When I was watching an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 at the gym on Saturday, there was a brief scene where Kelly was sitting at her mother's kitchen table with her 7-year-old sister. When her mom asked if either of them wanted ice cream, Kelly's sister responded that she only wanted it if it was low-fat vanilla because she was watching her weight. A seven-year-old!! That is unheard of to me, an that was filmed in the 90's. So obviously there has been a constant problem with girls being unsatisfied with the way they look.
And then came plastic surgery. To the unaware, this was a quick fix to improve your looks, but it doesn't come cheap. I think it is safe to say that plastic surgery, despite a boob job, is for the most part utilized to maintain a young look. Therefore, one would guess that women would start getting plastic surgery around 40, when their years start to wear on them. Douglas pointed out in this chapter that some M.D.'s are recommending women as young as 20 should start to get procedures done, because then by the time they are older, the results will look more natural (?!).
The obsession with plastic surgery took its course, as every good craze should, in the world of reality television with shows like Dr. 90210 and The Swan. The reality of these shows, however, is that plastic surgery is a phenomenon and many, many women are getting it done. But some women, for whatever reason, are not quick to admit it. Many housewives stay "hush, hush" about the work they've had done or get critical with what characterizes plastic surgery. For example, some women argue that botox, fillers, and lip injections do not count as plastic surgery because you have not gone under the knife. I leave you to be the judge of that. Below is a picture of a new member from the show Real Housewives of Miami who in the first episode, claimed "she didn't believe in plastic surgery".
Kendall-
ReplyDeleteI really liked your points regarding the unhealthy expectations of beauty that have been reinforced in our society. I also liked your focus of this post regarding the paradox of having plastic surgery at a young age to remain "natural." I think that the phenomenon of plastic surgery, while highly important for many medical cases (such as burn victims, etc.), also is extremely unnecessary for the maintenance of feminine beauty. In fact, as can be seen in the pictures that you provided, oftentimes plastic surgery can make women look highly unattractive. Overall, I think that as a society, we have come to disallow women from aging naturally mainly due to the exponential increase in plastic surgery that occurs today (I have rarely-if not ever- heard of a man getting botox to get rid of crows feet). Thus, women are further placed in their cages, with the added bonus of a $10,000 facelift.
Kendall, I also really liked the points you made in this post. I particularly thought it was interesting how you brought up how quiet many women keep on their plastic surgery. I am admittedly a huge junkie for reality TV and have noticed this countless times. I also am constantly astonished with how far some women will go to look "better"....when often times it makes them look much worse. (example: Heidi Montag) I personally will never get plastic surgery done, but have always wondered why those who will are so ashamed of it. Everybody can often tell very obviously when someone has undergone plastic surgery so what's the point in hiding it? I also found Douglas' point on women getting work done at the age of 20 very shocking. It seems counter-intuitive to me. Why would I get work done now to look younger when the plastic surgery will age me in very unnatural (often very unattractive) ways?
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