Plastic surgery — friend or foe?
Posted
April 20, 2008 at
8:06 pm by
Allison J
I was shopping at a very large outlet mall today with some girlfriends — ideal setting for people watching. Much, much better (and less psychologically damaging) than trying on swimsuits.
Shoppers were out in droves. We are having our first real taste of spring in my area, and people were responding by fervently purchasing sun dresses, shorts, tanks, and sandals.
I wasn’t surprised by the amount of people. I definitely wasn’t shocked by the frantic pace at which people were buying new wardrobes.
What did astound me was how similar many moms appeared in comparison to their teenage daughters. They were shopping at the same boutiques, buying very similar clothes, and looked closer in age than Mother Nature intended. These women had round, perky breasts. They were virtually cellulite and sag-free. Their foreheads suspiciously void of wrinkles. Their lips plump and without lines. Crows feet around the eyes? Not a chance! At 26, I felt haggard next to these gals.
Let’s face it, plastic surgery, cosmetic rejuvenation, botox parties, etc. are becoming the norm. Everywhere you look messages are screaming “be younger, be thinner, be prettier!” Undergoing the knife is a common discussion in my circle of friends — and I’m confident that if we could afford it, we’d all book consultations tomorrow! Some already have. I’m not exactly proud of this, but it is what it is.
I envy those that are fully comfortable in their own skin. I’ve heard women state that at a certain age you reach body-acceptance, even love. Others are vying to cover their bodies in purple ink and be wheeled to the surgical room.
So, what side of the plastic surgery debate are you on — aging gracefully (and surgery free), or getting by with a little, maybe a lot, of help?
Tags: aging-gracefully, body-image, Botox, cosmetic-surgery, fitness, plastic-surgery, self-esteem |
10 Responses to “Plastic surgery — friend or foe?”
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1. Misty said:
April 20, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
It’s all about moderation, which is why American women have gotten it so very, very wrong. Don’t tell me Sophia Loren’s never been lifted–she’s just got that fabulous European discretion, choosing a surgeon known for subtlety, and then keeping her perfect mouth shut
I kind of like the idea of going in once the breeding and feeding are done with and having the girls hauled back up to where they were when I was 21 or so. Not so much for cosmetic purposes (spend enough on a bra, and it’s as good as a boob job), but for textile ones–the feel of my tits flopping around while I’m trying to go to sleep just bugs the hell out of me.
Botox, though? I *earned* those lines, dammit. They’re LAUGH lines, why do I want to erase the evidence of a life lived grandly and with great enjoyment? Oh, no, I have a worry-line between my brows–people I don’t know and don’t give a damn about might figure out I’ve had a thing or two to be concerned about in my thirty years on the planet! Worse yet, I might not be mistaken for my own daughter in another decade! THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It used to be that women were taught they didn’t have any worth if they weren’t good wives and mothers and homemakers. Now we believe that we’re worthless human beings if four out of five random guys on the street don’t have the uncontrollable animal urge to screw us on first glance. We were trying to trade off for worth based on our accomplishments in the wider world outside the home, but the end result seems to be that we now base our worth on our Hustler spread viability. What the hell happened?
2. Rita. said:
April 20, 2008 @ 9:29 pm
I’m in the age gracefully (and naturally) camp. I wasn’t always though. My mom had a facelift in her 50’s and I always assumed I would, too. I had a nose job at 18 (it did have a genuine flaw that needed fixing and they did some “cosmetic” work while they were in there).
But, then my dad had a staph infection that almost killed him (seriously, the doctors were like, “Dude, we so thought you were dead, awesome comeback from the brink!”), then I’ve had three c-sections and two abdominal hernia repair surgeries and you know what? No more. I hate surgery, it scares the living shit out of me, I always feel like I’ve just made a narrow escape and I just don’t see myself undergoing the knife voluntarily for anything.
As far as botox or other skin peels, I just don’t think so. Maybe my mind will change later on that, but for some reason the idea of purposely injecting yourself with the toxis from botulism seems kind of stupid. Just to look prettier. Now, for migraines I can see. There are times when my guided imagery therapy for migraines involves exactly that–a needle filled with magic poison that will numb my entire skull.
So, my decision is really based more on fear of dying on the operating table (which would be really hard for your kids to forgive, don’t you think???) or getting some horrible infection than out of a real philosophical opposition.
3. Amanda said:
April 20, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
I’m still in the natural aging game, but I have learned to never say never! For now, with a preschool-aged daughter, I think of her and the message she’d get if I altered myself surgically. (Now, if I could just stop altering myself with chocolate, we’d be moving in the right direction.) I do find it creepy to see moms of teens looking so “hot.” I just think it’s a bit gross to have teen-aged boys turned on by their girl-friends’ moms. I realize that heterosexual adolescent boys will be turned on by most anything with boobs, but some moms just look like they are encouraging that, and that. is. gross!
4. Allison J said:
April 20, 2008 @ 9:48 pm
Amen sister!
5. Tracy said:
April 21, 2008 @ 8:01 am
Not for me. People get old, shit happens. I’d rather spend my money on something completely awesome like fine dining, and traveling…stretch marks, wrinkles and all!
6. Philly said:
April 21, 2008 @ 12:27 pm
I agree with Tracy!
I just do the best with what I have.
7. Stacy Howard said:
April 23, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
You seem to be an extrememlly opiniated lady. You looked around at the mall and saw young-looking mothers with perky breasts and wrote an article about plastic surgery? Exercise, healthy diet, makeup and a good bra can have the same effect.
Are you saying that women who don’t walk around looking like HELL are not aging gracefully? Where are you getting this?
If you were a better than average writer I probably wouldn’t notice the gaps in logic in your ‘essays’, but . . .
8. Allison J said:
April 23, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
Are you saying that women who don’t walk around looking like HELL are not aging gracefully? Where are you getting this?
If you were a better than average writer I probably wouldn’t notice the gaps in logic in your ‘essays’, but . . .[/quote]
Considering your spelling errors and complete misunderstanding of the article, I’m not too worried about your thoughts on my level of writing.
If you really read the article you’d see that I’m merely asking for other women’s opinion of plastic surgery and maintenance.
And trust me, this wasn’t good make-up, diet and exercise — I’m talking about tights faces, no lines, no wrinkles. Let’s be logical here.
9. Allison G said:
April 24, 2008 @ 10:23 am
[quote comment="157766
Considering your spelling errors and complete misunderstanding of the article, I'm not too worried about your thoughts on my level of writing.
[/quote]
Oooh. Me-ow!
(ok, sorry. that wasn’t nice of me)
10. Allison G said:
April 24, 2008 @ 10:24 am
OK, I don’t know what happened to my post. Sumthin’ weird.