The Plastic Surgary in Our Society

We live in a society where it is not astounding to believe that everyone is fixated with appearance. Physical attractiveness is one of the main things that people make choices in favor of certain objects, goods, services, and even people. Products that get sold are being sold with style. The products come in detailed designs and eye-catching packages. Commercials are another thing that exploit a variety of sensually-pleasing imagery, such as the Hollywood actors and TV celebrities. They strive to be stunning and attractive to catch peoples’ attention. There are multiple examples that show that his statement is true. So, it is not surprising that considering this tendency, some people may feel the need to fit into the greater standards of beauty in society. Unfortunately for them, fashionable medication offers how to change and better their appearances. Even though this procedure is considered a debatable decision by many people, it is a procedure that is popular all around the world.

Plastic Surgery is a surgical area of expertise involving the restoration, or in other words the alteration of the human body. This can be divided into two categories. Reconstructive surgery is the first category which consists of craniofacial surgery, hand surgery, microsurgery and the treatment of burns. The other category is cosmetic or in other words aesthetic surgery. While reconstructive surgery aims to alter a part of the body or improve its functioning, cosmetic surgery aims to enhance the appearance of it. Both of these surgical skills are used world-wide.

This procedure did not start as a practice to make people feel and look more attractive. At first plastic surgery was actually only done on deceased people. The Egyptians had their own belief that during the afterlife, a person’s face would be the exact when it was buried. This explains why when important people died, their bodies were altered with to make their most blatant characteristics protrude. They did this because they felt as if the deceased person would be distinguishable to everyone in the afterlife.

Some of the common procedures that were used was the insertion of bones, seeds, and bandages into a person’s nose, cheeks, or stomach. To be exact, the nose was the first body part to receive any type of plastic surgery procedure. Other cosmetic surgical procedures such as a facelift or rhinoplasty was performed for several decades, but those procedures did not become popular until the 1970s and 1980s. The rich and famous or in other words, the wealthy people were the first people to use these procedures to enhance their appearance. Overall, in the United States aesthetic plastic surgery was more common on the east and west coasts (“15 Shocking Facts About Plastic Surgery.”).

During the middle ages, plastic surgery was not viewed as something people would consider doing. To be exact, plastic surgery was seen as a wrong thing to do. It was viewed as sin, which explains why a majority of people would not even imagine of having this type of procedure done. During the middle ages, there was a huge decline in plastic surgery. This was because there was a large spread of Christianity throughout Europe. Pope Innocent III bellowed that all surgeries were against the Church law, that anyone who came in contact with this procedure would be harmed spiritually some type of way.

Many Christians seen this procedure as unholy and related to the devil’s work. The thought of a surgeon fluctuating a person’s body by was mainly looked down upon, because it is viewed as if you are changing God’s masterpiece. In the course of this time, the existence of witches was also a common belief, which made people believe this procedure had to deal with black magic. In spite of that belief, after seeing soldiers suffer from wounds that doctors were able to heal because of plastic surgery, the idea began to become more appropriate (“15 Shocking Facts About Plastic Surgery.”).

To be exact, plastic surgery was not always done in a sterilized place with low risk of getting injured. About during the sixteenth century, cosmetic procedures were performed in barber shops by regular licensed barbers. Yes, in barber shops, in fact the men who worked there were demanded to know how to remove limbs and pull teeth besides knowing how to cut hair. These barbers carried a nickname which was “barber surgeons.” The barbers were required to have a wide variety of skills, which meant they also knew how to perform procedures such as bloodletting and supping therapy.

They were also able to bathe their customers and give them enemas. World War II is what brought more advances into the plastic surgery world. Surgeons progressed in their techniques to recreate limbs and to do more experienced skin grafts. After the war, surgeons tried promoting their work to specific people, such as middle-aged woman. These women were targeted because woman usually raised large families back in the days. The first person to undergo plastic surgery was a man name Walter. He had suffered from horrific facial injuries from the war which included the loss of his upper lip and lower eyelids. A man named Sir Harold Gillies was the first man to use skin grafts from unharmed body parts, he was known as the father of plastic surgery. (“15 Shocking Facts About Plastic Surgery.”).

The web is full of photographic examples on plastic surgeries that has gone wrong. Everyone most likely remembers when Jocelyn Wildenstein had her various procedures, which got her the nickname “cat woman” or even saw the photos of Shauna Sand’s lip. Regardless of knowing the outcomes, thousands still try messing with their facial features and body figures, investing thousands of dollars on implants, lifts and other cosmetic surgeries.

Starting trends and fashion cannot really explain the motives people get when they decide to the undergo plastic surgery. Some people even spend thousands of dollars to look like a real-life Barbie and Ken doll. Their moto is “life is plastic, it’s fantastic!” Justin Jedlica, the Human Ken Doll, has spent $170,000 on plastic surgery procedures. He has had undergone a total of 149 procedures, he had his first one at the age of 18. Another real-life Ken doll is a 35year old man named Rodrigo Alves. Mr. Alves has spent $883,000 in the past two decades on plastic surgery. Some on the procedures that he had undergone are ten nose jobs, face lifts, bum implants muscle and pec implants. He has also received a surgery that made his eye color blue. He has undergone a total of 57 procedures. Five years ago he was diagnosed with a disorder called body dysmorphia.

A real-life Barbie doll is Nannette Hammond. Nannette is a stay at home mom that has undergone multiple cosmetics procedures. She has undergone three boob surgeries, veneers, breast lift and lip fillers. She wears eyelash extensions, semi-permanent makeup and hair extensions. Mrs. Hammond also takes a daily visit to the tanning salon that is in her 10- bedroom home. Pixie Fox is another real-life barbie doll. She is a 26year old who has had 17 procedures which includes four boob procedures, liposuction and the removal of six ribs. She did this to become a “real-life” Barbie doll. Her and Justin Jedlica are best friends, they decided they wanted to be the real-life Barbie and Ken doll duo. Together they have spent $500,000 on surgical procedures, they desire to look like the dolls in a toy chest. So, let us take a moment to see look at what gives people the aspiration to change their physical appearance (Moye).

Although it is known that cosmetic surgery is usually for ladies, this is not essentially true. There are men that undergo this type of procedure as well. One of the probable motives for this can be the concern of aging. Anyone, especially if he or she can prevent themselves from looking of old age, they may feel the urge to keep that youth beauty look. Living in a society where the first impression is important, it changes how an individual appearance can have an effect on his or her profession and social relationships (“Why Do Real People Choose Cosmetic Surgery?”).

This is true for the people that are in professions such as actors, musicians, models, and the list goes on. Here is a list of some female celebrities that have undergone cosmetic surgery procedures; Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Linda Evangelista, Courtney Love, there are many others, but you most likely seen their procedures through the media (“30 Celebrities Who Admitted To Plastic Surgery And Injectables). As far as for the men, the list includes Irishman Rourke, Steven Tyler, Tom Cruise, Christian Bale, and many other males. Some of the information pertaining to the male celebrities that have undergone plastic surgeries is mostly heard through gossip, but the facts are still enough to say that older men do get cosmetic surgery (“50 Famous Men Who Have Done Plastic Surgery.”).

Besides aging and attempting to stay up with skilled needs, there is a less common, however a lot more gruesome reason on why people decide to change the way that they look. There is a widely known condition in psychology that is referred to as Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder. It is a mental illness involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance. The flaw that they see may be small or even imagined, but the person will spend days trying to fix it.

The person may try many cosmetic procedures or exercise to fix the flaw. The level of frustration and psychological tension will grow high that an individual with this disorder can try avoiding social contact. Dysmorphophobia is one of the main reasons why people value more highly to endure cosmetic surgery procedures, however unless the true reason the disorder is not disregarded, a person with body dysmorphic disorder will never feel content about their own look. According to multiple sources, about two percent of the population deal with this disorder and people who seek plastic surgery, six to fifteen percent usually experience Dysmorphophobia. Half the time their request is refused, because the doctor can see that the patient needs treatment instead of a surgical procedure (“The Dangers Of Plastic Surgery Addiction.”).

Furthermore, there are a lot of realistic and sensible reasons for undergoing cosmetic surgery. If an individual has suffered from an accident that changed his or her physical appearance severely, it is common that he or she would want to fix it. Some accidents that would cause an individual to get plastic surgery are car crashes, motorcycle crashes, fires, professional fighting and even being in the war. People may always want to get surgery because of a “flaw” that they were born with.

Some birth defects are known to cause serious emotional and physical discomfort to the people that suffer from it. In particular, cleft lips or skeletal deformities can bring nothing but handicaps, so the sooner they are removed, the better it is for the person. It is also important to notice that the outcomes of some medical surgeries such as mastectomy can be extremely tormenting. In this case, plastic reconstructive surgery is desirable, not from a medical point of view but in order to lessen psychological trauma and stress and to give the lady the ability to look the way she used to before (“Top 10 Reasons People Give for Having Plastic Surgery.”).

Overall, this procedure has become popular over the years. Anyone with money and a minor flaw will find a way to get the procedure done. We live in a society where people are not comfortable in their own skins. People want to look like the person they seen on tv or at the grocery store. These individuals want to improve their self-worth and feel more confident. Getting this procedure done makes the individual feel good about themselves on the inside. It is as if you just went to the store and bought a new outfit or even a new pair of shoes.

To conclude, there are multiple reasons to undergo plastic surgery. Some of the reasons are subjective, such as the fear of aging or obsessions. Other reasons included professional requirements, recovering from medical procedures or accidents. It is tough to mention whether or not these reasons are a lot more important than others. In each particular case a person thinking about this type of surgery, they should contemplate all the possible outcomes that such as what they will be gaining/losing. Regardless of how much it cost, this procedure will always be a go-to for some people.

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