Arguments in Favor of Plastic Surgery

The development of plastic surgery, which was initially evolved to correct defects in physical appearance, is growing at an incredibly fast rate. The rise of this tendency was promoted by fashionable and modern standards of beauty: photos of celebrities from the covers of glossy magazines, where they look glamorous and beautiful, are forcing more and more people to sacrifice their unique appearance and even health getting different forms of modifications in order to look like famous stars. Although some will argue that the intervention of the surgeon allows people to acquire their ideal image, which helps grow in confidence and social interactions, I believe that plastic is a risky and dangerous act, because each person is endowed with his natural beauty - a valuable gift of nature, which does not require any changes.

Firstly, plastic surgery is a risky procedure for a person, which can lead to negative consequences. Poor quality surgery can cause many side effects that can adversely affect human health, both physical and mental. The Socialist Health Association in the United Kingdom notes: “Like any surgical procedure, plastic surgery comes with its own risks. Some of the risks include infection, blood clots and sometimes even scarring after the procedure is done” (The Socialist Health Association 2018). The author implies that any operation, like plastic surgery, is a risk to a person, as it can cause a sharp deterioration in human health. Scars, bleeding, infection, and even death can become irreversible and inevitable consequences of surgical interventions. Moreover, due to the unexpected result an individual may experience stress, depression, tantrums, which can negatively affect the psyche. Therefore, modification of the appearance or body is a serious and dangerous act that can lead to complications of mental and physical health.

Despite the fact that plastic surgery is risky for health, it is also the loss of the uniqueness and identity of your personality that nature has endowed us with. Due to the fact that social sites have become a significant part of our lives, people perforce visit their twitter, facebook and instagram pages on a daily basis. When viewing pages there are often publications of popular stars and looking at their perfect image, many individuals want thin noses, a large eye cut, a sharp chin, small ears and many other changes in their faces. All this encourages people to lie on the surgical table and change what they don't like about themselves. Camille Paglia states: “Plastic surgery is living sculpture: a triumph of modern medicine. With new faces and bodies, people have become their own works of art” (Paglia, 692). Hence, as a result of surgical interventions, we become like sculptures and dolls, and with losing our uniqueness we become similar to each other. Nevertheless, it is true that people, especially women become like Barbie dolls from the cartoon (Paglia, 693). In spite that each person has his own understanding of identity, and it consists of different components, it is fact that identity gives us unique and special characteristics, so that we are not like each other (Maalouf, 10). Therefore, plastic surgery is a frivolous action that can turn a person into a regular doll with big eyes, pouty lips, thin noses and chins.

Additionally, plastic is an expensive procedure. Not all people are able to translate their desires into reality if they do not have financial sources, and have bad economic welfare. As the United Kingdom Socialist Health Association informs us: “Different types of plastic surgeries have different costs. But most plastic surgery procedures are quite costly making it difficult for people with no money to do them” (The Socialist Health Association 2018). So, even the simplest and smallest operations cost a substantial sum of money, which not all people can afford. Thus, people borrow money in order to comply with modern and fashionable beauty trends at the present time.

Many are convinced that plastic surgery is the best and the easiest way to enhance individuals’ self-esteem, as well as the realization of ourselves in society. This is really true, because people with an unattractive appearance face some problems in their lives. For example, it is difficult for them to get a job, interact with new society, because they are shy about themselves and their appearance. Therefore, many people in pursuit of beauty make such a serious decision as plastic. After plastic surgery individuals become more confident, and also increases their self-esteem for social integration. Having plastic surgery, people no longer feel left out and are able to be on the same page with other people. Moreover, plastic surgery contributes to the restoration of human defects: “A lot of the people who are victims of incidents like accidents or fires or those suffering from physical complications aren't confident about their appearance. Due to this, most resort to forms of plastic surgery like reconstructive surgery to try and correct the defects” (The Socialist Health Association 2018). Therefore, after the restoration and elimination of defects, people feel more confident, bold, and they no longer care about the opinions of others. However, I still believe that plastic surgery does not benefit a person. On the contrary, it can lead to deterioration of health, serious illnesses, and depressions. Moreover, plastic makes people beautiful, but similar to dolls, which subsequently leads to the loss of their special and unusual features. And also, this procedure is a waste of money, because this sum is better to be spent on more necessary things.

In my opinion, the modification of the appearance and body is a rash decision of a person, which can lead to negative consequences. Firstly, this procedure brings great harm to our physical and mental health. If unplanned consequences occur during operation or rehabilitation, this can cause a person’s health problems. Moreover, spending money on an expensive surgery can turn people into living sculptures or dolls from the media. People become identical and similar to each other, without any distinctive features and qualities. No matter how a person wants to change his appearance, or physique, to look more beautiful, more glamorous and younger, it is impossible to avoid the time and creation of nature. Plastic surgery does not help a person to be socially integrated, get acquainted with new people, find work, become successful, because it is just an operation that allows you to gain a new look for a certain period of time. And a person needs to learn to appreciate what nature has awarded - natural beauty, unique and distinctive qualities that make a person special and individual.

References

1. Maalouf, A. (1998). In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong. Aeon Retrieved from http://veraznanjemir.bos.rs/materijal/in_the_name_of_identity_-_maalouf.pdf
2. Paglia, C (). The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery. Retrieved from
3. The Socialist Health Association (2018, December 4). Plastic surgery pros and cons. The Socialist Health Association. Retrieved from https://www.sochealth.co.uk/sp/cosm/plastic-surgery-pros-and-cons/