Every day, societies place restrictions and rules on how their members should act, and what they should look like. Cosmetic surgery is a
Symbolic interaction - people choose whether or not to alter their bodies, affects how they interact with others, society as a whole
Changing standards of beauty
Pressure from society, the media
Personal identity - are they still the same person, will they act/be treated differently (at work) even children
“Every year, millions of people undergo cosmetic surgery to bring their appearance into line with societal definitions of how people ought to look,” (Macionis 502). As George Herbert Mead describes in his“Looking Glass Self” theory, people learn to see themselves as society sees them. There is a desire,
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Celebrities often have Botox injections or surgery to make themselves appear younger, as their fame and even livelihoods can depend on how they are seen by others. The mass media, including television and magazines, highly publicizes when celebrities have these procedures done (Lennon). Television shows like “Extreme Makeover” show how surgery can change people’s lives. The hour long episodes, make surgery seem easy, perfect body attainable. In 2009, it is estimated that eighty-six percent of cosmetic surgery patients were middle-class, working women. About sixty percent of cosmetic surgery patients reported that their annual household income was in the range of $30,000 to $90,000 (Cosmetic …show more content…
One common reason many people choose to undergo cosmetic surgery is for a confidence boost. Because of unattainable beauty ideals, plastic surgery or other like procedures can provide a way to make changes to one’s appearance in an increasingly inexpensive way (Menzel). However, the physical complications that can result from cosmetic surgery are numerous, and psychological complications are also possible after cosmetic surgery. Physically, there are risks taken with any surgery. These can include infection, developing blood clots post-surgery, heart attack, stroke, and even death. The final results of the procedures can also be disappointing to patients, especially those patients who are expecting life-changing results. Patients who view elective plastic surgery as a way to change their social lives or improve relationships with others are also likely to be disappointed. There were higher than average rates of deaths related to alcohol or substance abuse and suicide among women who had undergone breast augmentation surgery. This information may suggest that women who undergo breast enhancement surgery may be more inclined to have a pre-existing psychological problem (Cosmetic
The only logical conclusion to derive from this observation is that what we consider to be ourselves is not our bodies. As a result, an individual’s personal identity cannot be rooted in just his or her body, unlike what body theorists would like to
In today society, beauty in a woman seems to be the measured of her size, or the structure of her nose and lips. Plastic surgery has become a popular procedure for people, mostly for women, to fit in social class, race, or beauty. Most women are insecure about their body or face, wondering if they are perfect enough for the society to call the beautiful; this is when cosmetic surgery comes in. To fix what “needed” to be fixed. To begin with, there is no point in cutting your face or your body to add or remove something most people call ugly. “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery” explored the desire of human to become beyond perfection by the undergoing plastic surgery. The author, Camille Pagalia, took a look how now days how Americans are so obsessed
Surgeons discussed their widespread discomfort about how many people were getting plastic surgery because of these programs. When they were asked what they’re greatest fear is they responded, “The reason for getting plastic surgery”. They believe it is encouraging them to altar themselves in a negative manner. This is also one of the issues that Pink, an American singer, song writer, and actress brings to attention in her video “Stupid
In conclusion, cosmetic surgery is not a solution to peer pressure, insecurity and bullying , in contrary, it increases depression rate for most people,causes selfdestruction for most cases, and damgages ones selfesteem after idolizing celebrities who have the perfect figure.
Plastic surgery is one of the most growing fields in medicine. Reconstructive surgery is one of the branches from plastic surgery and it is defined as surgeries performed to restore facial and body defects caused by a disease, trauma, burns, or birth defects (Nelson, 2010). When it first started, it focused on helping people who are having difficulty blending in society. For instance, during the Renaissance era, in the late 1700s, doctors worked on enhancing the appearance of patients suffering from the nose deformation caused by syphilis using plastic surgery. Enabling them to blend in society and cover the disease. Also, after World War I, because there were a large number of soldiers with disfiguring injuries, the United States of America relied on plastic surgeries to improve the life of wounded soldiers (Nelson, 2010). The other branch of plastic surgery is cosmetic surgery. This type of surgery is performed to preserve or restore normal appearances, or to enhance it beyond the average level (American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, 2014). For the last couple of years, Plastic surgery marketing has focused massively on cosmetic surgery procedures rather than reconstructive ones. This type of advertising is having negative effects on society by increasing the number of needless procedures, changing the true meaning of beauty, and harming females’ self-esteem.
Some people’s obsession with plastic surgery is obviously getting out of control. It starts with only getting one thing fixed or corrected but then quickly escalates and before you know it, a face that once was all-flesh turns into plastic. According to a study conducted by Nigel Mercer (2009), “The number of official cosmetic surgeries has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003”. The two reasons why plastic surgery should be banned are because of its high health risks, and because of the additional pressure it puts on people to look picture-perfect.
“Individuals are encouraged, even expected to make ‘lifestyle’ choices to maximize their life chance and simultaneously held responsible for managing and minimizing the risk associated with these decisions” (Leve, 2012:124). Media discourse is part of everyone’s day to day life, ideals of bodies are shown in all these media communication’s in order to appeal to the consumer. This could be considered to have made society become obsessed by looks, meaning that individuals feel the pressures to keep up with how people are represented in the media, for example recognized celebrities in magazines. According to The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, or BAAPS, there was a 16.5 percent increase of procedures in 2012. These statistics show that cosmetic surgery is becoming normalized, “This is how we live now. Anything that makes us feel better about our appearance, whether it involves needles, knives or acid, is acceptable’ (Wiseman, 2012)
In conclusion, the benefits of cosmetic surgery differ between people and situations; any negative thoughts of others may have an effect on a person’s decision to have a procedure done, but it is for the patient to decide if changing their body is the right decision for them. Regardless of the influences on the younger generation, unrealistic ideologies of patients, and moral issues others may have, plastic surgery will continue to be a huge part of society. However, society should be focusing on how to encourage others to seek happiness in whatever they seem fit, rather than choose to destroy the aspirations of others who choose to build a perfect body for
Preview: Today I am going to share with you about three major perils from cosmetic surgery. It only transforms the outside appearances, but does not help to heal the lack of confidence and illnesses inside patients. It also brings diseases and disorders, and finally negatively influences youth.
Advancements to science and technology marks one way people are able to change the way they identify themselves. With these advancements, very little about a person’s figure is set in stone. Aspects such as how tall a person is, how much they weigh, and how they look can be easily changed. For example, if someone doesn’t like the way they look, they can go pay a surgeon to morph their bodies into a figure they desire. Nowadays, people can even alter the genders that they associate themselves with, to a certain extent. Since 1997, there has been a 279% increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures performed (“American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery”).
Flipping through the pages of Vogue's latest edition, 23 year-old Susan seems quite upset. She struggles with the thought of lacking the perfect body and delicate features in order to be considered attractive. Surprisingly, Susan is not alone in this kind of an internal struggle. In contemporary society, every other woman aspires to have the lips of Angelina Jolie and the perfect jaw line of Keira Knightley. Society today looks down upon individuals that do not fit in, whether in terms of body shape or facial attractiveness. This forces them to consider the option of 'ordering beauty.' Since cosmetic surgery is no longer a social taboo in America given its widespread popularity, more people are promoting it which ultimately affects the rest of the world due to the unwavering influence of American culture. Cosmetic surgery should be deterred in the US because it promotes the idea of valuing appearance over ability, gives rise to unrealistic expectations, and brings with it high cost to society.
There are many Cons’ that are associated with cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Some procedures can leave a person scared for life physically or even mentally. For instance, “Liposuction is the removal of fat cells to produce smoother contours, if to much fat and fluid is removed at once the patient could go into shock, bleed internally, or worst of all die.” (Margie Parent 2002) After some cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries sometimes it is found very common for a person to have a hard time adjust...
Have you ever looked in the mirror and not liked what you saw? Haven’t we all? How about this, have you ever looked in the mirror and considered spending thousands of dollars to change what you see? Nope, me neither, but unfortunately thousands of people everyday do. Whether it’s a new nose, bigger breasts, an uplifted face, or any other cosmetic surgery, everyday someone is going under the knife to feel better about themselves. Now you may think, well that’s fine if they’re happy that way. However, it is most likely that after a surgery they will be more upset with what they see. There are many risks ignored by patients having cosmetic surgery
There has been a substantial increase in cosmetic surgery being performed on individuals to enhance their looks leading to perception of beauty being changed in society. Many people who receive cosmetic surgery claimed that the surgery has improved their overall mental and physical well being. We must understand that, the most crucial and motivating factor of people wanting cosmetic surgery is through body image. There is two components of constructs in body image, body image through orientation, refers to how important the body is to the person. The second leading factor for cosmetic surgery is body image evaluation,
In 2007 alone, Americans spent $13 billion on 11.7 million cosmetic procedures. This is a fact that, to me is astounding. In such a world of debt and loss of jobs this industry has flourished with out even a hint of slowing down, for some this has become and addiction. Many major television networks have covered the dramatic growth and addiction of the procedure, which such shows as “MTV’s True life I’m getting unusual plastic surgery” or “True life I hate my plastic surgery” as well as “botched” and “My strange addiction”. Now the shows show different spectrums of this billion-dollar industry. For example on an episode of My strange addiction on addict has had 125 different procedures to look like the Ken doll which has cost him up to nearly $160,000. On botched this show centers on procedures that have gone wrong. In once instance the show features a woman named Alicia that has had a breast augmentation that has gone completely wrong from the position of the implants to the location under the skin where they were put