Debates surrounding the so-called Jewish nose — and whether it’s a feature that needs “fixing” — have raged for decades, leading countless Jews to go under the knife in pursuit of a face that doesn’t risk labeling them as “different.” “.
But is there even such a thing as a Jewish nose? And, if so, who decided that it could qualify as an imperfection in need of medical correction?
Rhinoplasty — commonly referred to as a nose job — replaced breast augmentation as the most sought-after type of plastic surgery in the United States in 2019.
In particular, the number of Orthodox women undergoing this procedure has increased, according to a leading New York surgeon. Among some Orthodox communities in the US, increasing numbers of young women are undergoing this form of elective surgery before they begin dating in the hope that it will improve their chances of finding a partner.
“Many younger women in the Orthodox community have had their noses done, rhinoplasty, appointments before the sinduk,” plastic surgeon Dr. Ira Savetsky told the Jerusalem Post earlier this year.
“There are a lot of parents who bring their daughters in before they start dating and they usually want to get their noses done. I remember in high school people used to get their nose done in their senior year, but today we see it much more as something that young Orthodox Jewish women get early in college or right before they start dating.
“The interesting thing is that these procedures are fully supported by their parents who come with them.”
For Jews, going to great lengths to change one’s nose has historically been associated with a desire to assimilate into the wider society.
This was not necessarily an aesthetic choice, but often a safety mechanism to protect oneself in a hostile environment.
The idea that a certain kind of distinctive nose is unmistakably Jewish, and therefore a “distortion,” dates back centuries.
In 1850, the Scottish anthropologist Robert Knox described the “Jewish” feature as “a large, massive, rod-shaped, hooked nose, three or four times longer than fits the face.”
Thus, he concluded, “the Jewish person can never [be]and she is never, perfectly beautiful.’
Doctors began arguing in the early 20th century that correcting such “racial features” could lead to improved patient well-being, cosmetic surgeon Beth Preminger notes in a paper published in the American medical journal, JAMA.
In this article, titled “The Jewish Nose and Plastic Surgery: Origins and Implications,” Preminger details how clinicians persistently used the term “Jewish nose” to denote “a typical physical deformity requiring surgical correction.”
The paper reports: “In 1914, a young woman who had always been self-conscious about the appearance of her nose decided to seek the advice of a surgeon.
“Her doctor, Jerome Webster, made the following diagnosis: “The nose is quite long, has a very slight hump, is somewhat broad near the tip, and the tip bends down, giving somewhat the appearance of a Jewish nose. a generation of surgeons, I think there is enough deformity to warrant changing the nose.’
Reflecting on the “persistence of this charged category in the medical literature,” Preminger suggests that industry could be responsible for the role that “perpetuates racial and aesthetic biases.”
He says: “By incorporating this term into their clinical vocabulary, early plastic surgeons unwittingly lent scientific credibility to popular stereotypes of beauty and ethnicity. In this way, the ‘Jewish nose’ was transformed from a facial variant to a specific, pathological condition for which there was a medical protocol for correction.”
Rhinoplasty may be on the rise, but there are risks in seeking a surgeon’s scalpel, beyond the usual risks that come with any surgery. That is, coming out of surgery with a completely insignificant nose, the patient can be left with what is ultimately an unparalleled face.
Natural Selection: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Photo: Getty Images)
Many people express a form of buyer’s remorse years or decades after their surgery, as they regret having banished any hint of their Jewish ancestry from their face.
Actress Jennifer Grey, who rose to fame when, aged 27, she starred opposite Patrick Swayze in the 1987 blockbuster Dirty Dancing, is someone for whom the expression ‘I cut off your nose to spoil your face’ is extremely , on the nose.
Following the release of that film, Grey, now 63, underwent nose surgery to improve her future casting prospects. However, she found that by erasing the very “flaw” that helped make her so recognizable, she became, in her words, “invisible.”
Speaking in 2022, Gray said: “In the eyes of the world, I was no longer me… Overnight I lost my identity and my career.”