g

More and More Young Women Choose Surgical “Perfection”
Ann Gerhart brings to light young women’s overwhelming obsession with body image and how media has devastating effects on a young woman’s self-esteem. Women have an undeniable inclination to modify their “flawed” bodies in order to meet society’s standard of beauty. Mass media only fuels this deadly obsession. Reality television shows such as The Swan takes women dubbed as “ugly ducklings” and transforms them- through plastic surgery - into beautiful “swans”. There is a very sadistic quality to these types of “extreme makeover” reality shows as these series shows us that women must be surgically “corrected” in order to meet the standards of mainstream beauty. While the messages of these shows are quite clear, there is still little being done about the increasing number of women with eating disorders or depression (Gerhart, 1999). In fact, as technology evolves, it has become much easier (and not to mention, cheaper) for a woman to “correct” their perceived deficiencies than to deal with the very apparent body image issues. Technology has made cosmetic surgery more accessible for women so that they may eliminate almost any perceived imperfections. While a young woman’s physical flaws are corrected, the underlying issues with her self-image are left to run rampant. Gerhart questions who is truly to blame for this phenomenon, albeit it be “overindulgent parents”, the media, or feminism. Despite the pressures of media and the freedoms of feminism, the foundation for a positive self-image starts at home. Mark Mausmer shares his experiences as a plastic surgeon and notes that “a woman who didn’t have perfect breasts as a child wants her daughter to do it” (Gerhart, 1999)....

... middle of paper ...

...ess of the violence and harassment homosexuals are subjected to daily, discrimination against homosexuals goes widely unreported. In an extensive study conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that an astonishing 90 percent of gays and lesbians had been victimized in some form on the basis of their sexual orientation (Mohr 462). Mohr notes the most extreme form of anti-gay violence is queerbashing, where a group of men brutally beat and kill other men they believe are gay. The sad aspect of this violence is that society often sees the offender as being justified as the opinions and testimonies of homosexuals are often dismissed. This dismissal further fuels anti-gay violence and instills fear in homosexuals. Homosexuals do not have the luxury of speaking out against anti-gay violence or to even “come out” without fear of violence repercussions.