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The Human Obsession Essay

Decent Essays

The Human Obsession

In most television programs or magazines, depictions of an unrealistic population are portrayed. The images of clean-cut suburbanite family life, portrayed by television in the middle of the twenty-first century, can certainly be joked about now, however, this was only the spark that lit the flame. Families like the Cleaver’s, the Nelson’s, the Osmond’s and the Brady’s were put on screen to show our world what everyone’s life should be like. They had good children, nice homes, and every episode taught some lesson in mortality. Every wife wanted to be just like June or Harriet. Every teenager wanted to be Greg or Marsha. Society felt that they could be like one of these unrealistic characters, possibly have …show more content…

Many search for perfection by undergoing surgery to construct their ideal figure or shape. Due to distorted expectations many are not happy with the results of the surgery. The concept must be understood that surgery will not save a marriage or make someone a super model. The psychological well being of the individual must be evaluated by the physician to determine if the surgery is appropriate for the patient (Sevinor).
A major factor of self-esteem is being comfortable with outer appearance. Another major factor of self-esteem is feeling good mentally. Lack of confidence and/or self-esteem due to unsightly features or irregularities drives many people to surgery. The want for cosmetic surgery starts with a quest to change the outside to help satisfy inner feelings. Sevinor points out that “there is a relationship between self-image and the desire to change one’s looks.” Gaynor’s statement “beauty may be only ‘skin deep,’ but that thin layer of skin is awfully important in almost all our interactions as human beings” (18) is a bitter reality. The world tends to give attractive people the upper hand. Gaynor declares “looking as good as possible can remove an often secret barrier to success” (3). He tells of observations when patients underwent surgeries such as face and eyelifts, then received higher paying jobs. Typically, the better-looking person of two people equally qualified that are up for the same job will result in the

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