A Cultural Obsession: Youth and Beauty

Magazine Article By Nicole Centers

Women & Media

Spring 2010

Professor Doris Cacoilo

 The search for everlasting youth and beauty is not a new tale,

but something that we have been obsessing over for centuries. Way

before botox and facelifts were available to the masses, the desire for

youth and beauty to last for as long as possible was a craving for

many. With a strong and fervent passion for mortality, Spanish

explorer Ponce de Leon (1460?-1521) was a man in fierce search for

the fountain of youth. And now in 2010, we are still desperately hoping

to find this illusory fountain (Juan 1).

http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/bigelow/classroom/cohen/poncede

leon/images/leon%20on%20island.jpg

Aging is no longer a natural stage of life, but a horror and

devastating progression. Why are we as a human race so set on

reversing the inevitable? The war on aging is on, but has America’s

obsession gone too far? “The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic

Surgery estimated that nearly 6.9 million cosmetic surgical and

nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2002.

The number of face-lift procedures increased by 6% from the previous

year (2001)(Demographics 1).” The statistics show that more and more

women are getting facelifts, and they also show that women are

becoming interested in the procedure at a younger age. Women are

now getting facelifts even as young as in their forties. It seems as

though our idealized image of what we should look like is getting

younger and younger. It is apparent that we live in a society that is

overtly and progressively obsessed with staying young and beautiful

for as long as possible.

Interest in cosmetic surgery is growing and women make up the

majority of people choosing to go under the knife. According to a

report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, “minimally invasive

procedures like Botox and wrinkle fillers are up 99 percent since 2000.

The survey by RealSelf backs this anti-aging trend, especially among

women aged 55+: of those who would choose cosmetic work if money

wasn't an option, one third (33 percent) would opt for wrinkle filler and

14 percent would choose Botox. Facelift surgery is of high interest by

baby boomers: among those 55+ who would choose to get cosmetic

treatments if money wasn't an issue, more than one-third of women

(36%) and one in 10 (11 percent) of men would choose a facelift in an

effort to retain their youth (New 1).” Now that plastic surgery has

become more affordable in recent years, people are undoubtedly

noticing its appeal. Now anyone can erase five years off their face, but

can plastic surgery truly erase the years of anxiety and uncertainty

that people obtain when trying to live up to society’s model of

perfection? Plastic surgery seems like a quick fix for surface flaws, but

does it fix the emotional problems and deep-seated insecurities that

continue to remain within?

With the overwhelming multitude of advertisements in the

media, there is no running away from the bombardment of plastic

surgery’s allure. There is indisputably an immense amount of pressure

for women to turn to plastic surgery, and the pressure is heightened

even more so by the countless amounts of television shows and

advertisements that depict how the “beautiful girl” is always the one

that “wins”. Not only can plastic surgery be dangerous, but it can also

become addicting because of the instant gratification it provides.

Women are continually getting procedures to keep up with this ideal of

beauty that is presented to them everyday. The beautiful girl gets the

job, the beautiful girl gets the guy, and the beautiful girl always wins. It

is sad that this is what the mass media is ingraining in the minds of

women.
http://media.cnsnews.com/resources/52938.jpg

Many women who are obsessed with looking younger and more

beautiful are going through with procedures that supposedly promise

them happiness and self-fulfillment, and they do this without even

thinking twice about the risk that accompanies these invasive

surgeries. There is a constant struggle to look a certain way and the

media is the main influence in molding these unrealistic ideals.

“Advertising normalizes certain body images, and then plays on the

perceived problems that people are left with after they measure

themselves against this mostly unattainable model. The result is that

many people are left with deep seated psychological insecurities about

themselves and their body image, often resulting in unreasonable

expectations in regard to cosmetic surgery. (Obsessed 1).”

http://haygeee.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/heidi-montag-before-and-
after.jpg

The mass media’s influence over what we categorize as beautiful is

something that we have become accustomed to, and all we are left

with is an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction and an increase in

insecurities. A lot of the reason why so many women turn to plastic

surgery is because of the emotional and psychological issues dealing

with body image. In a culture so obsessed with appearances and

perfection, it is no surprise that cosmetic surgery, in the end, does not

fill the real void of emptiness that subsists inside.

http://wikipageant.org/page/1/2/child_beauty/1/plastic+surgery+barbie

.jpg

This ideal image, the “beautiful girl”, is just that- an ideal. The

“beautiful girl” is not real and she does not exist in our reality. She is

just the standard of beauty that the mass media has decided to press
on us. We are constantly struggling to look like a person that is not

real, and so the question is, are we destined to look like creatures from

another planet? Has this obsession with perfection pushed us so far

that we no longer want to look like human beings? Those who are

obsessed will never be satisfied because removing the imperfections

will not alleviate the strong lack of self worth. In a world full of

messages about how to look, act, feel, and live, it is hard to loose sight

of what really matters and what can truly satisfy you. Plastic surgery is

not a means to happiness, but having a deeper sense of self worth and

love for who you are can be a start.

Works Cited

“Demographics”. 11/24/09. Surgery.com.

http://www.surgery.com/procedure/face-lift/demographics

“Juan Ponce de Leon: Explorer”. Enchanted Learning.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/deleon.shtml

“New Survey Shows Interest in Cosmetic Surgery is Up - Body

Contouring and Antiaging Procedures Top the List” . American Society
of Plastic Sureons. April 27, 2010.
http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Media/Press_Releases/New_Survey_Show
s_Interest_in_Cosmetic_Surgery_is_Up.html
“Obsessed With Beauty: The Rush To Cosmetic Surgery”
by Angie Rankman. Oct 2005. Aphrodite: Women’s Health.
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/cosmetic_surgery.html
Cover Image:
http://www.blogiversity.org/blogs/willburns1/plastic+surgery.jpg