投稿類別：英文寫作類
篇名：
An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
作者：
吳宜庭。臺北市立士林高商。夜間三年六班
林瑜庭。臺北市立士林高商。夜間三年六班
賴思妤。臺北市立士林高商。夜間三年六班
指導老師：
李曉菁老師
An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
I. Introduction
Plastic Surgery was first performed in India around 800 BC by Sushruta, and
then it spread across the Middle East and Europe. Skin grafting is considered the first
plastic surgery. It is used to fill skin wounds with intact parts of the skin, such as
burns, scalds, depending on this operation. However, plastic surgery is accepted by
most people mainly because the First World War broke out. Due to the fierce situation
on the battlefield during the First World War, many soldiers suffered from severe
facial burns and their skulls split. At that time, these wounds hadn’t been seen before.
Therefore, England, France and Germany established special hospitals at that time,
surgeons, physicians and dentists researched together and found out how to treat these
wounds. After the Second World War, plastic surgery gradually tended to target
women, but plastic surgery hadn’t obviously developed. Until the 1960s, cosmetic
surgery such as facelift and breast augmentation were accepted widely and created a
new market for cosmetic surgery.
With the advancement of technology, it makes plastic surgery become much
more commonplace. Furthermore, there are more than 11 million cosmetic surgeries
performed in 2006. In recent years, the demand for cosmetic surgery has increased
remarkably among the people seeking to enhance their appearance to the extent of
aesthetical icon. Nowadays, with the growing number of people willing to go for plastic
surgery, surgical fees have become cheaper in many countries.
With the personal demand for beauty becoming more and more intense, medical
treatment no longer merely solves physical suffering; furthermore, it develops a way
to become beautiful. The frequency of plastic surgery has increased and it gradually
becomes a trend in Taiwan. Teenagers also become major consumers. Many students
pay more attention to their appearance, for they are sensitive and they are easily
affected by other people’s comments during adolescence. They often measure
themselves through social standards of beauty. For one thing, we want to investigate
the purpose and willingness of teenagers who want to have plastic surgery and the
effect of having plastic surgery. For another thing, we also want to understand
Taiwanese teenagers’ information-seeking behavior toward plastic surgery, including
the source of the information, reasons and demands for the information about plastic
surgery.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
II. Methods
II.1. Participants
There are 3 members in our team, the team leader is Lai, Sih-Yu, and the others
are team members Wu, Yi-Ting and Lin, Yu-Ting. We assigned the tasks to one
another on the basis of the personal specialty. The team leader is responsible for
integrating the information, designing the page layouts, optimizing the questionnaires,
and gathering our opinions together. The team members are responsible for the
notions of the whole framework concerning the topic. Some tasks have been done by
the whole team members. We translated Chinese into English, designed the questions
of the questionnaires and sent out the questionnaires, etc.
With regard to the questionnaires, 237 teenagers in Taiwan participated in our
study. We eliminated invalid data and received a total of 200 valid questionnaires.
Their age range was from fifteen to twenty-three. The questionnaires are composed of
97 male and 103 female teenagers. We chose teenagers as subjects because we
considered they must have numerous opinions about plastic surgery and could provide
more reliable information.
II.2. Instruments
II.2.1. Literature Review
In order to make the conclusion of our research paper more reliable, achieve the
purpose of the research, and increase our knowledge of the topic, we searched the
related information on the Internet and from libraries. Then, we collected useful
information and took notes.
II.2.2. Questionnaire
We made two types of questionnaires. One type is Google Docs, helping with
creating an online questionnaire; the other we used is Microsoft Word, helping with
making a paper questionnaire. Then, we sent out 240 copies of the questionnaire to
people who were suitable subjects for the study.
The questionnaire included fifteen questions. The questionnaire mainly consists of
two sections. The first of which was intended to elicit demographic information on the
respondents, while the second section asked respondents to provide their opinions on
questions. The questionnaire is attached in VI. Appendix.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
II.3. Procedure
We decided to team up because we enthusiastically inquired into various subjects.
We spent some time discussing and choosing the topic of our study. But it was not
easy to determine a topic in the beginning. We first discussed with our teachers,
modified and narrowed down our topic. Next, we searched and studied the related
information about the aesthetic and plastic surgery on the Internet and from libraries.
In order to get more practical information, we designed and sent 240 copies of the
questionnaire to inquire teenagers’ opinions about plastic surgery. Finally, we
collected and analyzed the valid data, and made a conclusion.
III. Findings/ Discussion
III.1. The Definition of Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery can be divided into two main categories, one commonly referred
to as cosmetic surgery and the other as reconstructive surgery. Cosmetic surgery aims
to enhance the appearance of a person, while reconstructive surgery aims to repair
defects to reconstruct a normal function and appearance. (Nordqvist, 2014)
III.2. The History of Plastic Surgery
Reconstructive surgery techniques were being carried out in India around 800
BC by Sushruta. In the 16th century, Gaspare Tagliacozzi became familiar with the
techniques of Sushruta and reconstructed noses that had wounds during wars by
transferring parts of upper arm skin.
The term “plastic surgery”, originating from the Greek word “plastikos”, was
coined in 1798 by Pierre Desault. The first cleft palate operation was performed in
1827 by John Peter Mettauer, who was the first American plastic surgeon, executing
this operation with instruments that he designed himself. Harold Gillies, who was
considered as the father of modern plastic surgery, developed many techniques of
modern facial surgery during the First World War. After the war, he travelled
extensively to promote his techniques worldwide. During the Second World War,
plastic surgeons improved their skills and used their techniques to victims. In 1923,
the first cosmetic rhinplasty was performed, followed by the first facelift in 1931.
III.3. The Advantages and Disadvantages
III.3.1. The Advantages of Having Plastic Surgery
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
There are a few advantages of plastic surgery, such as it can improve your
appearance and self-confidence. That is the reason why Harvey (2011) said “having
an improved appearance and higher self-esteem will surely make you look younger,
you will socialize more, because of your confidence”.
III.3.2. The Disadvantages of Having plastic surgery
The disadvantages of having plastic surgery are more than its advantages. After
having plastic surgery, you are likely to have complications, such as infection, nerve
damage, scarring, tissue death or skin numbness, or even death. In addition to that, the
surgical results are probably inferior to the desired results. Moreover, the surgical
costs are very expensive. And patients need some time to take effect on them after the
surgery is done.
III.4. The Analysis of the Questionnaires
As is shown in figure 1, 60% of the teenagers think that the dressing and
appearance of celebrities in the advertisements influence them. From this chart, we
can assume that celebrities will impact on teenagers’ behaviors and viewpoints.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
We can learn how teenagers define beauty in figure 2. According to the statistics
of this question, most teenagers think inner beauty is more important than other
options. But the percentage of inner beauty (23%) is slightly larger than that of
physical appearance. Thus, we can assume that having inner beauty and physical
appearance fit in with teenagers’ requests.
According to this chart, most teenagers have no opinion (53%) on the trend of
plastic surgery. The second majority accepts the trend of plastic surgery, while the last
one doesn’t accept this trend.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
According to the fourth question in the questionnaire, most teenagers are
satisfied with their appearance. We can see from figure 1 that celebrities impact on
the aesthetic concepts of teenagers. However, this chart shows a few teenagers have
ever thought about having plastic surgery.
We can know about why teenagers want to have plastic surgery in figure 5. There
are 39% of the teenagers choosing to have plastic surgery because they lack
confidence, and the second reason is that stars influence them. Then, “good for
sociality” occupies 24% of the respondents, “be laughed at” is 7%, and the rest is 5%.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
In figure 6, we can know about why teenagers don’t want to have plastic surgery.
There are 52% of the teenagers not wanting to have plastic surgery because they
consider that nature is beauty, and the second reason is that they have confidence to
their appearance (21%). Then, “expensive fee” occupies 7%, damaging other people’s
impressions on them also occupies 7%, risk is 6%, appearance isn’t important is also
6%, and the rest is 1%.
Figure 7 shows the reason for causing the trend of plastic surgery. Most
teenagers think that the main reason for causing the trend of plastic surgery is to
pursue for beauty. In order to pursue an appearance of perfection, some people choose
to have plastic surgery. From this chart, we can assume that the increased demand for
plastic surgery causes this trend.
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
Figure 8 shows the mentality for those who want to have plastic surgery.
According to this chart, most teenagers consider that the reason people want to have
plastic surgery is mainly because of the lack of confidence. Generally speaking, if
someone is satisfied with his/her appearance, he/she won’t want to change it.
Therefore, we can assume that people who decide to have plastic surgery are
unsatisfied with their appearance and lack confidence in themselves.
IV. Conclusion
According to the results of our questionnaires, we learn that the dressing and
appearance of celebrities truly influence the aesthetic of teenagers. Although the
results of statistics show that inner beauty is valued more than appearance, appearance
still plays an important part in human life. The change of aesthetic and the pursuit of
beauty cause the trend of plastic surgery. Some people choose to have plastic surgery
to improve their appearance. Some people who choose to have plastic surgery are
mainly because they are not confident in themselves. Besides, from the questionnaires,
we learn that most teenagers don’t think that having plastic surgery will lose personal
characteristics. And there are many teenagers who don’t want to have plastic surgery,
because they consider “Nature is beauty.”
Through the research of the special topic, we realize more about teenagers’
intentions and viewpoints about plastic surgery. Choosing to have plastic surgery may
change a person's impression on you, but according to the statistics, the most
important is inner beauty. People tend to judge others by their appearance in their
lives. However, everyone should review his/her own aesthetic. Just as Cameron
Russell said that “image is powerful, but also, image is superficial’’ (Cameron Russell
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
1:42-1:47). If one person’s appearance is not accepted by other teenagers, we hope
that this research can let this person feels confident in himself/herself. We want to
reassure the notion that everyone is unique. Moreover, teenagers should enhance their
inner beauty instead of paying too much attention to the appearance, and then we will
become more and more beautiful naturally.
V. References
Adrian, F., & James, L. (2012). “Factors that motivate people to undergo cosmetic
surgery.” Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513261/
Donohoe, M (2006 ). “Women’s Health in Context: Cosmetic Surgery Past, Present,
and Future: Scope, Ethics, and Policy.” Medscape Ob/Gyn. 11(2). Retrieved from
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/542448_2
Nordqvist, C. (2014, September 15). “What is cosmetic surgery? What is plastic
surgery?” Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155757.php
Park, M. (2010, July, 27). “Celeb lookalike surgery requests raise red flags.” CNN
News.
Robert, W. (2012). “Is Cosmetic Surgery Necessary for Teens?” Retrieved from
http://www.creators.com/advice/tween-12-and-20/is-cosmetic-surgery-necessary-fo
r-teens.html
Russell,C. (2013). “Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I'm a model.” Ted.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4Xe6Dlp0Y
Satiowitz, J. (2010, June, 3). “Plastic Surgery in the Media Its Effect on Society.”
Retrieved from
http://ezinearticles.com/?Plastic-Surgery-in-the-Media-Its-Effect-on-Society&id=4
411247
Wikipedia. (2011). “User:Pewa B/Cosmetic surgery.” Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pewa_B/Cosmetic_surgery
Wikipedia. (2014). “The history of plastic surgery.” Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery
GRAND 整型外科〈2014〉。圖解！整型聖經：整型無罪，愛美有理，韓國權威
整型診所的 35 個良心忠告，讓你女神再造，整型零失誤！﹝張鈺琦譯﹞‧台
灣：三采。
方保芳〈1987 年 7 月〉。整形與美容臨床學‧台灣：渤海堂。
吳欣欣〈2012 年 12 月 19 日〉
。 美的偏差：整容易釀悲劇 隨是無命見人。香
港文匯報。
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An Investigation into Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic Surgery
VI. Appendix
Questionnaire
Hello! We are doing a research and the topic is “Taiwanese Teenagers’ Opinions on Plastic
Surgery”. It will take you some time to complete this questionnaire. This questionnaire is un-named.
The information you provide is only for the research purpose. Please feel free to answer the questions.
Thank you!
A. Personal Background
1. Gender: □ Male □ Female
2. Age: □ Under 14 □ 15-18 □ 19-22 □ 23&Above
3. Identity: □ Under Senior high school students □ Senior high school students □ University
students □ Fresh graduates □ Others __________
B. Questions
1. Are you satisfied with your appearance? □ Yes □ No
2. Do you think whether the dressing and appearance of celebrities in the advertisements influence you?
□ Yes □ No
3. What is your definition of beauty? (At most 3 choices)
□ Big eyes and creased eyelids □ Aquiline nose □ Oval face
□ Fair skin
□ Good shape □ Sweet voice □ Inner beauty □ Kindhearted □ Filial piety □ Others
4. What is your opinion on the trend of plastic surgery?
□ Accept □ Not accept
□ No opinion
5. Have you ever thought about having plastic surgery?
□ Yes □ No (If not, please skip to Question 9)
6. If yes, which part of your body do you want to have plastic surgery?
□ Eyes □ Nose □ Mouth □ Face □ The shape of your body □ Others
7. Why do you want to have plastic surgery?
□ No confidence □ Be laughed at □ The effect of stars □ Good for sociality □ Others
8. If you have a chance to have plastic surgery, do you mind letting others know you have had
plastic surgery before? □ Yes □ No
9. Why don’t you want to have plastic surgery?
□ Nature is beauty
□ Risk
□ Have confidence in your appearance □ Expensive fee
□ Damage other people’s impressions on you □ Appearance isn’t important
10. What is the reason for causing the trend of plastic surgery? (At most 2 choices)
□ The effect of advertisements □ Pursue for beauty □ Values change □ Trends in society
11. What is the mentality for those who want to have plastic surgery? (At most 3 choices)
□ Lack of self-confidence
□ Add his/her attraction
□ Too focused on his/her appearance □ Not satisfied with his/her appearance □ Others
12. If someone isn’t satisfied with his/her appearance and want to have plastic surgery, do you think
that he/she will lose his/her characteristics? □ Yes □ No
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