Thread: Cosmetic Surgery- make your life better

I have just seen this advert for Transform, which was emphasizing how happy people became after having cosmetic surgery.



This got me thinking- is this irresponsible or realistic? Is it saying that all your problems can be solved by looking hotter? Or that you will feel better about yourself and hence your life, if you change something you are unhappy with?

I once went to a consultation with Transform, because I hate my nose and chin, and have done since I was 11. It was a weird thing because the nurse seemed annoyed with me for being there, and said I didn't need it. However, she also told me I could benefit from Maxillofacial surgery. Hmmm. I came away a bit confused.

However, I also get VERY irate if anyone suggests that you have to look a certain way, that its your duty to be beautiful. I hate the expectations put upon people to conform to a certain look, and the way our worth is often judged by appearance.

But I am not against cosmetic surgery and think it could make all the difference to your confidence in some cases.

What do people think? I know a few performers who have had something done, how do you guys feel? Did it make a difference to your life?

Where is the balance between fighting "appearance fascism" and maximising your own confidence? Can you hate "the game" yet gain happiness by playing it successfully?

As a community often accused of undermining gender equality and promoting the objectification of women, I am particularly interested in how we feel about this.

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I understand why some people want to have cosmetic surgery, but personally, I can't imagine ever wanting to myself. Sure I'm not 100% happy with my weight, but I can diet. How I look is how I look, if there are things about my features that I didn't like, I accepted them a long time ago.

I think it also helps that my mother is absolutely one of my heroes, and if I can look half as beautiful as she does when I'm her age, then it's all good

Last night I started watching the channel 4 show Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice, on 4od. Definitely worth a watch for anyone considering cosmetic surgery. It really puts things in perspective on many levels and is actually quite balanced (in one episode a man with facial burns who is anti-cosmetic surgery, conceeds that the very large breasted girl he was paired up with for the show, had every right to want a boob reduction). I totally recommend watching the show.

I always think about the effect of braces and acne medication, both of which I've had. Totally cosmetic -- completely non-functional. But loads of people do it, and it can make a big difference in how you feel. So I say if you have the money and it makes you happy, then do it.

Hi honey
I think you need to do what makes you happy. I know a lot of big breasted ladies that really need the surgery as they have very serious back pain. I have never gone as far as going under the knife but I considered it. For years as I was a double A and did not need a bra and did not feel very feminine. I was lucky when I hit 26 that they just started to grow. I am so lucky as they did not cost me anything and they have not dropped.
I think if someone has had the right counselling before they go ahead with surgery and covered all there options. But I worry that a lot of these make over shows make people not realise what a big deal surgery is.
hugs
Diva x

I had considerable work done on my face when I was in my mid-twenties- eight pieces taken out of my upper and lower jaws and everything wired back together was just the start. Some people were horrified and didn't think it was necessary. Others felt there was too much pressure on me from my family to have it done (my father paid) for me to approach it objectively.

If I said that the process was anything other than lengthy and harrowing, I'd be lying. My heart stopped under the anaesthetic of the first major operation! If I said that there were no long-lasting physiological effects other than the outside appearance of my face, I'd also be lying. There is a lot of scarring inside my mouth which can be uncomfortable, especially if I inadvertently bite it. The skin around the corners of my mouth is far less resilient and splits easily, which is both painful and to a certain extent unsightly (to my eyes, at least).

Given my time again, would I opt for the surgery? You betcha. Possibly some of my reasons would be slightly different (family pressure would be completely disregarded - these days I am confident enough to be my own person and any problems they have with my appearance are their own) but the effect that the good results of the surgery had on my life cannot be overestimated. These days I smile. And whilst I still dislike having my picture taken by anyone other than a professional photographer, I'm not upset by the prospect of it. As a (now ex-) performer, that has made a huge difference to my life. Plus I don't look nearly as grumpy anymore. Even when I am... ;-)

I'm going to crawl back under my rock now. It's quite rare for me to reveal that much of myself to friends, let alone a bunch of strangers, albeit ones with so much in common.

Wednesday

Ok...

I have plastic/cosmetic surgery.

I am exmilitary and was playing games in Hyde Park sometime ago with some army lads. It involved a rugby ball, a lacrosse bat and lets jsut say I broke my nose so badly that it was sat under my eye.

GRIM

Emergency surgery meant I now have a nose that functions but sadly the inner workings are plastic. The spetum (the bit that Daniella Westbrook famously lost due to her coke habit) had to be rebuilt using a poly blend plastic. I also had my right cheek bone rebuilt with a mesh.

I have had surgery on various parts of my body due to an incident overseas whilst in the forces....not cosmetic as such but the surgeon was kind enough to use small stitches.

I dont mind if someone wants to change their body with surgery but its not the quick fix answer. The world is now fixated on appearance and has been for some time. If putting some silicone in your chest is the key to your happiness I feel very sorry for you. But realise that you up against the fixated ideals of society....WAIT thats far too deep for me

xx

This sort of thing speaks to horriby unhappy and insecure people. Some people are extremely vulnerable people who think all there problems can be solved if only they thiner, had a smaller nose, bigger/smaller boobs etc. They then go on to have surgery and find that it does little or nothing to change how they feel. For example there was a woman who went on 10 years younger , had dramatic plastic surgery, then had nervous breakdown because she totally lost her identity. We live in a society where are sold quick fixes to uor problems, when the truth is that self acceptance come sometimes be a long, hard and often painful road to go down.

Originally Posted by Glorian Gray

I have just seen this advert for Transform, which was emphasizing how happy people became after having cosmetic surgery.



This got me thinking- is this irresponsible or realistic? Is it saying that all your problems can be solved by looking hotter? Or that you will feel better about yourself and hence your life, if you change something you are unhappy with?

I once went to a consultation with Transform, because I hate my nose and chin, and have done since I was 11. It was a weird thing because the nurse seemed annoyed with me for being there, and said I didn't need it. However, she also told me I could benefit from Maxillofacial surgery. Hmmm. I came away a bit confused.

However, I also get VERY irate if anyone suggests that you have to look a certain way, that its your duty to be beautiful. I hate the expectations put upon people to conform to a certain look, and the way our worth is often judged by appearance.

But I am not against cosmetic surgery and think it could make all the difference to your confidence in some cases.

What do people think? I know a few performers who have had something done, how do you guys feel? Did it make a difference to your life?

Where is the balance between fighting "appearance fascism" and maximising your own confidence? Can you hate "the game" yet gain happiness by playing it successfully?

As a community often accused of undermining gender equality and promoting the objectification of women, I am particularly interested in how we feel about this.

I know two ladies and one gentlman who have had "plastic" surgery done, the man was not happy as he
looked the same as before the op. This was a nose job. One lady had a boob job
and LOVED it to bits as she had one boob smaller than the other and she used to get really upset about it.
The other lady had a boob job and dpent all her time complaining coz the guys now wolf whistled her and
made lewd comments about the size.................On a personal note, I went for plastic surgery on my rather
droopy and sad looking expression, unfortunatly they couldn't find enough empty coke bottles
for the job...............................Sigh.......


John

Hmmm I've known a couple of people who have had surgery for non essential medical reasons. Most loved the results - but none of them expected it to change their life or their personalities. Instead they knew it was cosmetic and didn't believe that if they only weighed less/had great boobs then their lives would be amazing. The one person that did believe that just found something else to obsess on.

It's medical procedures as a consumer product - if you have a consumer product you need a market and unrealistic images give you that market. I may be a bit odd but to be honest I prefer a figure with a bit of character rather than one sculpted to anodyne tedious "perfection". Lets hear it for small tits, big bellies and wonky noses!