As we have seen in class this past semester several ideas have come together for one last important topic to discuss and that is the topic of cosmetic surgery. This topic deals not only the women having to suffer due to medical authority telling them how to look, but also this topic has a freakshow twist to it. Women who are almost chomping at the bit to enhance and improve their distorted image all in the name of feeling better about themselves is something out of a horror show. It seems that society itself has only gotten worse with all the lessons we have learned from history, members of society are still hopelessly addicted to what the medical world can do for them, rather than what the medical has done and how it has affected us as a society in a negative way. I was almost speechless when I heard that celebrity joan rivers would rather die having plastic surgery than having any other type of surgery. I was shocked even further when no one even asked if she rather die of natural causes in a peaceful state. This in some small fraction is where we as a human race are at right now, mindless moldings of the medical world just waiting for our new and improved selves to become a reality. Personally, from a psychological background anyone who thinks they need plastic surgery should probably seek mental screening before hand. Perhaps negative body image is one of the great downfalls of our current society. What do you think?
-William Webster
First off, great post title. As for the main question, I find myself hard pressed to think of someone I know who isn't concerned about the shape of their body. I think it's easy to say that the media has caused this phenomenon. However, I wonder if the media hasn't just magnified people's existing insecurities? I find it somewhat far fetched to think body issues didn't exist at all before the rise of the media machine. I feel this is something worth devoting a significant study to: the history of body issues before popular media and if media has caused them or just magnified them.
ReplyDelete