Plastic Surgery the Masochistic Tool of the Century

The Masochistic Tool Of The Century

The stillness in the air seemed to be restraining my regular breathing. With all these ladies dressed in black, silently committed to their seats in reverence to the dead boy, the scenary was not much of a comfort to my depressed mood. Oddly, I found that my attention had suddenly drifted from staring at the rows of elegant shoes to the faces of all these women in the room. Curved noses, puckered lips and round plump cheeks.... That was such a striking similarity between the endless rows of women that I had to stop and stare once again. Probably a face or two broke the trend, but generally the faces looked like odd clones of each other.

Ironically, I found myself chortling back a fit of giggles that had bubbled up in my chest, for I had let my imagination roam about again: Would all human faces become exact copies of a single beauty model? How could we tell each other apart in a couple of decades when no individual characteristic would stand out in our faces? How powerful is the underlying psychology of plastic surgery? How soon would it be before Meryl Strip or Barbara Strident had the looks of Pamela Anderson? How much is too much for us humans?

This incident was probably my first true experience with the trend of plastic and cosmetic surgery; a trend that seemed to be limited to TV stars but has become one that rippled at an exponential rate throughout our society. Plastic surgery is no longer a superficial topic that could be handled lightly. The rate of its occurrence and its outcomes are not only baffling to me on the observable materialistic aspect. The actual psychology underlying this addiction to commit to such surgery has grabbed my attention. How far are people willing to reach out to make use of their inherent nature for change?

Plastic surgery, as it is commonly being put to use, is no longer a medical remedy but an epidemic that has been gradually integrated into our psychology in an unethical manner and under false pretenses. Doctors use the white robe as an "ethical" and professional cover-up for encouraging the public to make use of plastic surgery as a tool for personal disfigurement.

As a general outlook on our human nature, we can clearly decipher certain characteristics of our existence that have clearly outshone others. One such aspect is change: The human race is one that is open to change. Many might disagree on this claim; however, the essence of this characteristic must be understood in terms of human capacity to sustain an existence in an ever-changing environment by learning and personally adapting in a way that would ensure their survival.

This having been said, I can now relate this innate property to plastic surgery in order to better understand the underlying psychological aspects of this field. The central assumption of this research is that the desire and need for plastic/aesthetic/cosmetic surgery has been classically conditioned into us; plastic surgery has been strongly associated with beauty and social conformity, topics that arouse positive feelings in us humans. Once this strong association has been made, people have learned that undergoing such surgery will ultimately fulfill their need for change. However, people are ignorant of the fact that not only has this desire for change become an addiction that has peaked to extreme measures, but also that plastic surgery could be unlearned!

Plastic Surgery is not a new born field of medicine. Its early origins date back to 2000BC in India, when it was used for ear reconstruction and rhinoplastry. This medical field was not only limited to the Far East; but it was dispersed over many civilizations namely the Romans and Ancient Egyptians. However, it was not until the First World War that this type of surgery started to grasp the attention of the public. In a desperate attempt to up heave the spirits of disfigured soldiers. The media publicized the reconstruction procedures and it was from this point that the field of plastic surgery took quite a turn.

It is vital to distinguish between the medical reconstructive surgery and the plastic/aesthetic/cosmetic non-medical surgery. The former type still remains inconspicuous compared to the latter; which would not have boomed in our society had it not been classically conditioned into us. Several factors have led the public to associate beauty and "perfect" self-image with happiness; unaware that once this association has become deeply rooted in our psychologies it could transform into a self=destructive plague.

There is a new public visibility of plastic surgery: any TV star, pop singer or model that pops up on a magazine cover or in a TV show is the current "must-have" beauty image. From boosting soldiers' self-esteem to transforming females into self-image addicts, the media went slightly off-course. The media is the primary tool used to integrate the need for plastic surgery with the broader framework of change. Firstly, magazines commonly post statistical surveys that indirectly advocate plastic surgery. For example, Glammour magazine posted a survey that indicated that 55% of males would gladly welcome their female partners to submit to such surgery. Apart from utilizing magazines as a journal for current beauty trends, the media has broadened its work to encompass reality TV shows( such as "The Swan", "Beauty Clinic" and "Extreme Makeover"). Such shows are currently booming on national and international channels; a situation that plants an unconscious desire in viewers to associate all plastic surgeries with the positive outcomes displayed on TV; such outcomes are only exaggerated claims intended to create false expectations. Although proponents of such shows argue that they are being objective in filming the actual procedures and the post-surgical outcomes, these outcomes never truly encompass the actual experience and primarily serve to bring out viewers' sympathy towards the filmed patients and stir their own courage to undertake such procedures. When I refer to the media's influence as being widespread, I am referring to the fact that plastic surgery is being mostly publicized on the Internet. From facilitating medical counseling online, to allowing an easy access to bank loans in order to cover the costs of such surgeries, the situation has gone past mere brainwashing! It has become more of an outright order to submit to such surgery. Outrageous online conversations posted on related blogs, not only frame the atrocisity of such brainwashing techniques but also carry an implication to the readiness of patients to sacrifice their lives for the sake of beautification needs.

The media has had such an up hand in advocating aesthetic surgery that some doctors have traded professional services for media coverage such as laser hair removal and even free surgical procedures. This highlights a new drawback to the booming field of plastic surgery: poor medical ethics on the part of the doctors. Unfortunately, the competitive atmosphere resulting from such an exponential public need for constant beautification procedures has driven doctors out of their way in order to ensure high personal benefits. The ethics of plastic surgery require that the specialized doctors perform an analysis of the emotional state of their patients and obtain a more or less clear insight about what the patient expects or desires as an outcome. "The moral legitimacy of Plastic Surgery is judged by its impact on the patient as a person." (Gilman, 1998) However, since the nonmedical branch is primarily based on false consciousness of the patient, "with purely external characters for which the only guidance is the patient's whims (Sanvenero-Rosselli, 1931), the doctors end up exploiting the patient. In a way, plastic surgeons have become analogous to salespersons. The merchandise (the beauty in this case) is a subjective matter. The salesperson might not find it agreeable, yet is inclined to exert an effort into mollifying this product to his customers. Similarly, doctors never seem to be able to say no. Wether an old lady desires to be the next Britney Spears clone or a young man decides to transform himself into a new Michael Jackson, surgeons avoid an outright disapproval even in the case of unorthodox requests; on the other hand, the limit themselves to giving an alternate option for the patient. Therefore, with no professional medical assistance and judgment, a patient is left to discover how destructive a tool of personal disfigurement plastic surgery is.

Truth be told, few doctors still maintain medical ethics above personal gain and professionally refer patients to a qualified psychiatrist, after noting certain signs of severe psychological disorder. The most prominent type is the Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a mental disorder that belongs to the obsessive compulsive disorder family. Put in simple words by the Italian researcher Morselli it is a fear of ugliness (dysmorphophobia). Such a disorder is brought about mainly by environmental factors: the commotion linked to beauty, self-image and plastic surgery. This leads patients to obsessively focus on some physical defect of their appearance (which in most cases subtle or even non-existent) and intently perceive it as a deformity. Another extreme symptom that has developed on the expense of plastic surgery is which is basically a desire for intentional disfigurement through amputation and trepanation. Bioethicist Carl Elliot and surgeon Robert Smith view plastic surgery as a tool of personal disfigurement. Persons who have developed such psychological symptoms are driven by inner urges, better termed as disturbances, that have led then to undertake fatal actions such as performing the surgeries themselves upon being deprived of medical assistance due to their unethical urges. Sadly, despite the vast amount of time and resources being spent in the field of plastic surgery, only minimal amounts are being invested in finding hard-core treatments for such symptoms. Currently treatment relies mainly on psychotherapy and cognitive behavior therapies.

Mercedes cars are also well-publicized through the media. But why haven't all people given up on their brand of cars and lusted after owning a Mercedes?! With all due respect to car-lovers, the percentage of individuals desiring a new car in our society is much more subdued than the desire for body modification. This indicates the strength of the impact that plastic surgery has left: it reaches down to a person's most intimate and central desires that he finds himself thinking twice before dismissing the urge to subdue to it. Humans, especially teenagers, are vulnerable to change; put more accurately, living in a society and interacting with others on a daily basis places us in a constant psychological need for attention from our fellow peers. This attention is most easily attained through physical change; or so we perceive. "People have the feeling that they can't control their own future; working hard and being good citizens won't get them anywhere. That's why beauty has become the main value of the market," suggests Argentinean psychiatrist Marcelo Hernandez (Gilman, 1998). Nowadays, people rush into the surgeon's clinic high on unrealistic expectations. For instance, they presume the surgery will make them more confident, gain them better respect with others, change how people react to them, erase the pain of being teased and harassed due to their looks... (Kita, 2007). Simply, patients believe that the surgery can work wonders with their personal life, boosting their self-esteem and saving them from the dark waters of depression. Basically, this is the essence of plastic surgery today. Change, change and more change! Furthermore, this deep psychological need can be superficially fulfilled not only through subtle aesthetic operations but also through other forms of body modification such as tattooing and piercing. Such types of body modification scream-out individualism rather than social-conformity. However, both forms simply boil down to one psychological aspect: the need for attention. This is how plastic surgery has weadled its way into our inner beliefs of ourselves. Beauty has been equated with happiness and aesthetic operations are therefore the easiest ticket towards the ultimate goal of happiness. But how far are people willing to go to reach the desirable state of happiness? What beauty-model is the ultimate satisfactory goal; bearing in mind that beauty is subjective and variant across cultural contexts? It is part of our psychological nature to require a certain degree of belongingness and social-conformity as part of our collective personality, yet utilizing plastic surgery as a tool for social acceptance is certainly not a means that justifies the ends. Such is the case of the five-year-old Down syndrome girl who had undergone 6 surgeries to correct the facial characteristics of her syndrome; such cruelty was administered by her parents themselves, unable to accept the fact that their only child would not be superficially normal by UK society standards.

Throughout history, philosophers such as Decartes and La Vater, have long argued the matter of the mind-body duality. The ancient Egyptians believed that healing the body was comparable to healing the soul; for the sole cause of unhappiness is the physical state of the body. Moreover, the renown psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud claimed that: "Patient's body is what the patient's mind deems it to be." Psychology and aesthetic surgery have long been two topics molded and intertwined into each other: A beautiful body housed a healthy soul and ugliness was more of a cure to the ill character. Human enhancement advocators claim that modification of bodily aspects is not a not a matter of vanity but a quest of adapting to a changing environment. Although it holds true that perfection is unattainable, yet improvement is... So why not improve ones physique in order to achieve self-satisfaction? Advocators of this field also claim that plastic surgery is not a matter of self-centeredness and obsessiveness with beauty; rather it is analogous to tidiness and cleanliness. Combing ones hair or adorning presentable clothes never made anyone more or less vain!

Although new technologies such as "Virtual Plastic Surgery" allow patients to have a more realistic picture of their post-surgery features, the actual results are frequently deviated from this picture. Patients remain at a high risk of being stuck with an undesirable feature or a more or less negative outcome as opposed to their unmet expectations. In such cases the patient is prone to fall into self-consciousness and unease with their modified features. This is where the operation backfires: instead of appealing to their inner needs for change and fulfillment of their definition of beauty, patients fall back into depression and develop repressed grudges that push them a step deeper into psychological disorders. Furthermore, as Dr. Najjar had mentioned in her interview: "plastic surgery is like winning the lottery; patients will return to their former psychological state of low self-esteem shortly after the surgery, such effects are as superficial as the modification itself." (Najjar, 2008) However, once the soul is punctured by unhealthy doses of low self-esteem, how long can it endure?

"God is beautiful and loves beauty" (The Holy Qura'an ) God bestowed each individual with certain features that contribute to his individualistic beauty. Going out of our way with body modifications, with financial loans and unpredictable consequences, is certainly not God's definition of beauty. Certainly, it remains only genuine to admit the need for reconstructive surgery: surgery performed to enhance abnormalities, birth defects, tumors and other diseases.

My reflection simply stared back at me for several minutes as I stood rooted in front of the mirror. I studied my every feature carefully: a little nose job here and some silicon in my lips didn't seem to be such a bad idea! Yes I have considered plastic surgery and probably the majority of the public have done so; a natural consequence to the trend that has swept our society into a beauty-crazed frenzy: Beauty as the only ticket to happiness screams out of every magazine cover, every TV show and soap opera.

It goes without saying that Beauty does play an important role in first impressions; however, a top model that cannot get past the topic of her looks will be as much of a social outcast as the most hideous person by "current standards". Beauty is not perfection, it is harmony; harmony of outer features and of the soul. No perfection exists for it is a matter of opinion: Western standards for beauty differ greatly from those adopted in the Far East; but does that mean that all Asians must conform to Western standards?! Certainly not! Furthermore, if technology is yet incapable of inventing some sort of time machine, no number of aesthetic operations will preserve a beautiful lady forever.

For the past decade or so, esthetics has greatly been emphasized in our societies. This situation was easily echoed in our inner souls and amplified our inherent nature for change and our impulses for being socially accepted. However, humans are not just animals driven by impulses but have been blessed with enough brain power to be capable of making a choice. Focusing on this aspect of our nature is with positive and negative outcomes. The latter resides in being driven by our impulses to take control of our life and by this I mean the enhancement of personal physique. On the other hand, the positive aspect resides in finally being aware of the lethality of the "plastic surgery epidemic" and choosing to snap out of its hypnotic effect. Just as this trend has been classically conditioned into us, we are capable of extinguishing its effects. Being classically conditioned to the happiness that resides in our dynamic human souls will not only ensure a more educated and intellectually diverse society, but it will also uproot the chance that walking down the street would be comparable to walking down an aisle spanned with mirrors that provide a perfect reflection of oneself!

Works Cited

Caplan, A. (2007). Bioological and Genetic Human Enhancement will improve Human Life. Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Gilman, S. L. (1998). In S. L. Gilman, Creating Beauty to Cure the Soul: Race and Psychology in the Shaping of Aesthetic Surgery (p. 179). Duke University Press.

Kita, N. (2007, December 20). Retrieved from About.com.

Najjar, D. N. (2008, 11 12). Plastic Surgery Guidance questions. (J. A. El-Hindi, Interviewer)

Sanvenero-Rosselli, G. (1931). In Textbook Of Rhinoplastic Surgery.

The Holy Qura'an .

Tressider. (2008). Some Web Sites Promoting Body Modification Should be Censored. Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Turner, G. (2003). Teen Decisions: Body Image . San Diego, California, USA.