I was reading the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and came across an interview with Joan Rivers. I think it’s fair to say she is the poster-child of plastic surgery, and plastic surgery gone wrong. She justifies her various plastic surgery procedures by citing the fact that she is in an industry where youth is prized. Perhaps. But is it really worth it?
I’ve never been a fan of plastic surgery for cosmetic enhancement, with rare exception. Plastic surgery seems to serve greater purpose in such cases as reconstructing the faces of burn victims, or allowing the patient who has had a mastectomy to retain some sense of womanhood. Filling lips with Restalyne to make them more pouty or increasing someone’s cup size three cup sizes so they look good in a bikini top doesn’t seem worth it.
Or is it?
I guess the main argument for most of the cosmetic procedures is boosting self-confidence. It’s a valid argument in some cases, but not all. Scar removal, for example, is valid. Removing moles and birthmarks, too, is valid (especially when they are suspected of being cancerous). Cheek implants? Butt implants? Not too sure about that.
Most cosmetic procedures are not permanent solutions, and require years of follow-ups, and sometimes repeat treatments. They are painful and potentially dangerous, in some cases. Breast implants, for example, almost always calcify (as is the case with most foreign objects introduced into the body), causing breasts to become hard and distended. In the case of silicone implants, the calcification carries the risk of causing rupture and leaking of the silicone gel into the body. Lip plumping agents are often temporary, and require visits every 6 months for more injections of collagen, Restalyne, or some other compound. Why go through that if you really don’t need to?
To a greater extent, people flock to creams and lotions that promise a reduction of wrinkles and a more youthful appearance. Everyday, we’re bombarded with ads promising youth in a bottle, jar, or a tube. Each has limited success, yet the bottles, jars, and tubes fly off the shelves everyday, in staggering numbers.
Here are a few numbers:
- In 2007 11,701,031 surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States. A little over 2 million of those were surgical procedures.
- Since 1997, surgical procedures have increased 123%, nonsurgical procedures have increased 749%.
- The 35-50 demographic makes up the most procedures.
- Yes, even men are getting work done, though not at remotely the same rate as women (ex. 300,472 Botox procedures in 2006 for men, versus 3,181,592 for women).
(Source: Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Statistics)
I think the worst part is that, while some procedures do a decent job at mimicking the natural state, when the procedure goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong. I’m not going to cite examples, because I think we can all think of at least one or two that fit the bill.
Why are we forever after this standard of youth and beauty that, after a while, becomes harder and harder to achieve? Why are women invariably the ones that head for the skin cream, Botox injections, and surgeries at greater rates than men?
What are your thoughts?
3 comments
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January 4, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Peter Carmen
I believe the removal of scars, moles, and birthmarks are all acceptable. I’ve got a chicken pox scar that I’ll probably have removed at some time. Breast reduction is also a clearly acceptable procedure. Plastic surgery on the breasts, butt, stomach, etc are all pretty unattractive to me, however. I’ve always found a “real” person more attractive than someone who clearly had work done. For the money you’ll spend on a plastic surgeon, why not hire a personal trainer? Sure, it’ll be a lot more work but I guarantee you’ll love your body a hell of a lot more as the results start showing. After plastic surgery, I’d be really interested to see how many people are truly satisfied with the work that’s been done. I don’t think very many are, which is why many people (women especially) frequently return to the surgeon for more work. The problem is not what is or is not on the outside but what’s lacking on the inside.
January 5, 2009 at 5:42 am
Luscious Lips
There is difference between removal of scars and looking younger.
It is an age old phenomenon, where the woman is always expected to be extremely pretty young and attractive. This has stayed in our sub conscious making us overtly conscious about the ‘perfect’ look. Thanks to cosmetology, youth and beauty comes in handy now.
Kisses.
January 5, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Dont Be a Slut
As a “retired” Hollywood actress, I can attest that the pressure is enormous for women (especially white women) to “keep it young.” The competition is so fierce that “perfection” is necessary just to be competitive. I can actually time movies by the size of the lead girl’s breasts: in the 80’s, leading ladies had real boobs and actors had crooked teeth. Thanks to “advances” in cosmetic surgery, most leading ladies have big boobs and even character actors have big, (bleached) horse teeth.
Saroj says: Sometimes they make it so that they’re too perfect. They’re not someone we can relate with on any level. I love character actors for that reason, they’re someone just like us, that can skillfully draw us into their stories. It’s definitely true though, that plastic surgeries among actors and actresses have surged in the last two decades…with questionable results. I was watching some movie with Meg Ryan today and I shuddered…she used to be so pretty.