Don't Like It? Just Alter It!

Cosmetic surgery, according to author Debra L. Gimlin, was initially utilized by men who were injured during wars or industrial accidents. Today, the plastic surgery industry markets mainly towards women who are unhappy with their looks.

Plastic surgery is the absolute most extreme measure a person can take to alter their looks. With all the new technology and advances in medicine, people can become virtually unrecognizable after undergoing surgery. I personally do not agree with it in general, especially procedures such as liposuction. Sucking fat out of one's body is taking the easy way out instead of diet and exercise. Even if you can't lose those last few pounds, maybe it's just how your body is shaped. Everyone is going to have a little extra fat they would like to get rid of, but only because society told us that we shouldn't be carrying any fat.

This type of surgery is most definitely taken too lightly. Within the term "plastic surgery" is the term surgery, meaning there is the risk of death. Death is too permanent to take lightly and all for the sake of improving your looks. For purely aesthetic reasons, plastic surgery is ridiculous. I have had plastic surgery myself, but for medical reasons.

I was born with a malocclusion, which means that my jaws did not line up and my lower jaw was a little more prominent. I was incredibly self-conscious about it, but at 18 I had both of my jaws broken and pieced back together with 4 plates and several screws. Before the surgery, I was excited. Since I hated my jaw, I figured this would be the perfect solution. It took several months of convincing the insurance company that this was not cosmetic, but medical surgery. The recovery afterwards was horrible. Yes, I now have a correct bite, but I lost most of the feeling in my chin. I had to wear rubber bands right after surgery to let the bone heal and spent about half a year recovering. Part of that was my freshman year of college. I lost a lot of weight because I couldn't open my mouth very wide to eat and when I did eat, I ate very little because it took so much time. After going through this much pain, looking back I really don't feel that my jaw was that prominent. Being unhappy with your looks has a better chance of being fixed through therapy than through surgery.

Getting plastic surgery is a product of our vain and shallow culture. Aging and body differences are a part of life, but we are reluctant to accept that we do not have complete control over our bodies. Most recently, Lisa Rhinna commented on fellow celebrity Heidi Montag and the amount of plastic surgery she has had. Rhinna said she refuses to keep magazines with Montag around the house for fear that her young daughters would see them and feel bad about themselves. However, Rhinna herself looks like a doll because she has had so much plastic surgery.

Ashley Simpson is another celebrity who had plastic surgery done, but refused to disclose it until several months later. In photos, she obviously had her nose and chin worked on, but tried to hide the fact that she had been unhappy with her looks. Disney Channel star, Ashley Tisdale, also had rhinoplasty but denied until several months later. At the time when these two women had their surgeries done, they had spoken about being happy with your body, yet they chose to alter theirs. Of course they had to hide their surgeries because celebrities are supposed to be naturally gorgeous although we all know they have been worked on.