Replies to '09/08 Too Hot!'

The fact that plastic surgery is so readily available with out any type of counseling/therapy bothers me.  I am sure I'd be sexy at 62 if my butt, breasts and face were younger than the rest of me. Would she be so confident if she didn't blow her retirement on plastic parts?  I have never been obese. Even at chubby, it doesn't take a scientist to realize that people treat you differently  depending on how you look. However, I wonder if gastric bypass was this woman' s first choice, or did she try other things? I'm not sure what her story is so I can't judge. However, it surprises me that she doesn't seem to get where her husband is coming from. The roles are reversed, yet she doesn't seem to recall how she felt when he got attention from women.  I do not fault the woman who was on "the Swan", but I do think the show is messed up. It totally plays on a woman's insecurities, then molds them into these cookie cutter people. Almost every woman on that show gets a boob job. People can't even tell what a real breast looks like  compared to fake ones.  I would hate to see what they'd do to me on that show.  To come out looking completely and utterly different from when you went in is bothersome to me, as if nothing about the person's original appearance is worth saving.    

I don't know exactly where I'm going with this, mainly that people alter thier appearance as a first step these days, and usually by going under the knife.  As the standard of beauty becomes more and more difficult to attain, it'll expose more insecurities.  

From a more feminist standpoint, where is the Swan for men? If women have to be equipped with frontal air bags, what will men have to have? a six pack?  The whole idea of the barbie doll standard of beauty has got to go. It seems that no matter how many Dove soap campaigns there are celebrating real women, there are more widely accepted marketing and entertainment methods that perpetuate the beauty myth.  

I totally admit that I get insecure about my appearance. I work out for an hour and a half at the Y daily and try to eat well, but I still have my days. At 27 years old, I'd still like to have a role model, someone I can look at on TV or in print and say, " She looks a lot like me ,and she's pretty".  

As much as I want to say that beauty and looks has nothing to do with it, I'd be lying to myself. Just like I'd be lying if I said that my trips to the Y are only because I want to get healthier.