Plastic : The Body Image

Although the media generates the idea that women have no self control, the media also provokes the misleading idea that women have no self confidence in themselves. Through the various messages and ideas that advertisement, television shows, cartoons and even books sell- women tend to lose self confidence in themselves, but the media tends to send the message that women already have no self confidence. In “Love My Neighbors, Hate Myself: The Vicissitudes of Affect in Cosmetic Surgery,” Virginia Blum opens up her articles with an observation about the sudden rise in the number of popular television shows about plastic surgery and the shift of increasing numbers of women that receive plastic surgery. In her article regarding the reasons women desire plastic surgery, Blum states, “...certain conventional cultural values had to be recruited on behalf of representing these surgeries not as vain and superficial but as a route toward glowing self improvement, not as acts of self-

“You will never look like the girl in the magazine. The girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the magazine” Jessimae Peluso. Throughout American history, women have continued to strive for an ideal of beauty. Although the definition of beauty has varied between generations, the pressure and desire to fit the mold of what society deems “beautiful” remains consistent among women from all eras. Unfortunately, this abnormal example seen in magazines, on runways, and in social media platforms is impossible for the majority of the female population to physically reach. Women are always pursuing the perfect look, turning to plastic surgeries transform them into celebrity ideals. People who desire perfect appearance ignore the nature of beauty itself, naturality is a kind of beauty. In recent years, women in America turned to look at models to find the ideal beauty standard and if they don’t meet them they turn to face lifts and plastic surgery to perfect their appearance.

In “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery,” by Camille Paglia, she argues that American surgeons are being too narrow minded with their work because they use the same models as a representation of what their clients can look like. She suggests that getting plastic surgery has become such a normal thing in America and that society pushes women to get work done in order to get that “perfect” look. Paglia also points out that plastic surgery has “leveled the playing field” with wives and their husbands mistresses (694). Also, she believes that plastic surgery is not only critical in keeping a job, but also in keeping a relationship. Although I agree with some of Paglia’s arguments, I view some of the issues differently such as, needing plastic surgery to keep a marriage, that plastic surgery is for non intellectuals, that Hollywood’s environment encourages women to change their looks, and that nothing good can come out of plastic surgery.

Women and girls on average struggle with their self-esteem and their overall body image throughout their lives. It especially comes into effect with the constant portrayal of overly skinny mannequins or non-human representations in popular, stores, on the web, and on television (Clifford, 2011). In today’s society the average woman is bigger and mannequins are becoming smaller. It is difficult for the average woman to match their ideal

Take a step into a plastic surgery center, and the inevitable will be seen. Self-conscious women will line the waiting room chairs, waiting for their own version of the “perfect body.” In “The Perfect Body is Possible,” written by Hannah Termorshuizen, it makes quite a mockery of women everywhere. The speaker addresses plastic surgeons everywhere about how it is their “calling card” to give women the proper body, even introducing herself as a fellow plastic surgeon, with years of experience. With a sarcastic and witty voice throughout the article, the author effectively reveals the satire with outrageous claims. Since the perfect body is not possible, the author has made that very clear on why it is not by showing that it is, by taking on the persona of a plastic surgeon reaching out to other surgeons to continue to work on women. Recently, society is trying to push the movement that there is no such thing as the perfect body. The author has taken it upon herself to satirically show a surgeon that believes in the perfect body, and how it is possible, by means of plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery procedures are intended to address issues related to an individual’s appearance. Some procedures assist in diminishing the signs of aging; whereas, other plastic surgery procedures are used to contour, enlarge or reduce specific parts of the body.

Extreme Makeover mostly presents the working middle class Caucasian women in ages roughly twenty-five to forty-five who are the major target for cosmetic surgery and reasonably, a substantial piece of the audience. Instead of plainly displaying a progression in which the participant’s appearance is suddenly reformed, the show tells the narrative of a normal individual revolutionizing his or her life. Extreme Makeover brilliantly exploits participants’ transformation stories and thus normalizes the audience into thinking their external looks must parallel with their inner ideals. With this mindset, cosmetic surgery is less about becoming physically attractive and more about becoming the inner self: by expanding the space that were disagreed or considered

Plastic surgery began as bodily reconstruction for wounded soldiers in World War I. The surgery developed in stages, starting with correcting traumatic injuries and deformed facial features. The more cosmetic focus began in the 1970’s, with creating “perfected” facial features and making aesthetically pleasing body parts. Cosmetic surgery boomed in the 1990’s, with 1.2 million procedures performed in the United States alone (plasticsurgery.org). The swiftness in which these procedures have infiltrated society has lead to a change in our view of the value of the body. The modern ease and accessibility of cosmetic surgery has intensified the need for external beauty and has influenced the loss of personal identity.

Women of all ages, especially numerous college-age women embrace unlikely ideals of what their body size and shape essentially should be. These ideas can be in cooperation physically and emotionally corrupt; without them even apprehending the damage they causes themselves. Most women typically want to look their finest try to excel in their goals, jobs, and more just by being beautiful. There are billions of products and even procedures, such as plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, and surgeries to place on permanent makeup, which is available and advertised in the daily media. And all of these advertisements claim that they can help women accomplish these goals of their desired “ideal of beauty”. This is a problem that we can bluntly see within today’s culture. What our society reflects as their view of beauty, has the tendency to change, erratically. And this means that our pursuit of beauty tends to be lifelong and we will be subjected to the fancies of trendsetters, media, and fashion industries on a daily

It is estimated that 1-2% of our population is affected by this disorder (Body Dysmorphic Disorder). Robert Pattinson, Michael Jackson, and Marilyn Monroe are just a few of many celebs who demonstrated symptoms of this disorder. Wildenstein traded in her Swiss features for a more feline look in order to please her ex-husband. Instead of focusing on what could mold her into a better individual, she decided to undergo multiple surgeries only to achieve a divorce thereafter. Getting a nose job, a lip injection, or botox has now become a norm in our society; celebrities purchase these procedures as if they were fetching for new shoes at the mall. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), Americans spend $12 billion on cosmetic procedures annually. This disorder equally affects men and women, and its victims tend to stay unsatisfied with their looks even after the procedure is done. They nitpick each and every “flaw” they conceive and attempt to change it or hide it as best as they can. Society’s growing obsession with outward appearance should be viewed as a dangerous

Every year society is bombarded with thousands of images of beautiful models and celebrities. This “reality” affects the sub-conscientious of many people with low self-esteem and fill the mind of both men and women with insecurities about their bodies. Plastic surgery appears appears as an easy way out to this matter, but actually, plastic surgery can be the tip of the iceberg of a very bad addiction. “It is more of a psychological issue than a physical addiction,” explains Canice E. PhD (Stresing.) The underlying psychological problems name is Body Dysmorphic Disorder, or BDD, a condition that can lead to a plastic surgery addiction (Stresing.) Plastic surgery can make someone feel less confident as they will always be thinking that others

The boyfriend shows her a website for plastic surgery which reads, “Sunshine Medical Surgery Group: We Care.” Even the name of the surgery group and its taglines are cause of misconception. The name “Sunshine” evokes feelings and images of being carefree and positivity, which partners perfectly with the tagline “We Care,” while promoting the darker side of unnecessary plastic surgery for purposes other than medical. The boyfriend shows the girlfriend the size of the breast augmentation he wants for her, which is an excessive 38DD for her small frame, even though she expresses she’s more comfortable with a 30D. She widens her eyes in surprise and shock, but reluctantly agrees to appease her boyfriend’s desire. In the rest of the video, with her boyfriend absent, she looks at the image with concern and tries to imagine her body with that scale of breast size by putting tissues in her shirt. She finally goes to the medical center alone for her surgery and after being exposed to another patient she changes her mind and runs out of the center. The relationship between the girlfriend and the boyfriend is also one that every woman can relate to. Even though not every relationship goes as far as plastic surgery, there are still smaller scale standards of beauty that women are prone to submitting to due to the ideals of their significant other. Some examples would be the types of clothes to

Plastic surgery is a special type of surgery that can involve both a person 's appearance and ability to function. Plastic surgeons strive to improve patient’s appearance and self-image through both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures.

107) Second, magazines geared toward women often run stories focusing on the ordinary woman’s experiences with surgery of the benefits of surgically improving one’s appearance. Also, advertisements typically promote the benefits of cosmetic surgery using gendered stereotypes, with men represented as concerned with virility and professional competitiveness whereas women are investing in aesthetic improvements. Therefore, the idea of personal transformations and self-improvement is not particularly novel but standard approach that has become entrenched in mass media representations of cosmetic surgery (Adams, 2009, p. 108). However, the potential health risks are downplayed and negative outcomes are attributed to the unpredictability of the aesthetic results or poor surgeon selection. More importantly, these frames tend to diverge from the actual surgical experience, which rather being neat and instantaneous, is often complex and painful. Nevertheless, it is the media-mediated frame that dominates the broader social discussion of cosmetic surgery and often reduces it to a consumable lifestyle option as opposed to a complicated medical procedure fraught with potential risks and uncertainties.

Plastic Surgery has become a worldwide epidemic in today’s world. The number of plastic surgeries continues to increase since 2010. In today’s day and age, plastic surgery is one of the most popular and requested procedures. Females are opting to have plastic surgery because they dislike their body image. Society has impacted many people by brain washing them to believe that a person’s body has to be perfect. In order for one to be considered beautiful, television and media influence people’s perceptions of beauty.