In February a British tourist checked into a Hampton Inn for a “buttock-enhancement” surgery performed in a hotel suite by a supposed “Doctor” and later died as a complication after being admitted to the hospital for chest pains. This is not an isolated incident in recent times nor will it be the last person we hear about who will die in the pursuit of beauty. It would be easy to blame the doctors or even the women who use these “back-room” procedures to save money or get a surgery that a reputable doctor won’t perform but in reality we need to address the larger societal issues that make these women seek out these dangerous situations. (NY Daily News, 2011)
There are some that are happy with what nature has given them and some that will never be happy. They are the ones that will strive to be the definition of beauty, at all costs. We see the billboards even in our own city as we drive downtown advertising liposuction, laser surgery and breast implants. The women and men on the billboards do not appear to need any of the work that is being advertised. These are bodies that many strive to look like but as our children drive past they are being told even this body needs work. An elective surgery of breast implants, which according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) were performed 355,671 times in 2008 (Accespro.org, 2009) is one of the leading procedures performed. Studies also show that the most common reason given for getting breast implants is to feel “better” about their bodies, although it is our environment and culture which has reinforced this warped sense of body image.
A study in 2004 by University of Exeter (BBC Local Devon, 2004) showed that newborn babies are drawn to a photo of a fashion model versus a plain looking woman. This study showed that even at birth there is an imprinted view of what beauty is and that the babies can distinguish this from that first moment. As we humans get older we expand on this imprinting and continually seek out beauty in ourselves and others. Because of this search and people continuingly striving to be viewed as beautiful there are many people that go to extremes to fit in. Every year there are women who die looking for the perfect body, the flawless skin and to fit into a category of beautiful.
We are familiar with the stories of women that go too far and celebrities whom already make money off of the way they look that then have multiple surgeries to enhance their beauty while they are only creating a façade of who they really are. As we raise our children in this world to consider beauty from within the fight gets harder. Trying to convince a teenager that her freckles are beautiful, that she’s not too skinny or too chubby or to not worry that her chest isn’t as developed as her friends soon becomes a full time job with the media and our general sense of beauty overriding all the words you can say. We fight against the natural tendencies within ourselves to seek out beauty and to be happy.
When it becomes an obsession as it does for some people they will go to any length to get what they need much like a drug addict. An anorexic will never be able to see themselves as too thin and will always see that extra inch that they could lose and when denied assistance by a reputable doctor will then visit the dangerous “back-room” doctors who will operate for a fee with very little conscious.
This is a simple epidemic of supply and demand. If we can convince the future generations that they do not need to go to drastic measures to be a commonly accepted form of “beautiful” then soon we will no longer support these doctors who are killing and maiming our future. There are times when plastic surgery is needed, there are doctors that do great things assisting those that have a medical need for reconstructive surgery but those are in a different class.
How far is too far to be beautiful, is a decision that we all have to make and that we need to help our children decide. Remove a mole, correct a scar, shave a bit off your nose or enhance your breasts and you are changing what nature has given you. It may make you beautiful but if you knew that you would die for a nose job or a breast enhancement would it be worth it? There are some that would agree the risk outweighs not being happy and those are the ones that need to be helped the most.
Works Cited
Accespro.org. (2009, March 17). Retrieved from http://acesspro.org/plastic-surgery/breast-augmentation-statistics-for-2008
BBC Local Devon. (2004, 9 7). Retrieved from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2004/baby_faces.shtml
NY Daily News. (2011, 02 8). Retrieved from NY Daily News.com: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2011/02/08/2011-02-08_woman_dies_after_butt_implant_procedure_tourist_underwent_backdoor_silicone_surg.html?r=news
