Cosmetic Surgery and the Mask of Aging in Western Society Grogan, Sarah (1999) Body Image: understanding body dissatisdaction in men, women and children. London and New York: Routledge 2 4 25 41 48 49-52 57 68 151 152 191 Body Image: The picture of our own body which we form in our mind, that is to say, the way in which our body appears to ourselves. (Schilder, 1950: 11) * (25) Slimness is seen as a desirable attribute for women in prosperous western cultures, and is associated with self-control, elegance, social attractiveness and youth…women have always been encouraged to change their shape and weight to conform to current trends. Through the ages women have undergone pain to attempt to conform to the current ideal. This is clear in relation to procedures such as foot binding and the wearing of restrictive corset, where women suffered discomfort and immobility in the name of particular fashions. In Western society in the 1990s we have replaced these practices with strict diets and cosmetic plastic surgery… * (49) The 1990s saw a significant increase in the numbers of women receiving cosmetic surgery in Britain and the US, especially liposuction and breast augmentation procedures. More and more women are turning to plastic surgery to change the shape of their bodies. * Not a recent phenomenon…. Not until the mid-twentieth century that cosmetic surgery (i.e. aesthetic purposes) emerged. Naomi Wolf (1991) traces the beginnings of what she calls the 'surgical age', where cosmetic surgery became a mass phenomenon. Today cosmetic surg... ... middle of paper ... ...arcissistic, it is becoming the norm. The shift is leading to a predictable inversion of the domains of the deviant and the pathological, so that women who contemplate not using cosmetic surgery will increasingly be stigmatised and seen as deviant… * Deeper epistemological and metaphysical dynamics of the field of CS… * "Just the facts in America Ma'am" * From Artifice to artifice: the creation of robo woman? * Listening to the woman * Paradoxes * Are there any politically correct feminist responses to cosmetic surgery? Poole, M and Feldman, S (ed) (1999) A Certain Age: Women growing older. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin Garner, J. and Mercer, S.O. ed. (1989) Women as they Age: challenge, opportunity and triumph. New York and London: The Haworth Press.
Cosmetic surgery is one of them and becoming very popular, not because people need surgery, but because society has created the ideal woman and man and what he or she should like. Every women and a good amount of men modify their bodies to fit the image every day. Cosmetic surgery is the new hip thing going around and everyone is going to extremes in order not to fall behind. Plastic surgery itself has been around since the ancient times. As Doctors Richard Backstein and Anna Hinek state in their article plastic surgery can be traced to as far back as ancient times (2005).
Nordqvist, Christian. “What is Cosmetic Surgery? What is Plastic Surgery?” Medical News Today. 30 June 2009. Web. 13 March 2014.
The reading assigned titled “The Socially Constructed Body” by Judith Lorber and Yancey Martin dives into the sociology of gender with a specific focus on how the male and female body is compromised by social ideals in the Western culture. She introduces the phenomenon of body ideals pressed on men and women by introducing the shift in cosmetic surgery toward body modifications.
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
Shortly after the horrific death of Donda West, son Kanye West appeared on the Dr. Phil show to discuss the risks of getting plastic surgery. Donda died the following day after a tummy tuck and breast reduction surgery. Her plastic surgeon, Dr. Jan Adams is to blame. In another case, young Lori also went under the knife of Dr. Jan Adams and also appeared on the Dr. Phil show after a frantic experience. In Lori’s case, she wanted to fix one implanted breast because it was unusually saggier than her other breast. Dr. Adams knew what needed to be done to correct the problem. However, that’s not exactly what happened. Following the surgery, Lori experienced a terrible pain, and noticed that her chest had been greatly damaged. She also noticed that her left breast was much bigger than her right. When Lori confronted Dr. Adams about her problems he just looked at her and laughed. After seven long years of excruciating pain, Lori finally went to see another doctor to have the surgery redone. During the surgery, the doctor realized that there was something in Lori’s breast that was foreign because as he was cutting, his tool started smoking and the smell was horrific. Lori’s doctor found a piece of a sponge left behind from Dr. Adams surgery seven years ago, and the horrid smell was due to an infection that has increased greatly over time. Luckily, the infection hadn’t yet been life threatening. There are many risks of getting plastic surgery, especially when it is performed in other countries.
...ters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s body image by cosmetic surgery. These articles about appearance are damaging because it leads to seriously unhealthy lifestyles that women and teenagers think they need to look beautiful. In addition to that, Teen Magazine published in 2003 an article saying that children from age 6-12 have been on a diet and are now considering plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery sends the message that the prejudices some people have about appearance are valid, which is very wrong.
The media has had an increasingly destructive effect on young people who are becoming worryingly obsessed with their body image. The media is saturated in sexual imagery in which young people have to face every day. The sheer volume of sexual imagery in the media today has resulted in the vast majority of young people to become hooked on looking as near to perfection everyday by using the latest products and buying the latest fashions. This used to be enough but lately the next step to achieving perfection is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants to look attractive, especially teenagers who are not only put under massive strain to succeed but to look beautiful and climb the ranks of the social ladder, and it seems that the only way to achieve the much desired beauty is to turn to drastic measures.
Sullivan, Deborah A. "Tightening the Bonds of Beauty." Cosmetic Surgery: The Cutting Edge of Commercial Medicine in America. N.p.: Rutgers UP, 2001. N. pag. Print.
Is Cosmetic Surgery giving adolescents false hope that it can “cure” deep insecurities or is it giving teenagers the confidence to be comfortable with their newly improved bodies? “In Miami, FL—Melissa Gonzales used the money she had gotten from her eighteenth birthday to have her breasts augmented. Melissa Gonzales is one of the many individuals who have had success with aesthetic surgery though there are still many who regret their aesthetic procedure like Kacy Long. Kacy Long had gotten implants three years ago. A few weeks following the surgery she began to endure shooting pain in her arms, followed by intense joint pain and crushing fatigue.” (Farrell) These two have had cosmetic surgery but have had different experiences. Aesthetic Procedures have been becoming an international trend, among all ages. The younger audience has been having surgery because they believe that it will allow them to fit in. In just a couple of years the number of surgeries skyrocketed. The “American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recorded that 160,283 children, 18 and under have had cosmetic interventions in the year 2008.” (Marcus)As a result, cosmetic surgery has become a controversial issue. Some individuals believe cosmetic surgery will help boost adolescents’ confidence, especially in those who have deformities, while others claim that teenagers shouldn’t have aesthetic procedures due to the fact that it is a life impacting decision to make, and teenagers often do not think about the consequences of their actions, so they may later on regret their decision in life. Anyone who is under the age of 18 should not have cosmetic surgery due to the fact that there are so many emotional dangers, medical risks, and that a teens mind and body a...
Cosmetic surgery is becoming a trend world-wide today because humans can never be fully satisfied in terms of looks; however, this type of surgery has many serious perils rather than some benefits that we already know.
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”).
Cosmetic Surgery is a great discovery that has been around for many centuries. “The history of plastic surgery origins in the early 800 B.C. when surgeons in India restored noses to persons who had them taken off as a form of punishment.” (History of Cosmetic Surgery, 2008) Many people have used over the years cosmetic and reconstructive surgery to enhance their physical appearance weather it be for health problems associated with birth defect or problems that they have developed over the years or to even alter physical appearances for instance nose jobs and tummy tucks. There are numerous types of cosmetic surgery that can be done today in the United States, over the year’s surgeons techniques have improved dramatically. There are a number of pro’s and con’s that go along with cosmetic surgery, such as the amount of recovery time and the initial cost of surgery. Statistics also show that cosmetic surgery has grown so rapidly over the years it is phenomenal people who receive cosmetic surgery goes up by the millions every year. While there can be many related health risks due to cosmetic sugary, many times cosmetic surgery is necessary and its is made more affordable than thought to be.
No matter what kind of plastic surgeon you are, you will still be challenged by problems at work. The most satisfying thing is that you get to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. Some plastic surgeon’s even travel because they are so good at what they do, other people want their skills. Your job as a plastic surgeon is not done when the procedure is done. There are more things that come along with being a plastic surgeon.
Seldom examinations have been conducted to appraise the risks for teens of these increasingly common surgeries. Research is especially needed for vexed procedures such as breast implants, liposuction, and genital plastic surgery. The hazards of breast alteration seems to duplicate with the cost of them, ($3,618 - $5,146). “Teenagers are often oblivious to the well-documented long-term health consequences of smoking, tanning, and other perilous behaviors, and are anticipated to pay even less attention to the risks of cosmetic surgery, making informed consent onerous. (Zuckerman, 13). Cosmetic surgery addicts imply to be familiar with a mental obsession to diversify their bodies and faces. “Cindy Jackson has altered her appearance through nine major operations. She says she felt “plain looking” and recognized how well beautiful people are treated. So, she devised a plan to change her appearance based on rules of physical proportion and beauty, and has been dubbed as the “Human Barbie.”” (OSU, 2). It is notorious for cosmetic surgery to become addictive, customarily this comes from indispensable insecurities and desires to be appeased with one’s self-concept or acceptance. People who unceasingly find faults to revise are usually