The Makeover Myth
The Real Story Behind Cosmetic Surgery, Injectables, Lasers, Gimmicks, and Hype, and What You Need to Stay Safe
Chapter OneCosmetic Medicine at the Millennium
"Do you know what thirty is? It's the beginning of middle age. Thirty to fifty. From fifty on you have no right or reason to expect to live another day."
(John O'Hara)
The New Cultural Paradigm
Visits to a cosmetic surgeon used to be a rich woman's best kept secret. Today they represent merely one option in the endless public parade of equal opportunity lifestyle choices that constitutes cosmetic medicine. Now as in the past the selections consumers make frequently have less to do with health than with fad and fashion statements. Cosmetic interventions are about normalizing—that is, striving to achieve current cultural norms of appearance. They are also promoted as ways to restore or obtain beauty, youth, sex appeal, status, and happiness. As humanities professor Kathy Davis puts it, "The body is simply a vehicle for recognizing our individual desires an ... read full excerpt from The Makeover Myth ebook
