Cosmetic Surgery - Its Place in Society

Using surgical techniques for cosmetic reasons is nothing new. A simple review of human history will show you that people have been using surgical cosmetic procedures for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. In America, cosmetic surgery really took off after World War I when procedures were used to help repair damaged faces of soldiers. It was at this point that surgeons realized that cosmetic surgery could also be used to enhance beauty. Soon Americans (primarily women) were having parts of their bodies reshaped and sculpted into what they wanted it to look like, instead of the shape that they were biologically inclined to have.

At its beginning, cosmetic surgery was reserved for the upper class citizens. After all, only they could afford the pricey procedures. As techniques have improved and costs have lowered, it seems everybody knows someone that has had a body-enhancing procedure or has had their own. Has this ever-growing popularity taken things too far?

If you’re unhappy with nearly any part of your body, you can have it fixed. Don’t like your nose? Get a new one. Unhappy with the flab on your tummy? Remove it. Chest too flat? Have artificial breasts implanted. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s artificial anymore. Sadly, our DNA doesn’t seem to matter any longer, and the issue seems to be escalating every year.

In 2002, the television reality series Extreme Makeover debuted. People were subjected to dramatic physical changes over a short period of time and were then reintroduced to society with a grand reveal to their friends and family. Did these changes improve their quality of life? As a nation, America is bombarded with ads for cosmetic surgery, discount coupons for specific procedures, and the ever-present notion that how you were born simply is not good enough.

On the other hand, we are given the option to affect the way that we look. We have been handed by science the ability to change the way we look, and in turn the way we feel. Whether for better or worse, we're able to physically alter our appearances.

This “remake my body” phenomenon is here to stay. Surgery centers can be found in every major city, and this billion-dollar business is continuing to grow. What is the long-term cost for all of this nipping and tucking? What do we not know that we have yet to be learned? There’s a barrage of information available about eating healthy and taking care of the body, but at the very next turn there’s information about how to change the way you look surgically. Society tells us how to look and then gives us the ability to do it.

It will be interesting to observe the way American culture is shaped (or reshaped) by our ability to change our physique. In 50 years, will we recognize anyone? Will we subject our grandchildren to procedures while their bodies are still growing? Will we essentially cease to be organic ourselves? As long as we do so without endangering our health, we will be fine.