How African-American Women Come to Want Cosmetic Plastic Surgery
Sometimes after I have gotten dressed and am on my way to work, I will remain in front of the mirror for a few extra minutes and just evaluate all of my not-so attractive features. Why can’t my waist be as small as the girls in the magazines?” “How can I get a shapely posterior like the women I see in the music videos?” “Who says breasts must look like helium balloons sitting on your chest like the celebrities have on the red carpet?
From time to time, we all look and compare ourselves to the people we see in the mass media and in the back of our minds, we may become somewhat envious of the rock hard abs of Janet or Beyonce’ attention-grabbing bottom? Men, too, cast the evil eye upon LL Cool J’s rippled six-pack and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson specially formulated biceps.
For several years now, many have ventured out to obtain “true beauty” through plastic surgery, whether it is get larger breasts, a smaller waist or a wrinkle-free face. Their so-called perception of beauty is achieved through a process that is commonly referred to as cosmetic plastic surgery. Cosmetic plastic surgery is a very costly procedure that an individual undergoes to alter and enhance one’s appearance.
The media has toyed with our minds by having the average person believe that to be considered beautiful, she must be a size negative two with 36DDDs breasts. When the depiction of how a woman should really look, television producers and writers brainstormed a way to get women to feel even worse about their “ordinary” looks. The concoctions they stirred up were such shows as, Extreme Makeover and The Swan.
First of all, I have sympathy for the women whose self-esteem is so low that they will send in their stories hoping and praying that plastic surgery will somehow improve their lives.
What they do not realize is that as long as they keep sending in their sob stories about how their significant other will love them more if they were more attractive, women will continue to be exploited in this man -dominated world. If her significant other is still in that relationship with her, he must have fallen in love with the person on the inside, not the outside.
Now, if he is constantly insulting her appearance and making her feel like less of a woman, then she is dealing with abuse and needs to leave the unhealthy relationship all together. Also, these women must have an extremely high pain tolerance.
Why go through the unnecessary pain of cosmetic plastic surgery?
For about two or more weeks, she will have to endure being mummified and swollen to the point of seemingly endless pain. Plus, dealing with all the black and blue bruises all over the part or parts she had work done on. It is particularly more difficult for people of color to undergo plastic surgery, because during the healing process, keloids and hypertropic scars may appear.
Keloids are usually dark, raised scars that grow beyond the original wound or point of incision, while hypertrophic scars appear risen but stay within the confines of the wound. Approximately 374,000 African Americans had cosmetic surgery in 2001 and 227,000 of those patients went through scar revision procedures.
During the scar revision procedures, plastic surgeons may use electron-beam radiation on keloids and hypertrophic scars and most experience a significant decrease in appearance.
The most common procedures are breast reduction, breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tucks and rhinoplasty (nose contouring).
When most consider cosmetic plastic surgery to be a solution, they do not consider the risks that may be involved. Such risks include, but not limited to, are infections, complications with anesthesia, less than desirable results, blood clots and possibly death. You can imagine your loved ones are surrounding your lifeless body at your funeral but hey, at least the wrinkles are gone from your forehead and you can finally fit into that size four outfit you have always wanted. Too bad you will be buried in it.
Things to Consider Before Undergoing Cosmetic Plastic Surgery
If you or anyone you know is considering cosmetic plastic surgery, here are some tips to follow before making your final decision.
Commit to doing as much thorough research as possible. Find out the plastic surgeon’s background. After all, this is the individual who will be cutting you open.
Contact the ABPS (1-800-635-0635). It is imperative to ensure that the plastic surgeon is board certified. Inquire about his or her credentials. Ask to see pictures of his or her previous work and ask if you may speak with the clients.
Play investigator and interrogate. Upon meeting your prospective surgeon, have a notebook full of questions to make sure the two of you are on the same wavelength.
The more informed you are, the better your results may be… hopefully.
Reference:
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons www.plasticsurgery.org
