Cosmetic Pressures
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Last night I found myself contemplating if I wanted to get a rhinoplasty… but it isn’t because I don’t like my nose or have trouble breathing - honestly, I think I have a great nose and I breathe fine. But had just watched what seemed like the 100th cast removal Tik Tok in the last week. I have also seen about a million breast augmentation, Botox, lip filler, lip flip, liposuction, BBL, chin lift, etc. videos. The list goes on and on when it comes to cosmetic procedures available for people.
I want to put a disclaimer for the rest of this - I am a very firm believer in doing what makes you feel like you are reaching your best self, whatever that looks like for you. If you want that cosmetic procedure, GO FOR IT. Live your life.
Anyways - while I was in bed and thinking about the work I wanted to be done, I started to also ask myself why. I’ve never had any work done before so why now? Why do I feel the need for lip filler, Botox, and a new nose? The only reason I could think of was again, the constant videos I see of people - my age - getting these things done. Well, that lead me to do a bit of research. According to a study that surveyed 118 women between 18-29 years old, “The more participants used social media in their everyday lives, the more likely they were to consider cosmetic surgery. There was also a marginally significant trend for social media use to predict body dissatisfaction” (Walker, 2019). After reviewing that, I started to think about the conversations surrounding cosmetic procedures. I can only talk about the rhetoric I see on social media and the conversation I have personally been a part of. Most that I have seen and have been a part of have been very positive and encouraging but not pressuring or bullying. In an Italian study done amongst 429 women with the mean age being 33, the results supported that teasing doesn’t seem to be a significant factor that would influence a woman to carry on with a cosmetic procedure (Nerini, 2014). So that supports that women are doing this for them, which might I add, is how it should be. So from what I gathered, I am wanting these things done because I am seeing them often on social media and the conversations I have been having with friends have been supportive…I don’t see any problem with that - except do I actually want to get this done because I think it’ll make me look better and in turn make me more confident or am I wanting it done because that is what people are doing, nobody is discouraging me, and it is accessible?
Removing cosmetic procedures that are done for personal comfort or medical reasons, a big chunk of cosmetic procedures are, in my mind, done based on trends. How about we take the BBL or also known as the Brazilian Butt Lift for example (breast augmentation was a close second but who are we kidding, boobs will always be trendy). The BBL originated in Brazil in the SIXTIES, yes 1960, but it was most popular among Latinx and Black communities. Amongst white people - very slender figure, low-rise jeans, and the “model” look was trendy until the early 2000s. Then a full lower figure was trendy amongst everyone, this is thanks to Miss Kim K in 2005 for borrowing and appropriating the physical features of Black and Latinx cultures (Sharma, 2022). Soon enough no matter the Race of an individual, many were looking to get that “slim thick” figure and the BBL procedure quickly became incredibly popular. The reason I am telling you this is because according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), they are seeing trends in the removal of implants and reversal of BBLs. They refer to this as a pendulum shift, it swings back and forth and right now they are seeing trends swinging towards the “natural look” - which, natural for who is my question but I digress back to the original point. Do I actually want to get this done because I think it’ll make me look better and in turn make me more confident or am I wanting it done because that is what people are doing, nobody is discouraging me, and it is accessible?
This is a tricky question, but I think it is one that needs to be asked a bit more frequently. As I get older, I am 25 lol, and I notice that my body and face are changing every day - swear when I turned 24 my “grown woman body” appeared and suddenly I had hips lol. I bring age into this discussion because in 2020 12 butt lifts were performed by an ASPS member surgeon in the age range of 13-19 years old and 257 were done in the age group of 20-29 years old. This number is smaller than the national number because it is just members of the ASPS, I couldn’t find stats from 2021-2023 because apparently there has been a delay in their reporting and they will be published sometime in 2023. But anyways that is still 269 people who went under the knife for a might I mention a very risky procedure before they possibly have developed fully. Not only that but also now considering the trends, did they do it for the right reasons? This debate can go on for days, ultimately I will always defer to what I said in my disclaimer - live your life. But it makes me very sad to think that women, especially young women are on social media seeing these procedures and being influenced based on trends that will fade in 10 years.
With that sadness, it brought me here to write this; please nurture yourself with love and kindness. You do not need to change your physical appearance for anyone but yourself. We as women can age gracefully. We do not need to adjust our bodies based on trends.
xoxx,
B
If you want to hear this in a sort of podcast format please click play below.
Sources:
American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2020 Plastic Surgery Statistics. ASPS.
Brumby, Daisy. Plastic surgery trends for 2023, according to plastic surgeons. (January 31, 2023). ASPS.
Nerini, A., Matera, C. ,& Stefanile, C. (2014) Psychosocial Predictors in Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery Among Women. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 38 (2), 461-466. doi: 10.1007/s00266-014-0294-6
Sharma, Ruchira. The BBL Isn’t Going Anywhere - It’s Just Evolving Into a New Shape. (January 4, 2022) Vice.
Walker, C.E., Krumhuber, E.G., Dayan, S. et al. Effects of Social Media Use on Desire for Cosmetic Surgery Among Young Women. Curr Psychol 40, 3355–3364 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00282-1