Plastic Surgey: The New Beauty Norm

I decided to take this question of plastic surgery and the search for beauty and see how it can affect some women in the African-American community. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, African-Americans make up only 6% of plastic surgery patients. Why is this? Do African-American women have a more positive self/body image or is it that many cannot afford it? And for the 6% who do have surgery, to which standard of beauty were they trying to aspire

This is a good topic to discuss especially now since the popularity of all the make-over shows. I have always been curious as to why people, mostly women, have this idea that they are expected to look a certain way in order to "fit in" with society.

There are at least three news stories a day regarding some celebrity somewhere getting plastic surgery for one reason or another. Their stomach is not flat enough or their cheeks are sagging or the most important reason of all, their butt looks bad on camera. For these people, surgery like this may be the norm, but when is it right for the average person?

The first consideration should be why. The reasons for choosing plastic surgery to correct a problem are very wide ranging. There are more than enough good reasons out there to warrant this type of elective surgery such as birth defects or severe weight loss due to a medical procedure along the lines of having a gastric band installed.

This article was refreshing because they all had positive experiences, which is usually the norm, as opposed to many articles which talk about patient's problems and complications which is not the norm. But the underlying theme of the article is what is most poignant for me. The large numbers of plastic surgery procedures done today could occur for only one reason... that the typical plastic surgery patient is just reflective of the average person in society. There is only a very small fraction of society that is famous or wealthy. The cosmetic surgery numbers of today, which total in the millions of procedures (surgical and non-surgical), could not come from that segment of society.

Look around and you will see that celebrity plastic surgery is everywhere. Enhanced breasts, nose surgery, eyelid surgery and liposuction are the norm in Hollywood. From Lisa Rinna's over-inflated lips to Jennifer Aniston's cute little nose, the visibility of celebrities inspires the average Joe or Jane to want to emulate their look. Yet at what cost? While living in the spotlight can provide opportunities and advantages, the darker side of living life on the red carpet is that celebrities are under constant scrutiny and are pressured to maintain a youthful appearance.

Many men and women are searching for that special something that will keep them looking younger; taking vitamins, eating organic foods, practicing regular exercise, twice-monthly facials, are the norm for most health conscious people but no matter how diligent they are with a health routine, their faces continue to show decline.

Aging faces are primarily a result of sagging muscles; just like in the body where we discover our hips sliding down the back of our legs or the muscles in our upper arm looking loose and jiggle-ly, facial muscles suffer the very same loss of tone and resiliency. Add sun damage to the mix and all of a sudden you have an old, tired face that needs attention.

There's no question that Farrah Fawcett was one of the most beautiful women of the 1970s. Even though she was only on the television series Charlie's Angles for a year, she was always associated with the show - perhaps even more than the other two "angels" Jacqueline Smith and Kate Jackson. A poster of Fawcett in an orange swimsuit sold an astonishing 30 million copies.

But even the most beautiful people can't avoid getting older. Perhaps because of media pressure to be beautiful, Fawcett underwent plastic surgery as she got older, and sometimes it didn't turn out well. Fawcett is believed to have had a face lift that did not turn out well, eye surgery, lip augmentation, and various injection procedures like Botox and Juvederm.

One of the main reasons people opt not to have the plastic surgery they want is the fear that other people will judge them, ridicule them or think less of them because of it. If you've had noticeable surgery, you'll have to deal with the comments, both good and bad, of others-whether you like it or not.

There are more reasons than ever to go under the knife for cosmetic enhancement. It's cheaper, faster, easier and more reliable than ever before. And yet, many people are still denying themselves the pleasure of looking years younger and more attractive because they're afraid of the reactions of others. This is best exemplified by the obsession in our culture with celebrity plastic surgery.