to do is convince a couple of therapists (one must be an M.D.) to write letters stating that I am indeed a good candidate for GRS (Gender Reassignment Surgery), and pass them on to one of the many surgeons in the world who do this type of surgery... oh... and pay tens-of-thousands of dollars to do the vaginoplasty along with FFS (feminine facial surgery) and whatever else I might 'need' to pass

Anyway, I do know people who have had their surgeries and taken their hormones and now live as the opposite gender they were raised as and seem to be VERY happy and content with life.

For me though, I find I need to explore these feelings I've hidden all my life, before I move on in any direction.

I do not want to be a woman... I have always just felt I was supposed to have a different body and be able to express both a feminine as well as masculine 'side' of me... hard to explain really.

I have to decide between these feelings, feelings of wanting to make other people happy (who would not want me to go forward with surgery or hormones), and what this whole business of gender means to me.

Although this is not the same as having cosmetic surgery to change my nose, or lift my eyelids, some people do see it as the same thing.

I'll keep working out my feelings and understanding about all this, but I do believe as do many of you, that there are people who do not think much about what they are having done to their bodies before going under the knife.

While what I have been debating in my life may be much more serious than a 'simple' tummy-tuck, I still believe it is important for anyone having body mod's done to have given it a lot of thought.

After that, if they still feel the need to do it... more power to them.
I do not judge people by the surgeries they have had or wish to have.
Even Michael Jackson.
I've watched him go from 'Little Michael Jackson' to the 'Jocko' you all mention here.
While I may wonder why he has done the things to himself that he seems to have had done, I do not have any reason to disparage him for it.

Same thing with tatooing or other body mods.
I'm not sure if many of you are aware of the variety of body mods going on in Western society these days, but it's quite interesting and perhaps to some of you.. quite disturbing.
Some of them are to me anyway.

Human beings have a history of modifying their bodies through permanent physical means.
Nothing new about that.
Just the techniques and the types of mods are different... I'm sure the reasons have always been as varied as they are today.