Introduction
Since the beginning of time, it seems, women have had to deal with a great number of challenges in expressing who they really are as well as strong restrictions on what they were allowed to do or know. As recently as 100 years ago, women were confined to the house and restricted to caring for children and the household chores. Thanks to the women’s movements of recent years, a lot of this has changed, giving women greater opportunities to explore greater depths of their inner selves through increased access to education and decreased levels of exterior control.
However, modern civilization continues to highlight the idea that a woman’s value lies mostly in her ability to look good. Other elements of her personality, such as her natural talents, abilities or personality, are severely downplayed in preference to an extreme focus on her appearance. People like Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears help to keep these ideas going since they contribute nothing to society but manage to gain fame and fortune as a result of a pretty face or a flat stomach.
These empty-headed material-culture superstars have achieved their fame based solely on their beautiful bodies and extreme spending habits. The idea of the ‘Barbie complex’ emerged with the development of this popular children’s toy, emphasizing the importance placed on being blonde, slim and young and subsequently created a culture that is too concerned with appearance, causing a great deal of damage to the women of today’s generation leading to dangerous plastic surgery, eating disorders and long-term, sometimes life-threatening psychological problems.
Plastic Surgery
In today’s beauty culture, plastic surgery is the most common surgery done in American hospitals, commonly believed to be the response to this constant societal pressure for people of all ages to become the ‘ideal’ person. This is especially seen in the rising numbers of teenagers seeking surgery, as it can be potentially harmful to the individual’s psychological nature and physical health, and is perpetuated by their role models and peers as well as their parents and elders.
As these types of surgeries become more socially acceptable, more young ladies are turning to cosmetic surgery to enhance their bodies while still attending high school. A recent BBC News report indicates as many as 40 percent of teenage girls in the UK desire some sort of plastic surgery (“Forty Percent”, 2005). These numbers are comparable in the United States as well. Teenagers are working to construct the ideal form without giving their bodies a chance to finish growing.
Many adolescents (and the parents that allow them to seek these types of surgery) don’t seem to realize that plastic surgery is still a form of surgery and all surgeries can have significant physical and physiological risks, especially when performed on bodies that have not yet completed their growth cycle. Because it is a real surgery, involving real risks to health and welfare, doctors are concerned regarding the expected outcomes and the long-term message being sent to younger girls regarding the procedure. Depending upon the reasons and expectations one might have going in for surgery, the results, no matter how successful, can cause long-term psychological and physiological damage, belying the concept that having a beautiful body will automatically bring happiness.
However, the problem does not exist solely in the minds of the teenagers. In most cases, these ideals of the perfect body are originally pointed out by the mothers, who are constantly in pursuit of the teenage waist or the wrinkle free complexion regardless of age. They continue to seek slimming surgeries, face-lifts and body enhancements as a way of chasing that elusive fountain of youth as long as possible, buying into the concept that only young, slim and beautiful is acceptable in the modern day (Rubin, 2006).
The woman who looks the youngest, wears the smallest dress size and is able to attract the youngest man is the winner at the table. This fixation on the perfect form for the older crowd as a way of standing out against their contemporaries as a well-preserved individual translates to the younger generation as a requirement to achieving personal success and recognition. “The reinforcement of moms depressed about her weight because they don’t look like magazine models, makes it even more likely for the daughters to be unhappy with their bodies” (Gustafson, 2005).
The tendency for older women to seek surgery after surgery also illustrates the fact that regardless of the level of perfection achieved, women remain unsatisfied and unhappy with the way they appear. Meanwhile, costs for medical care continue to rise and millions of dollars are spent needlessly. In addition, side effects of these surgeries have proven disastrous in some cases, such as the breast augmentation scare when silicon implants were found to cause a number of physical problems such as requirements for re-operation within three years, capsular contracture, scarring, breast pain, nipple sensation changes, implant ruptures and infections (Zuckerman, 2003). According to Zuckerman, “capsular contraction is a painful condition where scar tissue around the implant tightens, thus causing the breast to become firm, hard and distorted” (2003).
In addition to the plastic surgery issues facing teenagers and their parents, numerous studies have been conducted that link aspects of the appearance culture with increased rates of eating disorders, negative self-image and peer acceptance among adolescents. In a book discussing the unique issues faced by overweight children, Dr. Sylvia Rimm (2004) discusses several of the reasons why children who enter school slightly overweight often find it impossible to overcome this deficit thanks to modern society’s focus on outward appearance. This cycle sees the child increasingly gaining weight as a result of the emotional turmoil that occurs as other children begin to make fun of them.
They also realize that they are not able to keep up with other children on the sports field and do not measure up to the expected ideals as they are portrayed on the television programs they view after school. More than just focusing on appearance, these children begin seeing themselves as somehow less than average weight children in every way, severely negating any true worth they may have in other areas of life. Many adults reinforce these beliefs with the idea that an overweight child must be lazy and not as bright as other children, further placing restrictions on them based merely upon their appearance (Rimm, 2004).
Adults also reinforce the idea that beauty is everything as evidenced in the proliferation of plastic surgery centers offering every type of physically ‘enhancing’ procedure, which the overweight child is aware of, convinced, like their parents, that somewhere out there is a ‘magic pill’ that will enable them to become the person of their dreams if or when they finally have enough money to pay for it.
The media plays a more than active role in the perception of self for many people. Images depicted on TV relate society’s ideals and a quick glance in the mirror illustrates how these ideals are either being met or not met. In most cases, they are not met. Thus, when advertisements air promising instant weight loss or easier approaches to attaining the body beautiful, many fall into the trap of believing such solutions are possible and are severely disappointed when they don’t work.
Rather than placing the blame where it properly belongs, on the product, many women, particularly adolescent girls, tend to blame themselves, contributing to an ever decreasing sense of self-esteem. To illustrate the potentially dangerous effects media advertising of such products might have on adolescent girls, one study investigated how girls responded to such ads. In the study, 42 participants were shown print and television ads for weight loss products and were asked to interpret their response. “Common factors in girls’ interpretation of weight-loss advertising included responding to texts emotionally by identifying with characters; comparing and contrasting persuasive messages with real-life experiences with family members; using prior knowledge about nutrition management and recognizing obvious deceptive claims like ‘rapid’ or ‘permanent’ weight loss” (Hobbs et al, 2006).
However, these same subjects were shown to be not as capable of understanding the deeper persuasive elements of the advertising and economic subtext, again and again falling into the ‘trap’ of the ads.
Despite the benefits experienced by those who are able to gain the body beautiful, there remain many negative effects experienced both by those who have it and those who can never attain it. The impossible standards set by the movie industry creates the illusion that most of us must look like Gwyneth Paltrow or Tom Cruise in order to be considered attractive. This internal drive to constantly redefine ourselves based upon how society sets its values and how we measure up to them removes the focus from what is positive about ourselves and shifts it to what is wrong with the way we look.
This desire to meet the impossible dream for some or to maintain the impossible dream for others, has a tendency to encourage young people, girls especially, to seek such physically enhancing procedures as plastic surgery even before their bodies have finished growing and psychological issues for those who cannot attain the defined body beautiful or who are increasing in age beyond the borders of the defined set.
Reinforced by the ideas and activities of their parents, surrounded by role models that have little more than looks in their favor leading fabulous fairytale lives as depicted on television and having these concepts reinforced by the skillful manipulations seen in reality shows, teenagers have little option but to believe that the ideal form, carefully constructed in the plastic surgeon’s chair, is the only way to acceptance and happiness in today’s world.
However, this belief could lead them to take part in surgeries that may be harmful to their physical health and will prove psychologically limiting regardless of whether surgery is performed or not or to participate in behaviors that could have equally long-term effects, such as eating disorders. The idea that beauty may buy oneself happiness is a popular myth perpetuated through such practices, but proof that it is a lie can be found everywhere.
Marya Hornbacher’s book Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia brings out several aspects of the various familial, social and personal aspects of eating disorders that are not always considered when a young girl attempts to form herself into an ideal image. When studying about these illnesses, it is easy to overlook the personal aspects of the disorder, the addicting nature of it or the gradual way in which it becomes a part, a very necessary part, of the individual’s life. In many ways, the illness becomes her way of defining herself, and treatment options must therefore provide an alternative means of identification if it is to have any chance of success.
Rather than presenting her story in a detached, rather clinical way with statistics and facts, Hornbacher takes an in depth look into her own soul, writing out the events of her life in sequential order, yet imbuing the text with her own impressions, ideas and beliefs as she grew up.
Interspersed here and there is the odd statistic or scientific quote that helps to illuminate various aspects of what the illness entails, such as her preoccupation with food or the evidence that suggests girls who mature early are more likely to suffer with eating disorders because of the body perception. This continuous interjection of hindsight, scientific backup, personal impressions and painful insight brings the issue of eating disorders into the realm of the human, providing the reader with a solid idea of what the illness looks like from inside the patient, building a new understanding with every turn of the page.
Conclusion
As women continue to spend more and more in pursuit of an image they will never achieve and even the most beautiful women admit to being miserable in their personal lives, it becomes more and more clear that the true path to happiness must lie in the development of the self. In the end, it is society as a whole that determines what the ideal human form should look like, and therefore it is the responsibility of the adults to determine whether physical measurements should define the quality of the individual or if attention should be redirected to more realistic and less superficial attributes.
The concept that youthful appearance automatically means youthful feelings, youthful energy and youthful desirability is wide-spread and helps to drive the body as commodity concept. It is the responsibility of society at large to put an end to the concept of the body beautiful as a major commodity in our culture and to focus attention on more lasting goals and pursuits.
Works Cited
“Forty Percent of Teens Want Plastic Surgery.” BBC News. (2005). Web.
Gustafson, Rod. “Parenting and the Media.” (2005). Parents Television Council Publications. Web.
Gilman, Sander L. Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery. Princeton University Press, 1999.
Hobbs, Renee; Broder, Sharon; Pope, Holly; Rowe, Jonelle. “How Adolescent Girls Interpret Weight-Loss Advertising.” Health Education Research. Vol. 21, N. 5, (2006): 719-730.
Hornbacher, Marya. Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
Rimm, Sylvia. Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children. New York: St Martin’s Press, 2004.
Rubin, Rita. “Breast Implants Catching on with Soccer Moms.” Tampa Bays 10 News. (2006). Web.
Walker, Suzanne. “The Power of the Glance.” (2006). Auspac Media. Web.
Zuckerman, Diana. “Symptoms and Complications from Silicone Gel Breast Implants: FDA’s October 2003 Summary of the Research on Inamed Implants.” Breast Implant Info. (2003). Web.