The Plastics

We cut deeper into perceptions on body-altering procedures to better understand cultural attitudes about going under the knife.

Written by Lauren McLaughlin | Edited by Chloe Greenwald | Artwork by Dylan Myones

As the numbing cream was rubbed on her forearm, and the needle administering the anesthesia pricked her skin, she had a brief moment where she second-guessed herself. Was this really what she wanted to do…?

2018 has been the year of body positivity for women, who are constantly under pressure about their appearance. There has never been a better time from women to celebrate one another and what makes them similar, but just as importantly, different. With a President in office who has referred to women as “dogs” and “pigs,” among other foul things, and encourages “locker room talk” as he coined it, loving and being true to yourself and your body is an important message to spread among young women across the country.

Curvy is the new “it” body type, as made apparent by celebrities and Instagram models who recently started to run Instagram feeds with “thirst traps” of their bodacious bods and whose appearances are worshiped in the comment section for their “thickness.” Brands like Fashion Nova and Shop Love Yourz herald the curvier girl and use these so-called “Instagram Models” as their main marketing tool. This trend isn’t exclusive to affordable fashion. September’s Spring 2019 Fashion Month, the month of Fashion Weeks around the world, featured more and more non-traditional models across luxury and couture brands including Mara Hoffman, Christian Soriano, and Sies Marjan. This shows how successful the body positivity movement has been so far in dominating a culture that promotes troubling standards of beauty.

Certain physical features on women, aside from the obvious boobs and butt dynamic duo, have traditionally been deemed more attractive than others even to the point of fetishization. One especially common place where ladies feel they need a little extra thickness in order to be seen as attractive is in their lips. Plumped up pouts are crucial for young girls lately as many celebrities have normalized them. In a 2015 episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” that aired after the rumors of Kylie Jenner’s lip injections broke, the then 17-year-old completely denied having them. Kylie had vocalized in the past how she was unhappy with her smaller lips and how she had been made fun of for them. However, after finally admitting to having had fillers put in her lips, Jenner faced even more backlash all over the media. People criticized her for setting such a poor example for young women by altering her body. This begs the question, how can someone win? You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Kylie was made fun of online for her thin lips, then criticized for getting fillers to cope with her insecurities. One could say that Kylie’s largely enhanced pout is what helped the now makeup mogul start up her cosmetics business and turn her into the youngest billionaire ever thanks to “Kylie Lip Kits.” They say the devil works hard but Kris Jenner works harder, and nothing could have been better timing than Kylie’s momager helping her market her lip kits on big-lipped models when so many young girls were lusting after her full pout.

It’s possible to be a woman who considers herself a champion of the body positivity movement, and a woman who supports artificial enhancements.”

The full lips look was so coveted that it sparked a viral internet sensation called the “Kylie Lip Challenge”, in which people would stick their lips into a small homemade suction device, normally a shot glass, hoping to blow up their lips at home sans surgery. Now, fast forward to when Jenner had her lip fillers removed earlier this year because she felt they were no longer natural looking. Large pouted girls who had been spending thousands of dollars a year on injections felt cheated. Surrounding the controversy, Kylie claimed that she was more into the “natural look” after giving birth to her daughter Stormi, leaving her wannabe large lipped fans in the dust. Active users on Twitter and Instagram went on a field day of producing memes and viral tweets making fun of women who had gotten these refinements in the name of Jenner and who were now left with big lips while their icon’s were back to their natural size.

However, it’s not just lip injections that are all the rave. Breast implants and surgical butt enhancements are also rising in popularity with young women. According to Dr. Lee B. Daniel of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, millennials are getting more plastic surgery than any other age group. He attributes this to the influence of triggering content constantly consumed on social media and overwhelming societal pressures that specifically target young women. He brought up an interesting point on how plastic surgery used to be exclusive to the Hollywood elite and the rich, but now at a time when it is so accessible to the masses, it has become much more popular. Dr. Daniel also stressed the importance of researching the risks of going under the knife when toying with the idea of plastic surgery. Some of the most common risks include hematoma, which is a pocket of blood that eventually needs to be drained, as well as nerve damage and infection of the incision sites. So, in a time period when accepting yourself and having self-confidence is more widespread than ever, does it make sense for plastic surgery, with all of its risks considered, to still be commonplace?

For some women, plastic surgery ties in well to the body positivity movement and it even inspired them to get their artificial enhancements. Arianna, 21, from Pennsylvania State University states, “After years of feeling uncomfortable with the way I looked, I decided to get breast implants at the age of 21. I did extensive research regarding doctors and the kinds of implants I wanted, and fortunately ended up with the most incredible results I could have asked for. I feel much more confident in the way I look and overall feel so much better about my body and myself.” Arianna shows that for some people, surgery can be a complete game changer and a confidence booster. There are always two sides to the story though, and some are using surgery in the complete opposite way. Rachel, a Senior at Texas Christian University, has battled her natural double D breasts since middle school. She has toyed with the idea of getting breast reduction surgery and claims “It’s extraordinarily frustrating trying to find clothes that fit as well as having a lot of back pain… some days are so bad that not even medication can help.” For Rachel, plastic surgery offers a potential means to much needed comfort and loving her body more.

These different testimonies demonstrate how body positivity can take many different forms. It’s possible to be a woman who considers herself a champion of the body positivity movement, and a woman who supports artificial enhancements. Embracing the body you have is equally as important as the idea that there’s nothing wrong with making changes to be happier and more comfortable in your own skin, as long as you reflect upon why you are making changes to yourself, research the risks, and are okay with the answers you discover. Always remember that it’s your body, and only you deserve have a say in what comes or what goes, be it surgery or au naturale.