Plastic Surgery In Uglies By Scott Westerfeld

Photoshop has many uses. It is used to design posters and create art. However, it has negative uses too. For example, manipulating images. Manipulation using Photoshop to alter model’s bodies in the media negatively impacts society by creating an image that imposes an unrealistic body standard and is the root cause of recent adolescent eating disorders. Peoples of all genders are impacted by the modification of model’s bodies. Whether it be one is not skinny enough or one does not have enough muscle, it generates a frequent belief that one’s body is not good enough.

The new technology in particular, influences most people to look more beautiful, for them to be attractive. It is for that reason that Tally, at the age of 15 years, cannot wait for her 16th birthday for her to be transformed (Emma, n.p). It seems the new technology and the world in general, have corrupted the minds of young girls to the point where they desire to look more beautiful. Those who have not yet been transformed through undergoing a series of surgeries to become beautiful, are considered ugly. This basically makes young girls to view themselves as being ugly, until they undergo the surgery at the age of 16 years.

To begin with, in the beginning of the book Tally has an innocent outlook on beauty and proves that to come of age you must experience innocent beauty. Tally exemplifies innocent beauty through the positive way she sees others. When Tally was

Introduction In the book the “Uglies” the author Scott Westerfeld. Which is a story that is set in the future where everyone has to get plastic surgery by 16 years old or else they’re considered ugly. The author probably created this book because they wanted to show they’re readers how people at a very young age get easily manipulated into thinking that something is better for them and that they have to be pretty do do stuff while if they’re ugly then they get less benefits. And also probably that you don’t have to be pretty to be happy just be yourselves.

Americans have grown to try and look their best no matter what and this all stems from the way people view body image. Today someone could have anything they want done to change their appearance. “We are a culture of beauty junkies, addicts continually looking for our next fix to keep us looking young and pretty” (Masterson). Masterson believes that people are addicted to beauty and it is almost like a drug. This is not far from the truth. People go overboard to look as good as they possibly can with things like plastic surgery, botox, and even simple things like makeup. With the obsession with beauty as bad as it is today one seems to never be satisfied with how they look. “But that uplifting message--I'm OK the way I am--is overshadowed by the dark view readers are left with of a society obsessed with looks that isn't showing signs of stopping” (Masteron). The idea of someone being ok with their appearance gets quickly changed when they look around and see the world and the obsession it has. This is a huge reason body image is so bad in America now, because as soon as someone feels comfortable with their looks the standard changes. America’s obsession with looks is one of the biggest factors in the negative change towards body

In the article “Plastic Surgery Junkies: Why Are Perfectly Pretty Women Getting Hooked” by Sally Davis, explained how perfect women are getting changes done to their bodies when it's not needed. She describes how people today are obsessed with their flaws and what people think about them just to fit in. She also said that the main reason people felt the need to change themselves was because of the use of technology and the idea of looking like a model and celebrity.

Photoshop is known to fix even the slightest imperfections. This sets impossibly high standards for what women expect for themselves. Photoshopped images are destroying America’s body image. The media sets up high beauty and body standards for women. The media takes beautiful women and tells them they are not beautiful enough. Being beautiful nowadays is having a face covered in make-up, being “skinny” is having a thigh gap, and to be perfect is to have no flaws. Women need to start realizing they are beautiful with their flaws, but it’s a hard process to love your flaws and imperfections. Dove made a commercial about loving something as simple as your curls. A handful of young women (ages 5 to 11) were asked about how they feel about their

Do you take a great deal of pride in your appearance? Do you work 24/7 for the perfect cheekbones, lips, eyes, and body? Would you do anything for that perfect appearance? Well, in Scott Westerfield’s dystopian story, “Uglies”, this world revolves around everything pretty. Tally, a teenage girl who is currently “ugly” gets caught up in a the dream of being all things pretty.

In the dystopian novel The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld teens are forced to live in a society consumed by the high standards of beauty. The teens in The Uglies live in a town called “Uglyville” up until the age of sixteen where they go to live in “New Pretty Town”. Once the teen turns sixteen years old, they are forced to undergo a surgery that changes their entire demeanor just so that they fit into societies standards. Much like teens today, the teens in The Uglies face the obstacle of doing what it takes to be deemed “pretty”.

The pressure media puts on females causes self-esteem issues along with mental and physical health issues, such as anorexia and depression. The use of Photoshop should be limited to where it can be only used to enhance one’s natural beauty.

The whole book talks about the separation of people based on how they look. The idea of being “pretty” and “ugly” in this book is very important. The people of New Pretty Town fit society’s standards of being accepted. An ideal person of that town has perfectly combed hair, a symmetrical face, crystal clear skin, and is skinny. The author portrays the people of Uglyville as slobs. They have messy hair, uneven facial features, and crooked teeth. These two different groups are labeled, and because of their appearance some are accepted and some are not. An example would be “I like your dress” in today’s time but in the book it’s more “I like your dress, let’s become friends!”. Tally, the protagonist struggles with her appearance and that’s a part of why she cannot wait to undergo the operation. She soon gains confidence when she meets Shay and they both feel like they don’t need to fit those standards. They recognize each other's flaws and embrace them. Tally has a lot of fun with Shay and she doesn’t feel out of place because Shay and her friends don’t care what anyone looks like. They focus on personalities.

From Tally’s point of view, the scene displays good features since it makes a person think of identity as well as the things that make a person who he or she is. In this case, Tally appeared to have changed. She talks to Zane during a party about her time in Uglyville, which she openly expresses

Every day millions of people in society look in the mirror and hate what they see. Many starve themselves get plastic surgery cake on layer of makeup just too try to accept themselves. The reason we do this is because of the picture that that media and society shows us. We think that if we don't look like the people in the magazine's with everything perfect then we are not good enough and feel like we need to change ourselves to be accepted.

In this day and age, the epidemic of these so called ‘beauty’ standards is only getting worse and worse. Because of photo modification, low self esteem in regular everyday people is starting to become something that is nearly considered normal. Today, 42% of girls from age 5-8 want to be skinnier, 52% of girls aged 9 to 13 feel better when they are dieting and by the age of 17, 78% of girls are unhappy with their own bodies. Think about

Together, we can lower the numbers of people dying from eating disorders and cosmetic surgeries by resisting the beauty ideal. We can choose “to not participate in the beauty rituals, to not support the industries that produce both images and products, and to create other definitions of beauty” (WVFV, pg. 232). The most crucial and easiest solution is to create other definitions of beauty. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide what is beautiful. What if someone decided that the only thing that could contribute to one’s beauty is who someone is on the inside? Wouldn’t our world be a completely different place? Instead of