Plastic Makes Perfect
Diving into America's Unhealthy Obsession With Plastic Surgery
The public at large is becoming more accepting of plastic surgery and the idea of surgically changing your body. The media portrays a prototype for beauty. We idolize and envy famous people of Hollywood, because they are pretty, talented and seemingly perfect.
If one does not know who Heidi Montag is, she was in a reality show called “The Hills” on MTV. She had ten cosmetic procedures in one day, due to her disapproval of how she looked. Clearly, the pressures of Hollywood, and her boyfriend, heavily influenced her into think she was imperfect.
“I think she’s crazy,” said Rachel Campbell, junior. “She was pretty beforehand and now she just looks plastic. I think it had a lot to do with pressure from her husband and Hollywood.”
America is fed the idea that one has to look a certain way to be beautiful. The media is largely to blame. They advertise plastic surgery everywhere; it is a huge business. Advertisers are offering services that scream “Cheap plastic surgery! Come get your cheap plastic surgery!”
“I personally would not get plastic surgery, but if it would make someone feel better about themselves, then they should do it,” said Heather Weiss, senior. “I do feel that someone should do it for themselves, not to please anyone else.”
Often, people get plastic surgery because they are insecure about a certain part of their body. Insecurities about one's body can cause severe unhappiness and lead to depression. People are willing to go to the extreme to feel and look “perfect.”
Sarah Stubins holds a strong opinion on the matter. “You can either live with something or you can fix it," stated Stubins. "It won’t necessarily fix your problems and make you a secure person, but it may help.”
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Americans between the ages of 18-24 are more likely to approve of cosmetic surgery than those in any other age group.
“Critics say that teenage girls, who tend to be both obsessed and dissatisfied with their looks, are too young and shortsighted to understand the implications of surgery,” cautioned Sandra G. Boodman in a Washington Post article.
Regardless of the recession, people are willing to invest their savings in bettering their physical attributes in order to feel better inside. People are paying for happiness.
It is clear that the media is tweaking society’s idea of beauty and what is valued as meaningful. They project that people in magazines, movies and models are perfect people because they are perfect looking.
If you were handed an opportunity to go “under the knife” to change your physical appearance, would you?
