We are in a crisis of conformityâand the plastic surgery industry is only feeding into that. We are seeing more and more people change their faces into something that can only be described as uncanny or plastic. Now, to be clear, I am only talking about plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons (which is where the plastic surgery industry makes most of its money anyway). I have no problem with it in the form of reconstructive surgery, gender-affirming surgery, or for other medical reasons. However, itâs becoming normalized for purely cosmetic reasons in our society, to the point where some will claim it is feminist to get plastic surgery. The plastic surgery industry, like most other industries, is evil; it exists to take money from us, using our desire to conform to extort our insecurities.Â
The idea that plastic surgery could be a feminist choice is an insane take, to say the least. It is widely known that the beauty industry treats women like products: the more insecurities it can create, the more products it can sell to fix those insecurities. I mean, who really cares about hip dips anyway? Often, the things you view as imperfections or flaws are what others find unique and attractive about you. Going through surgery to fit a manâs sexist and racist ideal of a woman canât possibly be a feminist idea. The most common plastic surgeries are liposuction (removal of fat), breast augmentation, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), breast lift, and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery). Most of these surgeries focus on fat removal. Why are we forever chasing skinny? You are not on this earth to be thin, so why is it an ideal pushed on every woman? The facelift is also becoming increasingly popular. So, to be clear, women are supposed to be skinny and young, with perfect breasts and a perfect faceâfor what? All so you can feel more confident? Of all the things to buy on this planet, your body should not be one of them.Â
âChoice Feminismâ is a phrase I first heard on TikTok that I think perfectly applies to this situation. Linda Hirshman first used this term in 2006 for her book, Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World. Choice feminism is the idea that as long as a woman chooses for herself, she is expressing her freedom, thus portraying herself as a feminist. In the context of plastic surgery, women are claiming that the choice to get plastic surgery is a feminist one because they are activating autonomy over their bodies. While I do believe that bodily autonomy is incredibly important, I do not feel that most people making this choice are actually exercising it. Ask yourself: Why does everyone who gets plastic surgery do so to fit patriarchal, Eurocentric beauty ideals? No one is getting plastic surgery to have fat put on their body or for an aged look. If this choice were purely autonomous and separate from sexist and racist systems, why does it still feed into them? In this way, choice feminism fails; not all choices, even though you are free to make them, qualify as feminist.   Â
Looking younger is also a common theme of plastic surgery. The recent news surrounding Kris Jennerâs ânew faceâ is evidence of that. Even the phrase ânew faceâ is so dystopian to say. Why do we reject aging? Why are we so afraid of living if we are also afraid of dying? If we want to embrace life while we have it, that means embracing aging, wrinkles, and our bodies as a whole. Without our bodies, we have no life. We need to start thinking of aging as a privilege – a privilege that not everyone is lucky enough to get. The idea of a world that is solely concerned with youth and beauty is one that I do not want to live in, because I, for one, look forward to growing old. I am excited to gain wisdom, friends, and family. I am excited to watch my face change, because staying stagnant is no way to live. Â
What is there to gain from a world of conformity? Fear and control, thatâs what. If they can make you afraid of yourself and the way you look, they can control you. If you worry about standing out, you are less likely to stand up. Especially now, it is imperative to hold on to what makes you unique. Do not fall into the trap of hating the body and skin that you were born into. Do not spend hundreds of dollars trying to fix a problem that wasnât there to begin with, on companies that will use that money to develop new insecurities for you. Above all, do not let others tell you that it is normal to dissect your body and mould it into something it was not meant to be.  Â
The plastic surgery industry positions itself as a way to help you feel more confident, and more beautiful. But why do you think you arenât? It used to be strange for women to shave their legs, as razors were once strictly for men. With fashion evolving in the 1920s, companies quickly realized that broadening their female clientele offered new financial gain. They published articles characterizing women’s leg hair as unseemly, encouraging them to keep their skin smooth. And now, 100 years later, it is both common and desirable for girls as young as 11 or 12 to shave their legs. This is one of the clearest examples of the intersection between capitalism and the beauty industry, with the plastic surgery industry being an offshoot of the beauty industry. But what happens if you reject these insecurities, if you decide that you donât want billion-dollar companies run by run-down old men telling you what they desire from your body? Without anyone to call ugly, the entire beauty industry crumbles.Â
So, who cares if your lips aren’t perfect, if your jawline isnât pronounced, or you have wrinkles or crowâs feet on your face? Life isnât about cutting and pasting your own flesh and bone to achieve the most perfect, flawless, youthful face. Life is about living. Itâs about getting smile lines because you have the privilege of living happily, and gaining weight from the privilege of eating. Do not treat your body like a doll. Your body is the only reason you get to experience life at all! You were born because generations of people looked at features like yours and thought they were the most beautiful they had ever seen. You were not born to be attractive to others; you were born to dream and to be happy. And to express happiness, you are going to laugh and smile, which means you will notice some wrinkles on your face. So let them be.Â
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2015/5/22/8640457/leg-shaving-history