Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery has been around for decades. Until most recently, the main recipients of this kind of surgery were men who were disabled from war or from industrialization accidents. In her essay Cosmetic Surgery: Paying for Your Beauty, Debra Gimlin researches the reasons behind why the shift from men to women has occurred, and why this phenomenon is so popular nowadays.
I believe that cosmetic surgery has become centered on women because, although there are men that suffer with images of their bodies, women make up the majority that are scrutinized for their physical appearances. Women are placed inside this very small box, and if they have one imperfection, they feel the need to fix it in order to be accepted into society. For many, cosmetic surgery is the quick and simple way out. Personally, cosmetic surgery is fine with me. It is a personal choice on whether or not a woman wants to have surgery to fix something she feels is imperfect, and if it makes her happy to wake up every day and have it gone, then good for her. Though cosmetic surgery has its pros, there are definitely dangers that go along with, as for any surgery. I do believe that some people take it too lightly and don’t take into consideration the dangers that go along with some of the most common cosmetic surgeries, like breast enhancement and even liposuction. I believe that women need to look deeper into the dangers of the surgery that they are looking to have and really consider if it is worth it before having the procedure done.
When stepping out and looking at cosmetic surgery in context with the beauty standard in today’s society, I believe that judging it as both vain and shallow or something positive depends in the reason why the woman is having the surgery in the first place. If a very obese woman has tried everything she can in order to lose weight and nothing has proven to work, and she wants to have a lap-band surgery then more power to her. It not only is going to make her feel good to be smaller, but it is also going to improve her health. In this situation, cosmetic surgery can be considered a positive act. On the other hand, a woman who gets surgery to be more appealing to others and not necessarily to make her self happy, I would consider this a vain and very shallow.