Mirror mirror on the wall

“Mirror mirror on the wall,

who’s the fairest of them all?”

I happened to watch an episode of Oprah Winfrey Show the other day. And I was surprised to hear about Jenny. “So who’s Jenny?” you ask.

Jenny is a 28-year old woman who has already had (hold your breath) 26 plastic surgeries!! She decided to go under the knife because "My ex-husband told me that my nose was too big, that my boobs were too small, so eventually I got a boob job to stop the comments.” And from then on (albeit clichéd), there was no stopping her. She was 25 when she first had her brow lift. So if you consider the fact that she is only 28 years old now, it implies that she had 26 surgeries in a span of three years (??)!!!

Mind boggling figures those. She has had Botox, cheek implants, three nose jobs, veneers on her teeth, three lip implants, two boob jobs, three breast lifts, and liposuction on her arms, stomach, hips, thighs, and knees. Jenny says that the total cost of her plastic surgeries is about $80,000.

Look closer and frankly decide. Is that close to “perfection”? What is perfection? And is it possible to attain perfection?

(To me, that appears fake...plastic, if you will).

Meet the new kid on the block… the surgery addicts! Sure, you’ve heard of drug addicts, alcohol addicts, smoking addicts….but ‘plastic surgery addicts’??? At first, it seems easier to pass off such cases as ‘freaks’ or as exceptions. But then, it mirrors an alarming trend. And it’s not just one person.

I was surprised to see there were more such cases. These are of course, extreme cases of excessive ‘obsession for perfection’. There are many other individuals who are just as eager to get a ‘makeover’; it is just that they don’t have the resources, the knowledge, or access. So what is with this whole ‘appearance’ thing? Why is it that when some people look into a mirror, all they can see is imperfection? Sure, we occasionally stare at the mirror and wonder why the noise is a wee bit pointed, why the hair-line is receding, why the lips are too thick. But to be obsessive to such an extent defies logic.

Today is the age of ‘looking good’.

Want to impress your prospective employer? Your boyfriend? Or your Boss? Then look GOOD!

Infact, personality nowadays is grossly mistaken for appearance. People are engaged in improving their looks and forget about themselves in the process. In turn, their confidence and performance hinges on their looks. They end up believing that improved looks is a solution to all their problems. And let’s not blame these hapless souls alone. Today, guys don’t want to date girls; they are interested only in ‘chicks’, ‘babes’ and ‘hotties’ who have swinging busts and butts. So you have self-obsessed women undergoing face-lifts, breast implants, nose jobs, liposuction and the works. They try to fit in because they crave for social acceptance.

And society does nothing much to ameliorate the situation. We have models with wafer-thin bodies sashaying on the ramps. On what account they are ‘models’ to others, I have no clue. They would sure give the under-fed Somalians a competition!

But not all women bow owing to social pressure. For some people, it’s more of a psychiatric problem; a sense of feeling inferior on account of their looks. In Jenny’s case, her husband’s comment triggered it off. And like any other addiction, it never ends with one. You change your nose a little to realize that it doesn’t suit your face, and then you ‘change’ your cheeks, brows, lips and so on to make it ‘perfect’. Then you want a hot bod, so then the tummy tucks and liposuctions are resorted to. This is known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), which usually strikes people in their teens. It is when the subject is obsessed with how she looks and is constantly worried on that account.

A clear case of lack of self-esteem and self-loathing.

And that is what exactly needs to be tackled. People should realize that they are worth more than what they weigh, what their nose looks like or what colour they are. Until then, we’ll hear of stories weirder than that of Jenny’s.

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Quote for the day: "Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word. "