Society has always valued beauty. In books, beauty is often the protagonist while, the ugly one is the evil antagonist. Without even realizing it, we were always taught to prize beauty. Some races and cultures have gone to extremes in the name of beauty. From dangerous corsets in Victorian times, to foot-binding in China, to brass neck coils in Thailand, to nose jobs in 800 B.C. India. Today, our values have made the price of beauty higher.
As a young girl in today’s society, its hard to be what everybody wants and fit in. Children as young as six are undergoing minor plastic surgery, while some 13-year olds are getting nose jobs. A lot of normal and underweight teens are still saying “Eww Im such a fatty!”. From a young age, children play with toys like Barbie dolls and muscular action figures, that have bodies that are physically impossible to achieve. Ideals like these are a little damaging to self-esteem of youths.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery, there are many more procedures to be made in the upcoming year. The growth and popularity of cosmetic injectables (Botox, Sculptra, Evolence, Juvederm, Restylane etc.) will continue to increase as products continue to evolve and new players enter the market. Also, as the economy continues to improve, demand for facelifts and other facial rejuvenation surgery will increase. In 2009, about 9,993,711 cosmetic procedures were made. Back in 1997, there were 2,099,173 cosmetic procedures made. From these statistics, you can tell the demand for perfection has gone up.
Heidi Montag from “The Hills” has gotten many cosmetic procedures as listed below,
1) Mini Brow Lift
2) Botox in forehead and frown area
3) Nose job revision
4) Fat injections in cheeks, nasolabial folds, and lips
5) Chin reduction
6) Neck liposuction
7) Ears pinned back
8) Breast augmentation
9) Liposuction on waist, hips, and inner and outer thighs
10) Buttock augmentation
“I was made fun of when I was younger, and so I had insecurities, especially after I moved to L.A. People said I had a ‘Jay Leno chin’; they'd circle it on blogs and say nasty things. It bothered me. And when I watched myself on The Hills, my ears would be sticking out like Dumbo! I just wanted to feel more confident and look in the mirror and be like, ‘Whoa! That's me!’ I was an ugly duckling before.” says Montag.
I remember when ‘It really dosen’t matter whats on the outside, its whats on the inside.’ applied to everyone a long time ago. Plastic surgery appears CONSTANTLY in pop culture. Some celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez, have influenced Buttock augmentation. In American culture, the “attractive” person is getting smaller and smaller.
Cosmetic surgery is not limited to the wealthy. As plastic surgery becomes more popular, the value of beauty will likely decrease as it becomes something that anyone can buy. Some girls these days are like walking Barbie dolls. Happiness and feeling beautiful can be achieved without surgery, you just need to embrace your flaws instead of trying to erase them.