Going under the knife for tummy tucks and nose jobs sends a negative message to females everywhere, Boston University women said.
MTV reality star Heidi Montag, famous for her role in ‘The Hills,’ recently had 10 plastic surgeries in one day to become ‘the best me,’ the 23-year-old said in a Jan. 13 interview for People magazine.
College of General Studies freshman Mary Gagliardi said there is no universal standard for determining the perfect-10 body.
‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s imperfect is another’s perfect,’ Gagliardi said. ‘Plastic surgery gives people the idea that if you’re not beautiful in your own skin you have to change.’
BU women’s studies professor Barbara Gottfried said Montag’s surgeries were largely a response to today’s advertisement-laden society, which emphasizes the ideal of perfection.
‘She represents an extreme spectrum that exists in our culture now,’ Gottfried said.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Sabina Ambani said Hollywood culture could be very influential on the female psyche.
‘People tend to follow Hollywood trends, and when they get plastic surgery, it tells everyone else they can get plastic surgery too and be something they’re not,’ Ambani said.
One of Montag’s most commented-upon procedures was her second set of breast implants. After already having had surgery to go from an A cup to a C cup, Montag had a second set of implants inserted to change her breasts into a DDD cup. Such surgeries send a message to young girls that breasts are attractive, when really the fixation on breasts is entirely cultural, Gottfried said.
The phenomenon of women being seen and promoted for their sexuality is nothing new. Playboy has been around since 1953 and pin-up girls were plentiful in the first-half of the 20th century. But today, things are different, Gottfried said. Society has become more visual as a result of pervasive media and the introduction of television, she said.
‘We have become a visually media-saturated culture and visual aspect is important,’ Gottfried said. ‘In a visual culture we do make judgments on how people look.’
The fact that Montag was already married to fellow reality star Spencer Pratt when she decided to have her second round of plastic surgeries surprised Gottfried.
‘It was about appealing to the American public,’ Gottfried said. ‘I think she does think it will further her career because she is talentless.’
Gottfried also said stars who are truly talented don’t have as much of a need to look perfect, but ‘as they become shakier in their talents, they have to supplement them.’
CAS freshman Julie Pfeffer said she agreed that plastic surgery was often the result of insecurities.’
‘I think it [is a sign of] insecurities unless it’s for a good reason,’ Pfeffer said. ‘But people who do it electively do it because they are insecure.’
Pfeffer said the numerous cases of plastic surgeries reported by the media send the message that money could be a solution to any problem.
‘It shows people that instead of living with things, money will fix what you’re unhappy with,’ she said. ‘Every middle school girl hates the way she looks, but we got out of there OK.’
Psychology professor Deborah Belle said the idea that money will fix imperfections, and the idea that there is a type of beauty everyone needs to strive for, are exactly the concepts advertisers want the public to absorb.
Belle said images of women and perfection in magazines are meant to make consumers feel bad about themselvesso they will buy the products advertised.
‘It’s depressing, looking at those images,’ Belle said. ‘We find them attractive at first; we experience a dip in mood as we begin to focus on the difference between our own appearance and that of a beautiful model in a magazine. That dip in mood is what the magazine wants because it readies us to buy the products that are advertised on their pages.’
Belle said the comparison that leads people to want to better themselves is almost unavoidable.
‘Humans inevitably compare themselves to other humans to figure out how we’re doing, and we’re distressed when we don’t match up,’ she said.
Belle also said the idealized image of beauty is impossible to achieve with plastic surgery because the notions of beauty are constantly being enhanced. However, she remains optimistic about the possibility of fighting the image of attractiveness put forth by advertisers.
‘The best hope to fight back is to get angry about being manipulated by advertisers who want us to feel insecure so that we will buy their products,’ Belle said.