Image from Vanityfair.com
I don’t know if you can pinpoint exactly when plastic surgery became all the rage. Maybe it was when The Girls Next Door became a hit on E!, showcasing three very blonde and surgically altered women living the life of luxury in the Playboy mansion. Or maybe it was when shows like Extreme Makeover came on the air, giving one lucky person a chance to undergo numerous procedures to drastically alter their appearance. But maybe the most recent trend of young women getting plastic surgery is a result of the young Hollywood starlets like Ashlee Simpson and Heidi Montag going under the knife.
I don’t doubt that in every culture women do something that they think makes them look better or helps them fit their culture’s idea of beauty. But when I think of doing something to improve your appearance, I think of maybe trying some new diet or exercise fad or buying new makeup or the latest trend in fashion to try and fit in; I don’t, however, think about electing to have surgery to alter my appearance permanently.
That seems to be the trend though – young women getting plastic surgery, some as young as 18. According to reports, an 18 year old from Australia recently elected to get a tummy tuck, a boob job, and vaginal rejuvenation after the birth of her child. Apparently she did it to “feel her age again”. There are more articles that talk about how many young women (under 25) are opting for plastic surgery, from the less invasive Botox to breast implants and nose jobs. And some have multiple procedures done.
What’s so disturbing about young women who undergo multiple surgeries is the reason that they have for needing them. Take Montag for example, she had a reported 10 surgeries this last go around that ranged from a brow lift to additional breast implants to “back-scoping” and liposuction (that’s not including her first trip under the knife to get a nose job and breast implants). She now says that she is the “ideal woman”. Whose ideal is she referring to?
So many young women are electing to have plastic surgery to modify themselves to fit what they think is the “ideal” woman. Putting aside arguments that everyone can chose what they do with their body, which is true, you have to wonder why they believe that surgery is going to instantly fix their body issues and make them beautiful? Somewhere along the line it became acceptable to change yourself surgically rather than to accept yourself as you are and embrace that which makes all of us beautiful. This problem goes beyond just lack of self-esteem and clearly highlights the need for a change in our world’s standards of beauty and lack of teaching young women to love themselves and to embrace individuality.
UMKC WOMEN'S CENTER 