Recently I asked my teenage son’s female friend what her perspective was on plastic surgery – what it meant to her, and how she felt about it. She grew up in Byron Bay; has battled self-esteem issues like most teenagers, and so I was interested to know how she felt about plastic surgery and the options available to us today.
Whilst her answer shocked me with regards to how much she knew about plastic surgery, and how seriously she had considered it and it prompted me to consider what sort of society we live in where “perfecting” yourself might be becoming the norm; she also had a pretty good grasp on doing what’s right for yourself, not for others.
Here’s what she had to say.
“I am a seventeen year old who is currently doing my year 12 HSC and this is my view on all sorts of plastic surgery, whether it be for corrections, ideals, or even for health reasons.
“Plastic surgery is becoming more and more popular, among all different ages from young girls like me to mothers who might want a confidence boost… to even extreme changes for certain desires such as becoming someone else or having characteristics of animals. There is a whole range of different types of plastic surgery that I am aware of which is why it’s hard to try and sum up an opinion on all of them.
“I have previously wanted a breast augmentation and have dwelled on the thought of maybe getting some liposuction done, or having a lap-band surgery. The media today has a lot of different opinions about how people should look – I personally am not such a big fan of shame, but I do believe you can achieve what you’re looking for if you’re not happy with something about yourself and you want to change it. There is so much to offer in our day and age, and plastic surgery is becoming more refined as an art form in recent years. If you want to have a certain look or a change in your life, it’s not that far from your fingertips.
“Plastic surgery is also becoming more affordable making it easier and more accessible to those who might have wanted to get something done in the past but were held back by the cost, younger people who might not have too much to spend, and even adults that couldn’t afford it before now.
Obviously there are pro’s and con’s to having a surgery and it’s a big topic of interest on the Internet and is widely talked about on many different spectrums. For example, one view is some people think or believe that plastic surgery makes you “fake”, but in my opinion if it’s something that’s not harming anyone, and it’s making you happy and it’s something you want then other people’s opinion on how you look shouldn’t influence you. I believe that your opinion of yourself should be formed by you; and not the media, people or even friends, just as long as you’re happy with what you want then that’s all the approval you need.
“There are so many people with such strong convictions it can be hard to overcome their opinions and just listen to your own, but if you want something done, fixed, tucked or even made special, do it for yourself and not because someone else is telling you to. Improvements are there for yourself to make, and that’s why I believe you have to take your time both in finding the right surgeon and in taking the time to decide whether you really want plastic surgery.
“I cannot say this enough – taking the time to find the right surgeon is very important. It’s like shopping around for a tattoo artist – they might specialise in different things or they might just have a general understanding of everything. You want to find the right artist for your job and body specifically because every body is completely different. Even when you have found the right plastic surgeon, I’d have extensive consultations and talks about what’s going to be done and how; and all the other information I’d want to know.
“Basically, my overall view or opinion on plastic surgery is that I have nothing against it. As long as you are happy with the decision you’ve made, and you’re happy at the end of the day, then that’s all that really matters.
“So there you go! Don’t be influenced by what other people think. It’s what you think that matters.”
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