In a society known for its deeply patriarchal undertones and norms, it is a pervasive and almost inevitable experience for young girls to grow up wanting to change certain aspects of their physical appearance.
These desires may manifest as cravings for lip and cheek injections, a rhinoplasty, a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), breast reduction or augmentation, botox, brow lift, eyelid surgery, forehead reduction, chin fillers, tummy tucks, arm or thigh lift, liposuction, fat reduction, skin tightening and countless other seemingly endless series of cosmetic procedures that seem to be added to the list every day. Regardless of which of these surgeries women have aspired to undergo, the societal pressure women feel to pursue the “ideal body” is deeply rooted in the female experience.
This phenomenon has many disadvantages for our society. Each passing decade seems to establish standards of beauty that become more and more unattainable. The past two decades in particular have seen a rise in social media influencers and celebrities like the Kardashians promoting unrealistic body types and encouraging young girls to feel the urge to “fix” what they feel doesn’t look like them.
With the normalization and glorification of such unnatural physical features, it is no surprise that plastic surgery is steadily increasing every year. With social media playing such a crucial role in making certain physical features trend, now more than ever societies are becoming more accepting of the idea of plastic surgery.
While the normalization of surgeries should not be seen as inherently problematic, the trends exerted by influencers and celebrities on girls’ audiences encourage them to desire plastic surgery under the guise of feminist empowerment. This normalization of non-essential surgical procedures has led to dangerous procedures such as increasing BBL worldwide by nearly 80% from 2015. Them mortality rate it is higher than any other plastic surgery, with about 1 in 3,000 patients dying after this procedure.
Plastic surgeons have even admitted to seeing increases in patients seeking cosmetic procedures directly influenced by what they see on social media. While the choice to undergo plastic surgery still remains a woman’s own personal choice, discovering the underlying motivations and where those desires really came from shows that there is often an underlying societal pressure attached to it.
For example, while lip fillers may help boost self-esteem, the question arises: Why does this happen? This phenomenon is a result of society’s expectations that dictate how a woman should appear, what will make her look most beautiful according to the influential figures who have implemented these standards. Statistics like exhibitions which show that 92% of plastic surgeries in 2019 were performed on women, make it hard to ignore society’s persistent fixation on instilling the image of the “perfect body” into the minds of vulnerable young girls.
The representation of the “perfect body” is in constant flux. Every few years – especially on social media – the new “trendy” body type changes as easily and quickly as a seasonal fashion trend.
In the early 2000s, it wasn’t uncommon to hear actors in sitcoms and movies asking their boyfriend, “Does my butt look big in this?” As 2010 rolled around, women with curvier body shapes became the ultimate target. Now, in the early 2020s, celebrities are reversing their BBLs and breast implants as society once again brings the ultra slim elegant reminisce.
This seemingly endless and ever-evolving pursuit of the “perfect body” has taken on the characteristics of a cat-and-mouse game that will constantly force women to change their physical characteristics in their quest for acceptance and respect in their society.
If women could exist in a society that didn’t place immediate value on their appearance and the expectation to constantly adjust physically whenever a new trend hit the internet, then plastic surgery might not be so profitable and normalized as is.
Breaking free from the pattern of constantly changing one’s physical features will allow us to live in a society that celebrates the unique and inherent beauty hidden within each person, free from the relentless pursuit of ever-evolving standards of beauty.
