Cosmetic Surgery Isn’t Restorative

What are the limits of enhancements and procedures?

In today’s post:

• Q (not) A Beauty & Pop Culture Questions 

• The Full Beat Cosmetic Surgery Isn’t Restorative: What are the limits of enhancements and procedures?

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1. Does your state have early voting options? If so, have you voted already? If not, what are you waiting for? Click this link to find out if you can cast your vote for Vice-President Harris and Governor Tim Walz now. 

2. Do you want to see a makeup tutorial/history lesson about trasnwomen’s influence on beauty culture? This was a silly question, of course you do! This was my first time seeing Ruth’s content and I immediately followed her. 

@ruthyandthebrainMakeuo history: transwomen. This video series is not a comprehensive lesson on the entire history of makeup but rather a focused exploration of the influence drag queens have had on modern beauty trends. I created this series after receiving homophobic comments in response to my viral video about drag culture's contributions to makeup. Instead of letting the negativity stand, I turned it into a teachable moment to highlight the artistry and cultural impact of drag. My goal is to shine a light on the often overlooked ways drag makeup has shaped what we see in today’s beauty industry. #makeuptutorial #brownskinmakeup

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3. Should we talk about the Victoria Secret show? I agree. 

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Cosmetic Surgery Isn’t Restorative: What are the limits of enhancements and procedures?

Mommy Makeovers were a growing trend among new moms who wanted to “restore their post-pregnancy bodies,” in the early aughts. Despite the simplistic language, the series of procedures have many variations, all of which are pretty invasive. 

Some variations of the procedure package include, 

... the mini tuck, full tuck, skin-only tuck (as in, cutting away lax, stretch-marked skin but not repairing and tightening the abdominal muscles, which commonly separate in pregnancy); and for breasts, there’s the lift, reduction, augmentation (implants), or some hybrid therein.

According to Dr. Laurie Casas, a board-certified plastic surgeon, postpartum-specific breast augmentations have occurred since the 1970s. Still, public opinion on moms having cosmetic surgeries became significantly more popular at the time of the article's publication in the mid-2000s. I would argue that the increase in how reality TV pushed “everyday glam” and growing social media  is linked to the rise in the procedures during this time.

Cosmetic surgeries in the media via shows like Nip/Tuck and a rise in celebrity influencer culture also gave us direct access to the procedures and professionals who performed them. which definitely contributed to this shift. In the very first BBP essay, Face Down A*s Up I wrote,

While its standards are still imperfect (and unjust), many of us have developed a more compassionate approach to beauty standards and cosmetic modification. Though the circumstances that may have shaped Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Draya, and Blac Chyna’s decisions to get butt shots may not have changed drastically, audience responses to their choices are much different than they would have been a decade ago. Surely the body positivity, Black Lives Matter, and Me Too movements’ impact on beauty are contributing factors.

Surgery is always socially acceptable when the stated goal is to restore the body to an idealized version of its original self. Of course, “Beauty standards have always changed rapidly, so have (1) the punishments for failing to meet those standards and (2) the punishments for trying to perfect ones body.” The popularity of last year’s de-puff movement, mommy makeovers, and menopause makeovers, all claim to restore the patient’s body to what it used to be. 

But the truth is, a body that has birthed children, been on the rollercoaster of menopause, and that is simply aging cannot be restored. A body that has been changed by life, pregnancy, hormones, filler, etc. is not a canvas that can be nipped and tucked back to a 19-year-old version of itself.

Restore: return (someone or something) to a former condition, place, or position.

Surgery, filler, tucks, and augmentations are fine if that is what the interested party wants to have done. This isn’t really an anti-beauty newsletter.¹ However, framing plastic surgery as a wand that can undo the realities of life and the experiences that have changed our bodies is wrong.

1. Wait, this might not be true. I complain about a lot of things😅