Can we justify this mounting social and career pressure on women to undergo cosmetic surgery?

To open up this thread here is a glimpse of my view on this ever growing trend that is going to impact us all eventually in society and in our career opportunities as we grow older. I'm not the expert, just a thinking modern guy with views. I've tried to write openly and positively as a guy who finds the whole scenario to be a dreadful impact in terms of pressure upon modern women.

Firstly I must set the tone of my comment by stating that it is an individual's own right to decide if they want to embark upon these cosmetic procedures.

My own aesthetic view is that it is not pleasing to see altered faces or bodies, just for the sake of trying to hide the aging process. Mature women look great just naturally. Beauty is not so easily definable as any true artist of the past will tell you. Damn, I wish I could get it across to women that this awful pressure that one puts oneself under is a burden that only leads to constant dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Is it really vanity? I think generally it is more to do with insecurity.

For actors and actresses in Hollywood and models where there is a whole career and money earning potential to consider it's possible to appreciate the reasoning and motives. For those who have scars from injuries it is entirely understandable and indeed a G-D send.

However, is it conceivable that Penelope Cruz is going to lose my aesthetic appreciation of her beauty due to a few distinguishing aging features? No way!

Does Joan Baez and Patti Smith still look great? Yeah, for sure they do. Joan does not even dye her hair! Yet in both there is still an aesthetic beauty and character written over their countenances.

Here's a little advice: Too much sun will give you wrinkles earlier. Alcohol and coc aine are really terrible culprits. Not enough fresh air, too. I noticed that whenever I go out into nature and do some exercise my skin freshens up instantly.

Dear Women of our world. You will not find any pressure here to modify your bodies. I see the beauty of the human face in all its ages.

reply to post by Revolution9


So what do you think of her?

real life barbie

This is the future. Sad.

reply to post by Revolution9


I jive with that brother. I personally convinced a few woman not to get breast implants or to get facial alterations. Convinced a buddy of mine with a big nose not to get it fixed.

Build you self esteem and the outside shell wont matter. People like confidence, when you change your appearance for othe reasons than physical damage, it says the contrary.

reply to post by bitsforbytes


Very creepy, but this is some type of addiction..just as those people get some pleasure from body modification or tattoos.

reply to post by Revolution9

Actresses in Korea routinely have the corners of their jawbones sawed off. I visited a cosmetic surgeons office and he had a large jarful of his work on display. Talk about a stomach turning resume. Yechh!!

Very good thread topic and one that goes along with thoughts playing on my mind lately as a middle age woman. I have no idea why women choose to do some of the things we do. I suppose we feel men only appreciate youth and beauty,and that is what is focussed on,no matter how detrimental it can be to us. I sometimes feel the pressure to try to look younger than Iam,but at the same time because I have adult children and grandchildren I feel I need to act my age. It creates a conflict for me. It has also been stated that women have a silent competition with each other in their minds that compares their own worst traits to the best of other women. Very self defeating. So if I may include this question in your thread- What exactly do men expect of women as they age?

reply to post by Revolution9


I absolutely despise people who judge others by their physical apperance. That takes a special type of cruelty.
"Don't judge a book by its cover" is one of the wisest sayings ever.

reply to post by AccessDenied

What exactly do men expect of women as they age?

Grace. And the older you are ... the more of it you should have on display.
Wisdom, patience, and a genuine smile ... the kind that accentuates you've matured enough to wear crow's feet without shame.

Men ... meh ... they can handle the rest. LOL

reply to post by Snarl


I love that reply. Thank you.

The only ones who can justify that are the people who undergo the surgery, and with some life and accident deformed exceptions, none of them can, because the act was bred out of desire, insecurity, and physical lust.

I'm curious as to why you are focusing on women in your OP?

The truth that people are just too PC or deluded to admit, is that in most social situations, physical attractiveness/averageness/unattractiveness accounts for probably 95% of the way that someone is viewed, for both men and women.

You can be in denial all you want, and sagely chastise these people for 'shallowness', but ultimately all we want is to be loved and validated by those people that we are attracted to.

Thank you for such an eloquent and heartfelt post, Revolution9. I concur wholeheartedly. There is an inherent grace in aging naturally.

I think we as a society would go a long way to embrace the beauty of our differences, rather than to seek the status quo. Aging is not something to fear, and when discounted on the job front, much wisdom and experience is also forsaken. The need to conform to our enhancement culture, means that we lose something valuable in the process: acceptance of ourselves, and acceptance of others, at the core level.

Beauty is so very subjective; for whatever flaw one perceives in themselves, there are many whom would find your aesthetic pleasing. I am saddened that nose jobs, for example, are so commonplace; I find large noses to be regal looking, and a face loses a certain "je ne sais quoi" when this striking feature is modified.

I would rather appreciate the myriad of expressions that we humans consist of; than live in a society of carbon copies simply because the tech exists.

Chart by country

The most popular invasive (ie, surgical) operation is fat removal, or lipoplasty, reflecting a growing problem for a fattening world. Breast augmentation, the second biggest surgical procedure, is most commonly performed in America and Brazil. Buttock implants are also a Brazilian specialty, as is vaginal rejuvenation. Asia is keen on nose jobs: China, Japan and South Korea are among the top five nations for rhinoplasty. (This year, alas, no figures are available for penis enlargements because America's national body does not collect data on it.)

It's the next logical step on from make up, cleansers, moisturisers.......
They have most women completely addicted to the notion they must wear make up and designer labels and men are starting to be much more heavily sold all this crap too.

The scene from 'Escape from L.A.' always comes to mind when i think of plastic surgery and staying 'on film' I would love that button

How about a modern protest song to go with the op.

There's only one thing they can't fix and that's the hole in your head.

Hilarious.