Cosmetic Surgery: Beauty and the Beast?

When a woman feels good about herself on the outside, she feels terrific on the inside.Who can argue with that?

Procedures for every age

There's no question that there is a wide array of plastic surgery procedures available offering "solutions" to dissatisfaction with one's appearance. A 2009 Forbes.com article on popular plastic surgeries reported that in 2008, more than 10 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures were performed in the US, even with the economic downturn.

We seem to be reading about, watching, and hearing stories of younger women undergoing procedures, breast augmentation in particular. We see it on Reality TV. We read about it in our popular press. We watch it and shake our heads when it hits the news, as it has recently in the case of Heidi Montag. The 23-year old underwent 10 procedures in a single surgery, and some would say purely for the attention that it brought her.

There are minimum ages recommended for cosmetic surgery, including an FDA mandated minimum for purely elective (non corrective, non reconstructive) breast augmentation (age 18 for saline). But why are we allowing our young women to view their natural bodies as unacceptable? Why is our culture continuing to set expectations that these tweaked and tucked facades are the ideal?

My stand on plastic surgery

I am not against cosmetic procedures. There are many reasons to seek them, and fine surgeons who provide them, including to aid accident, burn, and cancer survivors. There are surgical interventions that address physical as well as "purely" cosmetic concerns that prevent some from living more fully. Cosmetic surgery is an individual decision. And it certainly isn't my place to applaud or condemn anyone for that choice.

But I am concerned. For all of us. For our values. For our inability to see ourselves clearly, and our special beauty for what it is. I worry that we are obliterating the individual, the original, the quirky, the elegance of the tiny flaw. Can you imagine Meryl Streep without that marvelous nose? And didn't we find the talented Jessica Lange and Melanie Griffith perfectly lovely before their surgeries?

What happened to the magnificence of a woman's face and body as part and parcel of the woman - the individual? When did we lose the notion that the privilege of bearing babies should be erased from the flesh, that laugh lines and a furrow on the brow are not the signs of a life well-lived? That the rich heritage of diversity is something in which to take pride, a birthright?

The once-upon-a-time face lift for the middle-aged suburbanite has given way to breast implants for teenagers, Botox in the twenties, face lifts in the thirties, breast augmentations over and over again, as though a woman were trying on a pair of shoes, or a new accessory. And then there is the Mommy Makeover - its various lifts and tucks that may range from minor (mini-tucks and lipo) to extended and major surgeries (tummy tucks, breast lifts, augmentations, and reductions), and with pretty handsome price tags attached.

I repeat: I am not against these procedures. But are we undergoing the knife for all the wrong reasons? I find myself wishing that women felt they had a choice. I wish we lived in a society where there was grace in our imperfections, and aging healthfully and naturally was considered a viable option as it is in Europe.

Hollywood beauty or Hollywood beast?

Hollywood's beauties are known for their tweaks and their wholesale reinventions. Some procedures are barely noticeable; in a highly competitive industry where any sign of aging remains a considerable drawback, we can understand these procedures. We have many examples of well-publicized "successes" in this arena, depending upon your viewpoint. Certainly Pamela Anderson, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Anniston, Victoria Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker, and so many others fall on this list. And what about Melanie Griffith? Or Cher? And in the news today, more discussion (and video) of Heidi Montag, and her ten surgical procedures at the age of 23 - all undertaken at the same time in a ten-hour surgery.

Is this beauty? Or is our obsession with one standard of perfection the beast, in the guise of beauty?

• Are you considering cosmetic procedures?
• Is your vision clouded by childhood events, a disastrous marriage, or other issues of self-esteem?
• Is the Heidi Montag surgery a sign of seeking to compete in a superficial industry, or as cosmetic surgeon Dr. Tony Youn suggests in his blog, is Ms. Montag a young woman with issues of "self image and self esteem" who went under the knife unnecessarily?
  
• Is Heidi Montag's platter of surgical procedures simply the latest example of a growing trend that is obscuring beauty, and creating the beast?
  

The cosmetic plastic surgery I am speaking of is elective. That means it is a matter of personal choice. But it is surgery, and carries with it the surgical risk of any non-elective procedure. Men and women both are legitimately concerned about health and well-being in our culture. We need to make time for ourselves, for our partners, for our children. We need to focus on nutrition and exercise, on sleep deficits with devastating cumulative effects. And yes, of course, we need to work to reduce obesity and all the risk factors that are associated with it.

Personal reasons and informed approach to plastic surgery

A nose job? A boob job? Do we really think this is about health and well-being, or do we believe that this kind of cosmetic surgery means a better sex life? Or for some, the only chance at a sex life if you're over forty or over fifty?

I challenge you to know your reasons for seeking cosmetic procedures, and consider carefully. If you have something you wish to "fix" - of course that's entirely up to you!

Ask yourself, and discuss with those who love you (as well as your surgeon):

• Am I doing this for me?
• How will I fare with the risks of surgery given my age and health?
• Am I too young for this procedure?
• Will I need to redo or revise in the future, if for example I haven't yet had children?
• Am I positioned financially, personally, and logistically to deal with the reality of recovery and caretaking needs?
• What about permanent scarring?
  

Beauty is more than skin deep - and is also skin deep. Who doesn't love looking at a beautiful woman?

We strive to be our best and healthiest selves in so many ways, and in difficult circumstances. We are stressed and pressed, worried about aging and being alone, competing for jobs in a youth-oriented culture. We are bombarded by media images of what is and isn't acceptable.

There are many reasons to undergo both non-invasive and invasive cosmetic surgery. If it is part of the equation in our lives, then let's make our decisions realistically. Let's not make surgery the sole option in American culture, especially for our women. And let's not encourage our daughters to undergo the knife at an age when the fragile and formative self is yet to fully bloom.

© D A Wolf