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Celerity

(47,563 posts)
Mon Jan 27, 2025, 11:10 AM Monday

How Inequality Fuels the Cosmetic Surgery Boom



Rising inequality drives a global surge in cosmetic procedures, reshaping beauty standards and social competition.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/how-inequality-fuels-the-cosmetic-surgery-boom



Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Perhaps you’ve already made them, broken them, and moved on. A research study revealed that only 61 percent of people committing to ‘Dry January’ managed to get through the month without alcohol. By the time this column is published, around 80 percent of resolutions will have been abandoned, with only 8 percent of us persevering for the entire year. And what are the most common resolutions each year? Losing weight and exercising more consistently top the list, with the desire to look good often as significant a motivation as health and wellbeing. If improving your appearance is the goal, perhaps a long-lasting fix or upgrade might make more sense. Deciding to plump thin lips or whiten yellowing teeth might prove an easier resolution than dieting or heading to the gym. And why stop there? A cheekbone lift or a nose job eliminates the possibility of backsliding entirely.

The Economist kicked off the New Year with a report noting that the number of cosmetic procedures performed globally surged by 40 percent in just four years, rising from twenty-five million to thirty-five million. However, this figure is likely a significant underestimate, as it includes only procedures carried out by certified plastic surgeons, excluding those performed in high street beauty salons or low-cost plastic-tourism hubs such as Turkey. The market for aesthetic injectables, such as Botox and fillers, in the United States and Canada alone is projected to exceed 5 billion dollars by 2025.

Journalist Leora Tannenbaum has chronicled how women undergo cosmetic surgery to erase perceived ‘flaws’ in their faces and bodies, striving to align with a narrow, idealised vision of femininity. But it is not just women. The roots of plastic surgery can be traced to the nineteenth century, when Jewish men sought to alter racialised facial features in a bid to escape discrimination in their professional and personal lives. Today, men are increasingly opting for procedures, with liposuction of the chest area, eyelid lifts, facelifts, and nose jobs among the most popular. Non-invasive treatments, such as fillers and microneedling, are also gaining traction among men. After all, achieving the Ken look is as challenging as emulating Barbie. Nevertheless, in 2023, women accounted for 86 percent of cosmetic procedures, compared to just 14 percent for men.

The Economist attributes this boom in self-reshaping to several factors: the increased time we spend scrutinising ourselves in Zoom and Teams meetings, the convergence and escalation of beauty standards driven by social media, and the phenomenon of ‘pretty privilege’, where physical attractiveness correlates with higher earnings, more lucrative contracts, success in job interviews, and other career advantages.

‘Upkeep’ to Keep Up.......................

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How Inequality Fuels the Cosmetic Surgery Boom (Original Post) Celerity Monday OP
This is so frustrating! Our uniqueness makes us human and beautiful. oregonjen Monday #1
I've been watching "Botched", a series that PoindexterOglethorpe Monday #2
The older I get, the less I care about my looks and multigraincracker Monday #3
The irony is, after spending a fortune they usually end up looking like space aliens. Vinca Monday #4

oregonjen

(3,509 posts)
1. This is so frustrating! Our uniqueness makes us human and beautiful.
Mon Jan 27, 2025, 11:31 AM
Monday

Aging is a gift that not everyone gets to go through.
Teenagers are getting fillers and plastic surgery. Teenagers! Ugh. I’m so sick of seeing ads that have been photoshopped or filters being used. We’re being told that perfection is the goal,, which can never be achieved. Aging is shunned. Actors/performers are going under the knife only to come out of it looking so odd and unnatural.

I stopped coloring my hair several years ago and I absolutely love all my silvers shining. I succumbed to societal pressure to cover them up and I regret it.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(27,025 posts)
2. I've been watching "Botched", a series that
Mon Jan 27, 2025, 11:38 AM
Monday

shows two plastic surgeons fixing the bad surgeries others have done. I've learned a lot, not the least of which is: don't ever have plastic surgery if you don't 100% need it.

multigraincracker

(34,632 posts)
3. The older I get, the less I care about my looks and
Mon Jan 27, 2025, 11:41 AM
Monday

the more I care about my health.
Staying with my diet and exercise goals.

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