Cosmetic Surgery - The Human Barbie

Deleted User wrote: »

I think it's hard to understand how you can be affected by the way you look, until you are affected by the way you look.

Thats a fair point and its not like if someone had some sort of major deformity or similar problem I would take any issue with them receiving help for it, but the mindset that average looking is not good enough is a pretty toxic one as far as I'm concerned anyway.

Take someone who is perfectly normal looking but maybe think their ears stick out or something.

And maybe they don't just think it, maybe their ears do in fact stick out a little.

They could reasonably say that it bothers them but the fact is that it would be an unnecessary surgery. To me that person would be better served trying to overcome their psychological impression of their appearance and develop a more healthy and accepting outlook than going and getting a potentially dangerous surgery to deal with the problem.

Candie wrote: »

Why is vanity so maligned anyway? What makes vanity an invalid pursuit? If someone's looks are of paramount importance to them and they're willing to take the risk and spend the money, then let them.

People fly single-engined planes over mountains, or ski off-piste and take all kinds of risk to enjoy the things that are important to them, putting a negative value judgement on vanity doesn't really make much logical sense.

That's actually an excellent point, and there's not really much I can say in retort. Objectively speaking there is only personal self interest at stake here as you say.

However the issue does bleed over into the grounds of medical ethics and the value society place on an individual's well being, whether physical or psychological.

If a person were suffering from mental health issues and dealt with it personally by cutting themselves, I think most people would argue that they would be wiser to try and work out their problems in other ways rather rather than resorting to self harm.

And that's not even taking into account the fact that someone who is self harming is not aided and abetted in the act by a team of medical professionals.

You could argue that personal choice would govern the decision that person makes, and that hey, they aren't affecting anyone else. Why shoudn't they be allowed to self harm? And maybe you would be right. I sure cant say.

But if you were to walk in to a surgeons office and ask him to slash your legs with a razor blade 'because it makes me feel better' then it starts to sound like maybe that line of logic isnt without its problems either.

Deleted User wrote: »

I know where you're coming from, and I don't disagree tbh. I think it should be a very last resort, genuinely, but only because I think any surgery should be a last resort. I do know too though, that if you've been bullied over something all of your life, or if every day you look in the mirror and that's all you can see, then it must be life changing to have that problem fixed. In the case of the woman in the OP, I don't think it's healthy to change everything about yourself to make you look like an entirely different person.

Yeah its not that I don't empathise with people who have to deal with the issue, I just think that the default should be to try and empower people to deal with, and hopefully overcome their psychological issues via a more conventional or at least less invasive method such as therapy and whatnot.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Yeh but she a stunna! Phoawr! u just jelly!:p

Honestly mate, im not really talking about her in general, but it is the quintessential example of unnecessary surgery alright!