Cosmetic Surgery/ Bridalplasty Artifact

Going Under the Knife

                The artifact chosen to represent cosmetic surgery has two parts. The first part is a video clip from the TV show, “Fox and Friends”. In the clip, the panel discusses a new reality show entitled, Bridalplasty, which focuses on women competing for a chance to receive plastic surgery for their wedding. In the second part of the artifact, the winner from Bridalplasty, Allyson Donovan, talks about her feelings about getting plastic surgery and what her motivations were behind competing on the show.

                The first part is the video clip of a review of the show, Bridalplasty. The panel reviewing Bridalplasty on “Fox News and Friends” consisted of a news anchor, celebrity plastic surgeon, and a psychologist discuss the immoralities this show produces for its viewers. The panel talks about the aspects of the show that makes it controversial. The clip describes the risks and cautious mentalities the viewers of the show should have. The cosmetic surgery that the panel refers to is assumed to be uneducated procedures decided by the women on the show. The women are thought to be consumed by the prize and do not care about the risks of the surgery. The commercial that the news channel features shows the many changes that women consider when choosing to have cosmetic surgery performed. An important topic from the discussion of the panel also includes talking about how women are changing their looks in front of the public eye. The clip gives a list of procedures that include teeth whitening, Botox/skin resurfacing, breast lifts and augmentations, liposuction, tummy tucks, and nose jobs.

                The second part is the interview with Bridalplasty winner, Allyson Donovan. In the interview, Allyson talks about her rationale for competing in the show, “I just wanted what a lot of women that are in their 30s that have had children want: to lose the baby weight, get rid of the belly pouch, erase wrinkles and have boobs that don't sag down to your belly button.” Allyson tells the interviewee about how she used to be slim and in shape when she met her future husband, but eventually she gained weight after having children and wanted to get back to her previous appearance. Donovan also talks about her health issue with diabetes and how it affected her opportunities to have cosmetic surgery performed, instead replacing the surgeries with healthy alternatives. At the end of the interview, Donovan admits she was not nervous about arriving to the wedding and receiving a negative response from the attendees and her fiancé. Allyson’s husband John was not able to see her while the show was being produced and had to read about her appearance on the internet. It turns out that he also became motivated because of the show and lost some weight as well.

                This artifact relates nicely to the works of “Women and the Knife” by Kathryn Pauly Morgan and “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughey. The artifact shows women seeing themselves as ugly and wanting to make themselves more beautiful to not only themselves, but to the male gaze that Gagné and McGaughey talk about. Even though Allyson’s husband was not there to motivate her to get these surgeries, the producers on the show, or the pressure of remaining beautiful for her husband was enough to make her want to get cosmetic surgery. Morgan in her piece talks about how women seek cosmetic surgery because their bodies fail to show youthful femininity. The media can also have a huge impact on women by showing what it means to be beautiful and desirable. Women that have had children want to achieve the look they had before and perceive themselves as looking like the woman before motherhood. The authority shown here comes from many different locations. The male gaze is authoritative because women are influenced by male figures to be beautiful and attempt to meet those standards. Media also plays a huge role in being an authoritative figure in shaping women’s minds. In this artifact, it is unknown whether or not these women have educated themselves about the risks of cosmetic surgery. Media serves as an example of Focault’s Panopticon, where these women are being watched by society and do not know if they are making the right decision or not.

                The first part of the artifact shows the numerous procedures the women are competing for to win. While it shows the number of procedures, it does not show the cost. In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan describes the total costs to have cosmetic surgery, which can range from $10,000-35,000 for the surgery alone. The show does not even hint at any costs of having surgery and aims at making these women “beautiful”. This first part of the Artifact mainly is focused on the inconvenience the media has on women’s minds. The news segment is aimed at dismissing the aspects of the television show while the show itself is promoting women being more beautiful through cosmetic surgery. Around the twenty second mark of the video, the anchor describes of twelve women competing with one another to get surgeries performed on them. This could be important when we remember the concept of women comparing their bodies with one another from “Women and the Knife”. At the 45 second mark of the clip, the end of the commercial says that “the winner gets cut”. Gagné and McGaughney talk about how cosmetic surgery is an instrument to control their bodies and lives. In this show, there is no feeling of self-control because these women are competing to get so many surgeries done to their body. Towards the 2 minute mark, the question of the male gaze arises again in a different form. The men are isolated from their women, only to see them at their wedding with all of the changes taking place. The male gaze should still exist here, and the women are trying to maintain a look that their husband, as well as any other male watching the program will be pleased with. Finally at the end of the clip, the comment regarding the women feeling regret after a few years of marriage brings up a controversial issue. This should make women think twice before experiencing cosmetic surgery because they may end up not appreciating their own look after some time has passed. Cosmetic surgery is not really worth the time and the money to spend if the woman will feel regret later down the road.

                The second part of the artifact is important to use because it shows the many different aspects of thought processes towards cosmetic surgery. Morgan describes these thought processes of women considering cosmetic surgery, “We see working girls, dental technicians, middle-class women who are unhappy with their looks or are aging prematurely” Donovan talked about her displeasure with the way she looked after bearing a child, “When I first met John, I was in the best shape of my life. I was finally down to a size 6 and happier than ever. I had pretty much been overweight my entire life and finally lost all my weight.” The change from being “beautiful” to being “ugly” in Allyson’s eyes caused consideration towards getting cosmetic surgery.  Regret was a common issue that was brought up in the first part of the artifact and is just as important in the second part. At this point in Allyson’s life after the television show, she is contempt with her appearance. If there was a second interview conducted 5-7 years after she competed for surgery, there could be some different answers that Allyson would provide to those reading the interview. Allyson said she enjoyed the process which could lead to other women being influenced based on the “shared beauty culture” Gagné and McGauhney talk about in their reading.

                Authority plays a key role in these women’s lives. The authority can come from many different directions and cause pressure to force these women into deciding cosmetic surgery as an alternative to obtaining beauty. This artifact presents the issue of authority very nicely and can create many discussions on why cosmetic surgery is both positive and negative for women.

Discussion Questions:

1.      1.  In Morgan’s reading, “Women and the Knife”, Morgan talks about the three paradoxes of choice. These paradoxes are, “The Choice of Conformity-Understanding the Number 10”, “Liberation into Colonization”, and “Coerced Voluntariness and the Technological Imperative”.  What is the importance of these three paradoxes of choice? Is there an apparent male gaze described in these paradoxes and does the male gaze present any problems in the three paradoxes?

2.     2.  In the “Bridalplasty” clip about the review of the show, it’s revealed that the winner of the competition will receive the ultimate cosmetic surgery and be revealed at the wedding to everyone. What is the importance of media in challenging these women to get plastic surgery? Could this show possibly persuade other women to get cosmetic surgery because of their “shared beauty culture” described by Gagné and McGauhney?

3.     3.  In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan passes on some information from a surgeon in the field, “Patients sometimes misunderstand the nature of cosmetic surgery. It’s not a shortcut for diet and exercise” (168). Motherhood along with many aging factors attribute to women deciding to get plastic surgery. Are women being perceived as more lazy getting cosmetic surgery? Do you think women are ignoring health risks that come along with cosmetic surgery?

4.     4.  In “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughney, the authors talk about how surgery allowed patients to be treated in a way that they perceived themselves, such as getting more attention from men, and feeling young. What are examples of positive perceptions that will result from surgery and what are some examples of negative perceptions? Do these negative perceptions outweigh the risk of getting cosmetic surgery? 

Darren Pope