Azkaa Chaudhry
Professor Patel
Writing 10-15
25 November 2013
Celebrity Culture and Plastic Surgery
In this 2013 era of technology and advancements most of what poses harm to the
American youth is labeled, banned, or regulated with sets of rules so that the youth may
be protected. However, there are still many aspects of American culture that need to be
revisited because they are posing too much harm to American youth. Red Carpet, Bling,
Luxury, Beauty, Fame- this is celebrity culture. Celebrity culture provides unrealistic
expectations for American youth on looks which in turn leads teenagers to want plastic
surgery and this problem needs to be solved by making a law that states that a person
must be 21 or older to get any plastic surgery for nonmedical reason done and classes
must be taken in order to ensure that the patient knows exactly what to expect from the
procedure.
Culture is thought of as far away countries, exotic traditions, international foods,
and distinct languages. However, some people fail to realize that even though Americans
may be associated with many cultures due to their diversity they all share one culture in
common which is pop culture or specifically celebrity culture. American teenagers have a
definition of culture that often comes from either their immigrant parents or from the
information they learn in their history classes. However, people fail to realize that Culture
is not only associated with various countries, but Culture is really “the behaviors and
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beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group” (“Culture”). The key
word here is “age group” because American youth are particularly influenced by
Celebrity culture and its negative consequences. A study showed that “36 percent of girls
who worry they’re not the “right size” said that comparing themselves to celebrities and
models contributed to their feelings of inadequacy” (“Discover...”). Plastic surgery is the
route people take to improve their looks, so celebrity culture influences young American
Teens to want to change their looks to look like their favorite celebrity.
To begin with, celebrity culture is the culture associated with celebrities, their
lifestyles, and their image in the media. John Maltby the author of “Celebrity Worship
and Incidence of Elective Cosmetic Surgery” describes the varying levels of obsession
and its correlation with celebrities can have differing results. The journal first describes
the kinds of extremes people can have when they are obsessed with Celebrities including
entertainment social factor which only relates to the “perceived ability to entertain and
become a social focus” (Maltby 484) and the second is Intense personal which can
include having personal feelings for the celebrity. The third factor included in Celebrity
Worship is Borderline Pathological which can include having fantasies and extreme
emotion for the celebrity. Celebrity worship is one major problem that can stem into
smaller problems. Young American teens being so emotionally attached to celebrities
makes them feel like they must physically appear like there favorite celebrities which is
the reason they resort to getting plastic surgeries to look more like a specific celebrity.
Plastic surgery is not a modern trend that just arose a few years back, in fact
plastic surgery generally has been around since 800 B.C. Evidence shows that about
as far back as 4,000 years ago facial surgeries were performed. According to
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Margaret Hartman, the author of “Should teens get plastic surgery to boost their self
esteem”over the past 10 years the amount of teens getting plastic surgery has
tripled even though the economy has suffered which shows that people do prioritize
plastic surgeries. During hard economic times people are very careful and watch
every dollar they spend so people do consider plastic surgery to be an important
aspect to their life which is the reason they spend money towards it. More recently,
in 2009, in the US more than 209,000 plastic surgeries for cosmetic reasons were
performed on teens aged from 13-19. The age group for people getting plastic
surgery is relatively low and majority of those who are getting plastic surgery are
teenagers.
Next, a problem that results from young teens idolizing celebrities is that they feel
the need to look exactly like them. This is a result of “Celebrity Worship Syndrome”.
Celebrity Worship Syndrome “isn't a condition confined to teenagers, and these
researchers believe one-third of the population has it to some extent” (Seifart). People
with this disorder or any obsession with celebrities do not realize that nobody looks like
that celebrity in the magazine, not even the celebrity themselves. Mostly all the photos of
celebrities have been manipulated through Photoshop to remove wrinkles, enhance body
features, change skin color, and mainly to alter the appearance of weight and make
celebrities look skinnier than they normally are (Hogan). Unrealistic physical
expectations on how to look are proving to be dangerous and unhealthy for teenagers.
American Medical Association research shows that “ nearly 50 percent of girls under the
age of six are worried that they’re fat, and by the age of 17, 78 percent of girls say they
are unhappy with their bodies. Certainly, low self-esteem is a problem, but there are long-
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term psychological and medical issues to consider as well” (Hogan). Society is realizing
that Celebrity culture has so many negative consequences including increasing rates of
plastic surgery.
One reason that teens should not get plastic surgery and it should be more
regulated is because teens are not physically capable of making mature decisions because
of their growing physical state. Lois M. Collins discusses the new trend where teens are
now turning to plastic surgery to solve physical deformities, correct congenital defects, or
make them look and thus feel better about themselves” (Collins 1). The most common
cosmetic surgeries include “nose reshaping, male breast reduction, fixing protruding ears,
breast augmentation and liposuction” (Collins 1). Collins makes a point by saying that
teens are too young too make proper decisions because their brain is not fully mature
until the age 25 .The advice Collins gives the parents is to make sure doctor’s credentials
are checked, consider emotional dangers, and make sure the teen’s growth is not at risk.
Plastic surgery does not have to be the only way to deal with bullies and tough situations,
in fact sometimes even after the surgeries people still tend to suffer because they had
false expectations regarding the surgery.
Margaret Hartmann the author of “Should Teens Get Plastic Surgery to Boost
Their Self- Esteem” discusses how over the past 10 years the amount of teens getting
plastic surgery has almost tripled. Even though the economy is not doing well, teenagers
are still getting their cosmetic surgeries done. Hartmann discusses that most teens find at
least one aspect wrong in their appearance and that only 10% of teens actually viewed
themselves as being good enough according to a survey. Parents want their children to
not be a victim of bullying as well as have healthy self- esteem, which is the reason most
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parents agree to give their children consent for plastic surgeries. Margaret Hartmann
makes a point by saying that adults get plastic surgeries for the “wow” effect but teens
get plastic surgeries to fit in and not get bullied. However, this is not true because there
are many adults who also get plastic surgeries to look like celebrities as well. Teens are
not the only ones who are influenced by the media and celebrity culture, adults also can
be. Hartmann predicts that if teens do not accept the way they look, then they will not be
able to mature properly and accept themselves. This is not only true for just appearance
but for all aspects of a person’s identity. A person must learn to accept not only their
physical appearance, but also their personality, flaws, imperfections, and any other aspect
that makes them unique so they can fully mature properly.
John Maltby the author of “Celebrity Worship and Incidence of Elective Cosmetic
Surgery” performed a study on 137 people to see if there is a correlation between
Celebrity Worship and Cosmetic Surgery. The journal first describes the various
extremes people can have when they are obsessed with Celebrities including
entertainment social factor which only relates to the “perceived ability to entertain and
become a social focus” (Maltby 484) and the second is Intense personal which can
include having personal feelings for the celebrity. The third factor included in Celebrity
Worship is Borderline Pathological which can include having fantasies and extreme
emotion for the celebrity The group used for the research was between the age range 1823 years old and the study included 51 males and 86 females and were given
questionarres to fill. The final conclusion of the research definitely shows that celebrity
worship is correlated to cosmetic surgery.
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Next, the article titled “Body Image Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery” by Diana
Zuckerman discusses the long term effects that plastic surgery can have. The rates of
plastic surgery have been increasing and the majority of people getting plastic surgeries
are relatively young. Zuckerman mentions the dangers that plastic surgery has on young
girls and how the most popular surgeries for this age group and gender are nose
reshaping, breast implants, and liposuction. All these surgeries have potential risks and
side effects, for example breast implants can lead to hematomas, hypertrophic scarring,
and infection. Besides the physical dangers of plastic surgeries, there are also many
emotional risks to consider as well including low self esteem because people expect too
much from the surgery. So all this information has people really rethinking is plastic
surgeries for teens is even appropriate. Zuckerman feels that teenagers should rethink
their decisions to get plastic surgeries because they’re bodies are physically still
maturing, Zuckerman should also mention along with physical maturation teens still have
not reached emotional maturation and their brains are not fully developed which could
cause them to make irrational decisions. In the article, Zuckerman considers pleasing a
boyfriend an inappropriate reason for getting a plastic surgery.
A solution to the problem of young American Teen girls getting plastic surgery is
to create a law regulating plastic surgery laws more. The solution to the problem of
young teens wanting to get plastic surgeries done to look like celebrities is to have a
law that forces you to be 21 or older if you want to get plastic surgery done for
cosmetic reasons only. Minors cannot get plastic surgery even with parental consent
because parents can be emotionally blackmailed. For example many parents gave
their children the permission to get plastic surgery as a birthday or graduation
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present and this is an important decision that will influence the teen for the rest of
their life and they should make it themselves when they are old enough. The
“permission” itself is considered the gift. There should also be a required class
before anyone has a cosmetic surgery done to teach the patients about dangers, side
effects, and any other cons of the procedure. The class must be taken six months
prior to the surgery being performed. It is a three day class series and the three days
do not have to be taken consecutively, they can be taken over the six month period
separately. The first day of class will be about the general procedure you are going to
get done and the various elements that can go wrong. The second day of class will be
about the side effects and physical dangers it can cause. The three days do not have to be
consecutive but all three sessions must be attended prior to having the surgery done. The
classes are free and an hour each given at the hospital where the surgeries are going to be
performed. While it is true that videos are shown to patients who go in for plastic surgery
now, this is more effective because there is more information being given to the patient
so they can now exactly the expected result of the surgery.
This solution will be very effective because it gives people the chance to
reevaluate their decision and decide if they really want to get plastic surgery. Laying out
the pros and cons for the patients will really make them decide for themselves if the
decision to get plastic surgery is even appropriate or not. Increasing the age for getting
plastic surgery for non-medical purposes will also be effective because whoever is getting
the surgery will be older and more mature. Plastic surgery is a big decision for anyone’s
life and increasing the age requirement and requiring them to take a class is an effective
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solution because it will give them time to analyze their decision while learning the effects
of their decision.
Celebrity Culture has a very dangerous effect on young American Teen girls.
They are at a very critical stage in their development because they are still growing and
mature. For them, seeing beautiful Celebrities idolized everywhere makes them feel like
they need to look like those celebrities in order to properly fit into society. Society is also
to blame because they are the ones who idolize the Celebrity culture and the celebrities
are considered much more beautiful than an “average” person. Society needs to stop
portraying to teens that beauty is the way to success and that Celebrities are the way they
are because of their looks. The obsession with celebrity appearances is making more
teens resort to plastic surgery as a solution to looking like celebrities.
It is reasonable to conclude that Celebrity Culture is a negative influence on
young American Teen girls. Celebrity culture puts pressure on girls to look and act a
specific way. In order to better fit in and be more accepted in society many teen girls are
resorting to plastic surgery to look like specific celebrities. Many girls get body parts
surgically improved to look exactly like their favorite celebrity. Young teen girls are not
capable of making this very important decision because their brain is not fully matured
and they react more on emotion than logic. An effective solution to this problem would
be to increase the age requirement to 21 and outlaw non- medical plastic surgery for
minors. The second part to the solution was to create a 3 day required class that all
patients must attend before the plastic surgery is performed so they can be more educated
and more aware of the consequences of the surgery they are about to get done. This will
give them time to evaluate their decision. All in all Celebrity culture provides unrealistic
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expectations for young American teens who then use plastic surgery as a tool to look like
Celebrities and be more socially acceptable.
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Works Cited
Collins, Lois M. "Teens Turn to Plastic Surgery; Experts Tackle the When and Why.
Deseret News. N.p., 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
"Culture." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
"Eating Disorder Statistics." Eating Disorder Statistics. South Carolina Department of
Mental Health, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
Hartmann, Margaret. "Should Teens Get Plastic Surgery to Boost Their Self-Esteem?"
Jezebel. N.p., 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.
Hogan, Heather. "Doctors to Magazines: Stop Ruining Young Girls’ Lives with
Photoshop." AfterEllen.com. N.p., 12 July 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.
Maltby, John. "Celebrity Worship and Incidence of Elective Cosmetic Surgery: Evidence
of a Link Among Young Adults." Journal of Adolescent Health 49.5 (2011): 48389. UC E Links. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.
Seifart, Carly. "Help for Teens Obsessed with Celebrities." GlobalPost,n.d. Web. 24 Sept.
2013.
Zuckerman, Diana. "Home Health Resource Center Body Image Web Content Body
Image Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery." Ourbodiesourselves.org. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Oct. 2013.