In 2023, 39.4 million people had surgical and nonsurgical appearance procedures done. Modern plastic surgery has become a mass phenomenon following its conception in WWI, promoted in everyday life through media and celebrity culture. The normalization of plastic surgery and appearance enhancements in our society is a worsening problem because it impacts people’s mental health around the world.
Plastic surgery promotes unrealistic beauty standards and insecurity about one’s appearance. According to a study done amongst British participants, “Females with low self-esteem, low life satisfaction… and little religious beliefs who were heavy television watchers reported a greater likelihood of undergoing cosmetic surgery.” Plastic surgery feeds on insecurity, promising to fix it. No matter if the surgery is successful or not, these insecurities are problematic in itself, as they reinforce pressure to meet beauty standards. South Korea, a leading country for plastic surgery, exemplifies this. Double eyelids are generally accepted as the beauty standard. Eyelid tape and plastic surgery are used to replicate the double eyelid. The prevalence of this is alarming, not only among celebrities but also ordinary citizens in Korea, with many getting surgery done as early as right after high school.. The industry itself promotes this, with extreme “before” and “after” photos, glorifying alterations to look similar to the celebrities seen on TV.
However, the underlying causes of this are far more serious. Beauty standards, especially for people of color often involve racist, westernized views. Certain eye shapes are seen as distinctly Asian, and therefore unattractive. Another social factor is the Korean job market, known for being especially sexist and competitive. A conventionally attractive eye shape could be a huge advantage in women’s professional lives. Girls are often motivated to get plastic surgery, not only for themselves but also to satisfy society.
The plastic surgery industry is aware of these problems, but still profits off of people’s insecurities. According to a 2020 report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 44% of cosmetic surgery patients are repeat, and 57% have multiple at the same time. This is primarily because non-surgical treatments like botox only last for a certain amount of time, compelling people to go back again. The more people get plastic surgery, the more they maintain an idea of how they “should look” because unrealistic standards become more prevalent. People aren’t perfect, and the beauty industry creates insecurities for people to fix.
But if plastic surgery makes people happier about their bodies, why should we stop them? Even if the surgery is successful, people’s satisfaction with their image after plastic surgery is largely superficial because of unrealistic standards. Plastic surgery doesn’t solve the underlying issue; if we didn’t have toxic beauty standards, fewer people would feel the need to alter their faces. To stop relying so much on plastic surgery as a solution, we must move towards healthier standards for appearances.
Overall, plastic surgery promotes larger systemic problems towards appearances in our society. The widespread usage of plastic surgery creates a new, unattainable ideal for beauty, building off of existing toxic beauty standards. We need to work to combat beauty standards and cultural biases that encourage plastic surgery as well as dismantle the lie that procedures can fix our insecurities. Preventing the normalization of plastic surgery is central to stopping the toxicity surrounding our appearances.
