The Space Between My Peers

People considering plastic surgery often have to deal with negative reactions, whether direct disapproval or people whispering behind their backs. Much like people who wear excessive makeup, or who clearly spend hours fixing their hair, or even people who use suffocating amounts of perfume; people who undergo plastic surgery are often though of as somewhat vain or contrived. This simply is not the case all of the time. The following few paragraphs will demonstrate how plastic surgery can be used in subtle, helpful, or even reconstructive ways that do not indicate vanity.

Perhaps the most “controversial” form of plastic surgery, at least with regard to perceived vanity, is breast augmentation. However, as detailed on related websites like www.aboutplasticsurgery.com/, this type of surgery is not meant only for enlarging breasts; many women simply use it to maintain their familiar figure. For example, following a pregnancy, or even just from aging, many women find that their breasts change.  It can certainly be contested that maintaining the body shape one is accustomed to is not complete vanity.  Additionally, breast augmentation can even be used to reconstruct a breast or breasts following complications from a battle with breast cancer, a consideration unfortunately faced by many women today.

It is also quite common for people to look into erasing or lessening wrinkles via plastic surgery.  This could be considered simply an effort to keep up appearances, rather than an attempt to change what one looks like or enhance one’s beauty. Through methods such as collagen injections and minor lifts, wrinkles can essentially be stretched and flattened so that the surface of the skin remains smooth. Now, of course, there are limits at which this surgery can appear to be a bit obvious or unnecessary… for example, an 80 year old person with perfectly flat and smooth skin does not look natural, and could be considered, perhaps, a bit vain or even somewhat in denial.

These have been just a few examples to help us to think through whether plastic surgery is always artifice. It’s always good to think these things through, rather than just react based on the expected perceptions of others.  There are additional examples as well: slight liposuction for people who try and struggle to lose weight due to aging or pregnancy, or lifts and tummy tucks for people who have unflattering excess skin following a drastic or sudden weight loss, etc. 

Under what circumstances would you consider plastic surgery?

Share This