It’s still largely the same across the media era - there are flucuations, to be sure, but certain styles and images keep being recycled time and again.
I’d argue it’s not ACTUAL novelty, but the image of it… But either way, the POINT is that the media promotes an image of the “ideal” woman that all of us are compared against. And that’s historically been destructive of women’s self-esteem. The exact details are frankly beside the point. It’s about what is being sold to men as attractive, and how we should seek to emulate that.
Fashion and media tell us that beauty consists of expensive clothing, impeccable makeup, perfectly styled hair, and a body type that most people cannot achieve without a significant investment of money, effort and time (and for some people, genetics and/or medical conditions make it impossible.)
Advertising conditions us to believe that if we buy this, that, and/or the other, we too can look as lovely and be as successful as the models they employ… and the unspoken corollary is: we aren’t good enough just as we are.
It starts as teenagers, with magazines like Seventeen and shows like 90210 (yes, I’m old) promoting certain looks and clothing styles for us to aspire to. And it only continues as we age-- how many woman actors find themselves “put out to pasture” once they reach a certain maturity, in favor of younger-looking people? If we can’t stay young, we’re still expected and conditioned to look as young as we can… and almost nobody can do that forever, even with surgical intervention.
It is destructive to womens’ self-esteem, because it’s hard not to absorb and internalize the constant pressure to conform, even when we’re fully aware of it. It’s not healthy. But there’s no money in self-acceptance and confidence…
I don’t want to judge people for having cosmetic surgery. And I don’t want to speculate about the reasons why they do it.
The question that nags at me is this: are they really happy with these surgeries? Because that’s a really big thing to have buyer’s remorse about. If they really are genuinely happy with their new selves, well then more power to them.
Buccal fat removal surgery is just an evolution on Twiggy and Bacall’s skillful application of rouge to accent their cheekbones.
I completely agree with @Mindysan33 and @Nightflyer , and only want to add that the beauty standard is in service to the societal fiction that a woman cannot be truly complete and happy unless she is married and has 2.4 kids. Everything else is subordinate to achieving this “norm.” Hell, the Hallmark Channel is dedicated to pumping out dozens of movies each year about accomplished, professional women only finding true fulfillment when they finally land a man.
I agree and am aware that people have been accenting cheek bones and applying rouge for a long time. But the look where the cheeks are hollowed out is a step much further. And because it requires SURGERY for most people to even achieve, it is a new extreme.
Yes, that is another social pressure what you gotta be everything to feel like anything.
My point above was that I think novelty (newness) and standing out is part of the societal pressure too. People can’t just be happy accenting cheekbones with make up, they have to do a surgery to stand out, get noticed, and be the look others want to emulate.
And media and advertisers exacerbate this because if their ads and media stand out and create a buzz, that creates more interest, more sales, seen as leading the industry etc.
Weird how this post keeps cycling back to judging women for their choices, while ignoring that unattainable societal standards are the main reason for making such choices in the first place.
Saw two ads back to back recently. One was taking Madonna to task for trying to look too young with plastic surgery and fake hair. Another was taking Sarah Jessica Parker to task for looking too old without plastic surgery and fake hair.
These are two of the most privileged women in this country.
