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| Feminism and Plastic Surgery |
Intro ...
In January 2004 year Olivia Goldsmith, author of "The First Wives' Club" died at the age of 54 as a result of complications arising from plastic surgery. There are now reality and fictional television shows set around plastic surgery, this month's topic looks at "feminism and plastic surgery".
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Quotes ...
"There has actually been a lot of debate in feminist circles about whether plastic surgery can be feminist. Ms. magazine gave Cher an award for being an authentic feminist hero because she's someone who decided what she wanted to be and went out and created herself. People call me hard-line because I'm critical of plastic surgery and anti-feminist because of that criticism -- people say women should be able to do whatever the hell they want, and isn't that what the battle was all about? My feeling is that feminism tried to create a world where no woman would feel the need to get liposuction. But I think that more feminists than we would ever conceive of have probably had different surgeries -- they just haven't told us." - Elizabeth Haiken.
I'm torn every day between my feminist ideals and the impulse to just - well, lighten up. I don't know where the dividing line is between adorning and decorating our bodies to add colour and fun to the world, and changing our bodies to present a false image to be acceptable. Where does one end and the other begin? It's a tricky one. On the one hand I refute the concept that there is an unchangable standard of beauty and it's only natural and right that women should try to attain it. But on the other, I'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with having a fashionable hair cut, being interested in trendy clothes, or being bright and colourful. - Catherine Redfern
"In the 1980s it was evident that as women became more important, beauty too became more important. The closer women come to power, the more physical self-consciousness and sacrifice are asked of them ... older American women who have made advances within every profession are being forced to see the signs of age (the adjunct of male advancement) as a 'need' for plastic surgery." - Naomi Wolf
"You've got to have breasts to be successful. Every other person you see on television has had implants." - Jenna Franklin, 16 yrs old.
"Beauty used to be a gift bestowed upon the few for the rest of us to admire. Today it's an achievement, and homeliness is not just a misfortune but a failure. Not every woman can be made into a beauty queen; but with diet, exercise, and surgery, any woman can become attractive and remain preternaturally young--or wide-eyed, anyway. Like wealth, beauty is supposedly accessible to everyone these days; so ugly people, like poor people, are apt to be considered responsible for their plights." - Wendy Kaminer
"I'm all for the fundamental right of women to do what they want with their bodies and make their own decisions about their lives. BUT I believe there is a more fundamental issue here; that what's behind this are some unquestioned assumptions about womens bodies that our society subscribes to. These assumptions are: 1. Something is fundamentally wrong with the female body and it's natural to be unhappy with it. 2. If we're unhappy about our bodies, we should change it. And, women are changeable creatures." - Catherine Redfern
"The simplest way to solve the issue is for women, or anyone, to appreciate their uniqueness, which is really simple, but who can do it? How do you get to the point where you don't judge yourself against media images?" - Sharleen Johnson McCooey
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Articles ...
Salon recently spoke with Elizabeth Haiken, author of "Venus Envy: A History of Cosmetic Surgery" (Johns Hopkins University Press) about surgery junkies, feminism and -- hold your breath -- labiaplasty. "It's become so much a part of our culture. Even if you don't read articles about it, you can't help but see the ads. You look at the list of conditions that can be corrected and it's very difficult not to think of yourself in those terms of "what can I correct?" or "should I take care of these thighs?" We are all so aware that solutions are available. I'm almost 35, and I don't know any woman around my age who hasn't thought about it or made a joke about it. A lot of people might choose not to do it, but that doesn't mean they aren't aware of it and that they don't wonder if they might be losing out on something if they chose not to do it." http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/1998/01/14feature.html
A book review of Haiken's Venus Envy. can be found at this website : http://www.salon.com/books/sneaks/1997/11/21review.html
Channel 4 showed a documentary called 'Perfect Breasts', investigating the apparently growing phenomenon of young women opting for cosmetic enhancement. The programme featured women and girls explaining how they were unhappy with their bodies, and how they 'just want to look normal.' Interesting. The bit I remember most is a scene of two sisters, both who'd had breast implants, eating dinner with their parents and discussing the possibility that they may never be able to breast feed a baby. The younger sister said it didn't bother her in the slightest, that the very idea of her breasts being used to nourish a baby was repulsive. "They're sex objects, to me" she explained with gusto, giggling, "Sex objects!" Her father mumbled nervously in protest. "Most natural thing you can do, breast feeding..." but he was soon drowned out by the chatter from the women. It struck me as humorous, strangely sad, and also telling about different attitudes to the humble breast. So, breast surgery is just a type of makeover for girls who want to 'look normal'. Nevertheless, some women have claimed that getting a boob job is a feminist act…. http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/surgery.live?skin=textonly
A mother today defended her decision to offer her teenage daughter, Jenna a breast enlargement operation for her 16th birthday. Jenna said she had asked her parents to buy her the breast enlargement as a 16th birthday present - and that she had been thinking of having implants since she was 12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1100471.stm
Listening to people praise the cosmetic benefits of a "procedure," you may find yourself forgetting that it's surgery. "Down here we just consider it good grooming," one Dallas woman told the Los Angeles Times. Occasionally you'll run across an article highlighting the risks of surgery--incapacitation, disfigurement, death--but cosmetic surgery has been very successfully marketed as a part of our beauty regime. "We think of it like getting your nails done or going to the spa," says Brian Kinney, spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Daniel Morello, president of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, suggests that going under the knife is no different "from putting a nice sweater on, or combing your hair, or doing your nails, or having a little tan." http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/4/kaminer-w.html
I hear lots of women complain about Van Susteren's new look. That she's Judas in a power suit, a traitor to the cause. Another mother at the dentist's office said she felt "betrayed" by what she called Van Susteren's "fraudulent feminism"; two women at the Harris Teeter agreed they could never watch Van Susteren again. They were quiet for a minute. "That leaves Larry King," one of them said unhappily. http://indyweek.com/durham/2002-03-13/ruley.html
What does it mean to live in a time when medical science can not only cure the human body but also reshape it? How should we as individuals and as a society respond to new drugs and genetic technologies? Sheila and David Rothman address these questions with a singular blend of history and analysis, taking us behind the scenes to explain how scientific research, medical practice, drug company policies, and a quest for peak performance combine to exaggerate potential benefits and minimize risks. They present a fascinating and factual story from the rise of estrogen and testosterone use in the 1920s and 1930s to the frenzy around liposuction and growth hormone to the latest research into the genetics of aging. The Rothmans reveal what happens when physicians view patients' unhappiness and dissatisfaction with their bodies-short stature, thunder thighs, aging-as though they were diseases to be treated. This thoughtful but inconclusive book sends a mixed message as to whether it's the proper role of doctors to medicate or perform surgery on patients whose only medical complaint is unhappiness or inconvenience…. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679439803/qid=1080785541/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5046244-4867929?v=glance&s=books
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein addressed the implications of the blind pursuit of knowledge at the expense of the human race. Bram Stoker's Dracula dealt with Victorian xenophobia in the face of increasing Eastern European immigration on the eve of the 20th century. The Stepford Wives likewise deals with the very real fears of women (educated, middle class ones, anyway), that living the lives of their mothers necessarily means losing their identities. It's not important, finally, whether or not the women of Stepford are being replaced with more compliant, gravity-resisting robotic doubles, or if this is just a paranoid fantasy on the part of Joanna. What is important is that this is what it feels like to be an American woman in 1972. http://www.lsu.edu/necrofile/stepford10
Women in their twenties and early thirties are most likely to seek breast enlargement operations. Tummy tucks and liposuction are favoured by women in their late thirties and those in their forties are most likely to demand a face lift. More than 50,000 people in the UK underwent cosmetic surgery in 1997. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/288562.stm
Sharleen Johnson McCooey can't remember the exact day she found herself thinking about her looks again. She just knows that at some point in her mid-40s, she caught herself looking in the mirror with the scrutiny of an adolescent. The moment came as a surprise. "I grew up when feminism was becoming prevalent," says the Victoria, British Columbia-based writer. "I always had a chip on my shoulder about the media's influence on women and how they should look." But there she was, thinking the unthinkable: Was it time for plastic surgery? http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0221/p15s01-ussc.html
If television shows were ranked by the number of winces and cringes they provoke, "The Swan," a horrendously creepy series that turns cosmetic surgery into a spectator sport, would top the charts. You wince when the self-loathing female "competitors" tearfully describe their existential nightmares. You cringe when they emerge, post-op, looking as if they've just gone 10 vicious rounds with Mike Tyson. And you do both when you ponder the disturbing psychological messages this series sends to young women. But instead of being content with lavishing free cosmetic surgery on its participants, "The Swan" pushes the makeover genre to new lows with a tacky contrivance: Each week, after two "ugly ducklings" undergo a total physical overhaul, they square off before a team of smug judges who choose one of them to advance to a series-ending beauty pageant, where the winner -- the Swan -- will be awarded with cash and prizes. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/8521987.htm
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ARTICLE RESEARCHED AND COLLATED FOR THE MAY 2004 NEWSLETTER
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