Plastic Surgery

I would totally get plastic surgery. A year ago, I would never have even thought to do it, I would even wrinkle my face in disgust at the mere thought of it, because its classified as 'taboo' in the Western society in which I live. A friend, 'Ther', told me that South Koreans undergo plastic surgery in their teens to late teens, as a sort of 'coming of age' ritual. The most common surgery in South Korea is double eyelid surgery, because it 'opens up your eyes' and 'makes you appear more youthful'. I do admit that, after the surgery, most women appear prettier than beforehand. The femininity that comes with larger eyes is what is so appealing about this surgery. Most Westerners that comment on this surgery have stated that they do it because Asian women want to look more 'white'. Same with when they comment on nose jobs in Asian women.

Fucking ignorant.

Sure, some Asian women may want to look more 'white', such as Vanilla Chamu, a Japanese model who was spent over $100 000 on cosmetic procedures to achieve her lifelong dream of being a French doll. To each their own, I say. But most Asian women DO NOT get plastic surgery to look more European! I get genuinely angry whenever I hear this. Asian culture is much much different to European culture, they have their own values and opinions of what is considered beautiful. Although some of these values are no much different to Western values, such as a slim jawline, long eyelashes, and a straight, small nose, we also have many differences. For example, Asian women do not want to be tanned, unlike Western women. Pale, soft skin is valued highly because of the youthful appearance it gives, and the implication of wealth (not having to work outside, or do manual labour), NOT because they want to look more 'white'. Women who like to tan don't get accused of trying to appear 'black' (excuse my political incorrectness) when they tan, so why should Asian women?

Vanilla Chamu - Japanese model

South Korea has a television show especially for plastic surgery makeovers, making the subject look drastically different. They choose to operate on people whose lives have been negatively affected by their appearance, and can make drastic changes to their appearance and lives. A news report I found on YouTube (link to video) talks about this from a Western perspective. The reporter said that contenders for this show has increased 12-fold over the past 2 years. This perfectly encapsulates the increasing popularity of plastic surgery, especially in South Korean culture.

I suppose that it does help the 'customer' feel much better about themselves, and improves their lives and how people see them, so yay for them. Its controversial in Western society, however, because they frown upon the unnatural alteration of appearance. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reported that 1 in every 5 South Koreans will have some sort of cosmetic procedure done, including adolescents.

I watched this great movie that 'Ther' reccomended to me, called 'Helter Skelter' (link to movie description). Its about a Japanese model who had undergone numerous black market cosmetic surgeries to be beautiful, and it shows her life falling apart because she was so self-absorbed in her own image. It was really touching, and, i admit, I cried a lot haha. It was originally a manga as well. It shows really well how corrupt the modelling industry can be, as illutrated by dialogue in the gifs below.

 I would totally get plastic surgery. There are a multitude of surgeries that anyone can have nowadays, I saw on YouTube a recording of a news program about a girl who got rhinoplasty because she was being bullied for her large nose. I think that the declining self-image of younger people these days is mostly attributed to the opinions of others. Even myself, I strongly believe that I would not have such terrible self-esteem issues if not for people telling me that I was this and that and that it was wrong to be that way. They have no right to judge people based on their appearance, when they have such a large personality flaw themselves. Although I do strongly agree that appearances make a major impact on one's impression of another, I don't think that it would be optimal to judge them solely on that aspect.

If I were to seriously consider getting plastic surgery, I would get rhinoplasty, double eyelid surgery on my right eyelid, lip augmentation to correct my Cupid's bow, and jaw reduction. If I was REALLY desperate to change my entire appearance to something I would really like, I would also do leg lengthening, the one where you take the bottom floating rib out to make your waistline slimmer, and breast implants.
Just as I was researching cosmetic procedures that are rising in popularity, I came across and article outlining the health risks of performing jaw reduction surgery. It comes with the risk of permanent facial numbness, or even paralysis. I haven't always been so self conscious of my jawline, it's only been in recent years that I've really started hating myself for it. It wasn't until people, whether it was at school, or my mum's Asian friends, started commenting on my appearance, that I really started to become so self-absorbed by my own appearance. It's definitely unhealthy. I have cried myself to sleep on numerous occasions because someone, usually someone who has no impact on my life whatsoever, comments on a little part of my appearance, such as 'haha can you even reach that shelf?' or 'wow, you really look like a baby compared to that girl over there'. Its so stupid. I'm so stupid. I'm so easily manipulated to be so strongly affected by little things like this.

Ugly.

Disgusting.