Plastic Surgery Is There to Enhance the Appearance - Essay Example

Plastic Surgery The talk of being beautiful is one that is up for discussion. Many maysay that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder or that plastic surgery is there to enhance the appearance, but I feel as though it is beyond that and many have made it a mocker. Cosmetic surgery should only be for medical purposes or if seriously injured. The aim of the essay is to use different articles on the effects and reasons of the increasing practices of plastic and cosmetic surgery. The essay focusses mainly on, “The pitfalls of plastic surgery by Camille Paglia.” Paglia states, “plastic surgery is living sculpture: a triumph of modern medicine. As a revision of nature, cosmetic surgery symbolizes the conquest of biology by human free will. With new faces and bodies, people become their own works of art” (Paglia, 791). The statement illustrates that plastic surgery has changed the perception of beauty where the western woman has high regards when it comes to beauty since she was the first to hit entertainment industry hence women undergo plastic surgery to gain perfection. Later in her article, she argues on this perception since the process of plastic surgery is risk and one may end up turning from bad to worse if the surgery fails. In the case of cosmetic surgery, “what neurological risks be there in the long term use of Botox a nonsurgical toxin injected subcutaneously to paralyze facial muscles and smooth out fallows and wrinkles,” (Paglia, 792) most of the people undergoing cosmetic surgery do not have a clue of the risks of overusing Botox. Before undergoing cosmetic surgery, it is important to identify the risks involved in the overuse of the drug since the drug has severe consequences and irreversible making people from failed cosmetic and plastic surgery lose their true beauty. Most women undertake the surgeries to boost their self-esteem since beauty is a key factor in the current world, from the entertainment industry to other career professions. It leads to an increment in the number of people undergoing cosmetic and plastic surgery. Individuals need to weigh the risks involved since the failure of such surgeries will lower even their current self-esteem. Sexually entertaining industry requires women to have large breasts. In a case of Anna Nicole Smith, who was a striper, found it hard to entertain men in desirable hours due to her small breasts, thus she has 450 cc silicone sacs implants on each breast. This increases her breast size. She underwent five such operations to increase her breasts to 42DD size, but Renshaw claims, “She has been rushed to hospitals three times for swelling and infection” (Renshaw, 17) She may have achieved her goal to have large breasts, but her desire led to illnesses that she could have avoided if she was contented with her breast size. The continuous undergoing operations illustrates that plastic surgery is not permanent, hence requires the person to continue undertaking it in the future since failure to continue the trend will make the results diminish. This may lead to loosing breasts and it would be unpleasant. Failures of breast plastic surgeries may lead to leaks that are painful and expensive to remove and implant again. Cosmetic and plastic surgery is a booming business in the United States and other countries in the world. The expansion of the business has made unqualified surgeons and physicians to carry out the surgeries. The lack of qualification in the industry makes the surgeries more risky to the patients. The unqualified physicians lack the knowledge on the right quantities when administering Botox. The failed cosmetic and plastic surgeries lead to physical distortion leading to psychological demise due to the low self-esteem of deformity caused by failed surgeries (Renshaw, 21). The above negative implications associated with failed cosmetic and plastic surgeries portray that man should not play the role of God, the act of changing faces and bodies since the effects are irreversible, shameful and painful if they fail. Beauty being in the eyes of the beholder thus, mere stereotyping of beauty is unreal and unwarranted. Men and women should value true beauty without the stereotyping characteristics that have made people undergo the unnecessary surgeries that are risky and may cause death. This does not mean that cosmetic and plastic surgery is evil but it should be for medical purposes involving serious injuries but not for beauty. Serious accidents lead to deformities or soldiers may acquire serious injuries but the medicinal improvements like cosmetic and plastic surgery can help ensure the former face and bodies of the injured victim is restored (Sullivan, 13). In the circumstances of an injured victim, the victim attends hospitals with qualified personnel who reduce the risks. In the case of complication during the surgery, the victim will not lose self-esteem. Summary Several authors discuss the stereotypes that lead to increment of cosmetic and plastic surgery. The major causes of undergoing plastic surgery beauty. The western world illustrating the facial and body structures leads to women trying to become models as they are illustrated. The authors claim that women engage more in cosmetic and plastic surgery more than men do, but the gay community in men engages more than other men do in the plastic and cosmetic surgery. There are several cases where failures of such surgeries have led to illnesses that are painful and expensive to treat. Understanding true beauty is important to prevent undertaking the unnecessary risks in the future. Maintaining ones culture and morals is important as discussed in The Pitfall of Plastic Surgery since the lack of one’s culture and increment in sexuality leads to immorality hence the increment in these surgeries. The culture and morals of the Americans way have involved piercing and tattooing, but other sexuality issues arose in the 1960s where middle-aged women wanted to remain young as girls in their 20s to prevent their men marrying second wives (Peiss, 19). The essay has used articles related to impacts of plastic surgery, hence it is clear to note that beauty boosts self-esteem, but it is unwise to risk undertaking the cosmetic and plastic surgeries. The results are not permanent and there are high chances of failure that distorts one’s image and body. In conclusion, it is evident from the article that plastic surgery should be for medical purposes or serious injuries but not for the vain. Works Cited Paglia, Camille (2005). The Pitfall of Plastic Surgery. New York: Vintage Books. Peiss, Kathy (2001). On Beauty . . . and the History of Business. In Philip Scranton (ed.) Beauty and Business. Commerce, Gender, and Culture in Modern America. New York: Routledge, pp. 7±23. Renshaw, Helen (2002). Plastic Surgery Disasters. NW, pp. 16±19. Sullivan, Deborah A. (2002). Cosmetic Surgery. The Cutting Edge of Commercial Medicine in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Read More