Plastic Surgery

Sheila Smith
College Writing II
June 01, 2012



Striving For Wellness and Beauty


Cosmetic Surgery in our society has become a very sensitive, personal and debatable issue. In today’s world, we discover that more and more cosmetic/plastic surgery television programs are evolving, and they are channeled to capture the attention of people of all ages and culture. Television programs such as cosmetic surgery, allow the average day-to-day person view the realities of how cosmetic surgeries are performed, and the various rationalities behind why people may want to undergo cosmetic surgery.
Consequently, cosmetic surgery is gaining popularity globally. Cosmetic surgery rectifies genetic defects; it does not always have to be about liposuctions or breast enhancements.

In general, people fail to recognize or take into account the benefits of cosmetic surgery, because they are too preoccupied analyzing the one-dimensional facet of it. Virginia L. Blum, a professor of English at the University of Kentucky, observes several popular television programs about cosmetic surgery. She makes reference that the public’s enthusiasm for such shows, points toward a shift in plastic surgery from being “traditionally seen as a hyper-investment in appearance over substance” but instead in now viewed as “a route towards glowing self-improvement, not as acts of self- loathing but as evidence of self-esteem” (801). There are various methods to self-improvement regards our health and our body. What we eat, the types of creams we use, how often we exercise, what we drink – are all measures of promoting self-improvement.

There are also some factors such as one’s genes, which matter the diet one is on, exercise regimen practiced, would not shift the conditions faced regards the skin or other parts of the body. A person, who suffers from chronic stretch marks, varicose veins or cellulite, because they lack skin elasticity, will perform cosmetic surgery to repair such... [continues]

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