Olivia Novak
22 October 2014
Elizabeth Chakkappan
Integrative Seminar 1: Fake
What was once considered a “myth” that author Naomi Wolf wrote about in her
excerpt The Beauty Myth1, which talks about how women’s standards about their
physical appearance have drastically changed, has now become a reality. This reality is
proven through Alexander Edmond’s article where he writes about his experience in Rio,
Brazil with women who have undergone plastic surgery for non-medical related reasons.
I believe that this cosmetic surgery trend of going under the knife to beautify oneself and
boost an individual’s ego is much more widespread than just Brazil. Not only does Brazil
follow this trend but other cultures such as Americans and African cultures follow it as
well. Women in today’s world are more willing to follow this trend because they would
rather obtain “perfect”, Barbie-like features than stick to accepting their natural human
flaws.
The first image is of a 22-year-old Brazilian woman named Claudia Alende, which is
located on npr.org under the article name “In Brazil, Nips and Tucks Don’t Raise An
Eyebrow”. Claudia is one of many women who compete in the Miss Bumbum contest, a
contest that’s held annually in Brazil that crowns the woman with the best buttox, and
this year, 2014, she is the front-runner2. This contest allows women to get alterations
done anywhere on their body except their backside. She openly admits that she has had
work done on her face to make her look like the actress Megan Fox. In this photograph
Claudia is seen in a gym wearing workout clothes and emphasizes the fact that she has a
tiny waste and a large buttocks by raising one of her thin arms up to her pin-straight black
hair. Claudia is one example of what many women strive for in Brazil, to be recognized
for their physical attributes, and this recognition can only be obtained through undergoing
cosmetic surgery. It’s very evident where Claudia has gotten cosmetic surgery done, her
face being the main palette. She does not look natural in any sort of way, she obtains very
fake looking features and is okay with this because they deem as her beautiful in today’s
world.
Not only do Brazilians follow this trend, Americans are also guilty of following it as
well. This photograph was found on the huffingtonpost.com and was featured in an
article about how women feel they need to lie about their plastic surgery to their spouses3.
This image shows a woman whose face is bandaged around her forehead and underneath
her chin while her eyes are wide open, almost like large Barbie doll eyes, and her lips are
full and painted with red lipstick. She has surgical needles surrounding her face waiting
to inject her in different areas as she lies down with a fur coat collar cushioning her head.
The article talks about how women would rather lie to their spouses about them getting
cosmetic surgery in order for their husband to feel they are still married to a natural
woman who just takes very good care of herself. These morals are yet another example
that women now care more about being “perfect” than being accepting of their natural
being.
This final photograph was found on fashionbombdaily.com in a beauty discussion
about the rise of plastic surgery among the African-American culture4. Pictured in this
photo is former America’s Next Top Model contestant Jaeda Young-Englund during a
cosmetic surgery themed photo shoot that she was required to do for the cycle. In this
photograph Jaeda is seen lying down on a surgery table wrapped in medical bandages
around her neck, arms, upper torso and lower body. She holds a stiff face, as there are
multiple hands in medical gloves pulling at the skin around her neck and on the top of her
head implying that she’s undergoing cosmetic surgery. The theme of this photoshoot was
different types of model stereotypes and Jaeda was depicting the “Plastic surgery model”
stereotype5. Jaeda was a very iconic model on the seventh cycle of America’s Next Top
Model because she was of African descent. However, the stereotype she was depicting
showed that even the most beautiful women feel that their flaws overpower their natural
beauty and therefore this insecurity results in plastic surgery instead of acceptance.
Women wanting to achieve an ideal physical appearance by undergoing plastic
surgery is much more than a trend that stands in one area of the world, this addiction as
some may call it has spread globally. From areas such as Brazil and Africa to more
modernized countries such as the United States, going under the knife for cosmetic
reasons as opposed to medical reasons has become almost too popular. Women are now
becoming brainwashed to the fact that they need to look a certain way in order to feel
good about themselves and unfortunately this mental state will likely have no end
because of how easy and accessible cosmetic surgery is now. This trend is on the rise
because women in today’s world would rather spend thousands of dollars on looking like
a “perfect” Barbie doll than accepting whatever flaws they may come with and
embracing their natural forms as they should.
Notes
1. Naomi Wolf, “The Beauty Myth”, How Images of Beauty Are Used Against
Women, (1991): 8-19.
2. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, “In Brazil, Nips And Tucks Don’t Raise An Eyebrow”,
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/10/07/353270270/an-uplifting-story-brazilsobsession-with-plastic-surgery, (2014).
3. Vicki Larson, “Should You Divorce Over Cosmetic Surgery?”,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vicki-larson/should-you-divorce-overc_b_4266726.html, (2013).
4. Fashion Bomb Daily, “Beauty Discussion: Blacks and Plastic Surgery”,
http://fashionbombdaily.com/2010/07/14/beauty-discussion-blacks-and-plastic-surgery/,
(2010).
5. Wikipedia, America’s Next Top Model (cycle 7),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America's_Next_Top_Model_(cycle_7), (2006).