Taking a Look at Plastic Surgery

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.

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.

Thesis: Plastic Surgery has been a problem in American society. People shouldn’t feel ashamed of their body, their looks, or be insecure about any body part because everyone is beautiful in their own way. Problems of plastic surgery include expenses, health issues, and medical malpractice.

Plastic surgery is one of the most controversial topic today. But the real question is, what is the reason? Beauty is one of the main things America celebrates, and reality tv is slaving our minds into believing if you’re not pretty, you will not make it big, whether in the television industry or not. A study published by APF found that attractive real estate agents were able to sell homes at a higher price than marketers that were not attractive. Other companies have explored the matter, and they have found beautiful people tend to make money and get promotions more often. Jobs like modeling have destroyed most people’s self-confidence. When people began to complain about people being more beautiful than others, we came up with a solution:

In recent years plastic surgery is something that has become a very popular trend, and also where many young people are even lining up for it. Plastic surgery is to reconstruct or repair parts of the body, especially by the transfer of tissue it can be used for treatment of injury or cosmetic reasons. It enhances one’s physical appearance, allowing him or her to achieve a look he or she desires. For example, a women’s buttocks can be enlarged or reduced, or a nose can be straightened or lifted. Many people find themselves changing their bodies and wondering if perfecting their appearance would make life a bit more perfect. Plastic surgery can enhance someone’s level of confidence and boost their self-esteem, but it is something that can have very serious consequences people need to be aware of.

In a society so consumed by the ideology of beauty, it makes sense as to why so many women these days undergo cosmetic surgery. The definition of beauty has long been obstructed and changed. In the past, if you look at the woman, you will see they are curvy, during this era being thin meant you were poor where as a beautiful and wealthy woman would be plump because she could afford fine dining. As society has changed, being slender has become the new trend, creating the idea that in order to be truly beautiful one must be thin. The movie stars in Hollywood, although most people realize the beautifying changes that are made to the pictures, this idea of 'beauty ' and 'desire ' still lingers in the mind of whoever comes across it. Our society is bombarded with several different ideologies of beauty but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The beauty standards that have been set should not be what are shaping people around the world and influencing them to go through with plastic surgery. The use of plastic surgery has changed from a medical procedure used to reconstruct the wounded or people with birth defects to reconstructing something people do not like about themselves. Plastic surgery was used during WWI in 1910 and after the war, skin grafting grew. The first training program in the United States was in 1924 thanks to Dr. John Davis. In 1950-1959, plastic surgery was used broadly to repair cleft pallet. It wasn’t until about

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.

The ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) describes aesthetic plastic surgery as “a procedure used to reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve the patient's appearance and self-esteem”. Recently “over 10 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed by board certified doctors in the United States” (“Cosmetic Procedure Increase”). While both men and women use plastic surgery, it is more common in women. Out of the 10 million cosmetic surgeries, 90% of the surgeries are on women. In fact, “the most frequently performed surgical procedure was breast augmentation” (“Cosmetic Procedure Increase”), which is about 20% of the 1.7 million procedures done in 2012. This statistic is not surprising especially since women have more pressure than men to have a presentable outer appearance. Its hard not to want certain bodily features when society claims these features are what makes one attractive.

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.

We live in a society where people worship beauty. As far as recorded history people have gone to extremes to seek beauty. From foot binding in China to wearing strangulating corsets in Victorian era. People from different race and culture have experimented in every way possible way to look beautiful prior to this popular age of plastic surgery. It’s very common to hear people complain about their appearance, whether it’s their crocked nose, thin lips or flat chest. Remarkably, plastic surgery has been the solution for people who complain. Most people tend to think of plastic surgery as only cosmetic surgery and not as reconstructive surgeries. Plastic surgeries seems to be an invention of modern technology; however its roots lie in the ancient history of India. An Indian surgeon contributed towards the establishment of plastic surgery, it was intended to correct physical deformities acquired during birth, accident, disease or war. These surgeries did not gain the popularity it has today until the First World War. It was during the late 60’s, when doctors started realizing the endless possibilities of plastic surgeries. With the help of this surgery a trained surgeon can replace an amputate body part, remove skin cancer, get rid of unattractive scars and visible birthmarks or rescaling a nose or enhance body parts. Today more and more people from different age groups opt for plastic surgeries to obtain dramatic physical changes. These surgeries were envisioned to restore

God is beautiful and loves beauty. As humans, we are working on adopting this theory whereby plastic surgery is our leader. A large number of people undergo plastic surgery, adopt the latest medical techniques and make their body physically fit and beautiful. The practice of plastic surgeries is affecting our lives in many

Plastic surgery is more popular than ever. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), 43,172 plastic surgery procedures in the UK were carried out in 2012. In general, individuals consider plastic surgery to improve physical features. However, before opting for something as drastic as plastic surgery, people should calculate the pros and cons of it to accurately assess the risks and benefits.

As time progresses, plastic surgery becomes more popular. Plastic surgery isn’t just what’s seen on TV and on social media; plastic surgery is much more than facelifts, rhinoplasty, and breast enhancements. In fact, “plastic surgery is anything that undergoes the process of reconstructing or repairing parts of the body.” (Reconstructive Surgery) The facelift Kris Jenner recently just had done is equally considered plastic surgery as an ordinary person getting an extra finger removed. These are both types of plastic surgery, but they’re treated completely differently. A woman who gets cosmetic surgery gets scorned for getting the procedure done, yet the person who went in to remove their extra finger does not. In reality, these issues are quite similar. Plastic surgery is often the last resort for those who want to desperately change how they look; those who get plastic surgery done are quickly judged for doing so; however, both men and women should consider the reasons why a person might want plastic surgery; the reasons behind this may be deeper than one thought.

Messages within the media indirectly contribute to the rising rate of plastic surgery. Desires to meet the idealisms of media representations are often so consuming that people demand plastic surgery despite all of its associated risks and controversies. To compensate for this up and coming surgical trend, technology has developed more reasonable and attainable options for the public. Millions of operations are now able to be performed on those wishing to fulfill specific gratifcations toward their own personal appearance and/or self-esteem. This is a serious problem in that people are unaware or just simply

Have you ever considered having plastic surgery? After reading this paper you might want the surgery or you might not. Plastic surgery, a form of art, can reconstruct your body and renew your confidence but can you accept the risks involved?