Skin Deep
We drove all the way down to New Jersey. We usually reserve NY/NJ trips for Korean grocery shopping and long weekends. It was a perfectly nice March day out—brisk, but sunny, with just enough warmth for a light jacket. This was my dad’s idea. I was pretty against the whole thing, but I decided to give it a try; it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? Ever since I was young I have had scars on my face from a severe case of chicken pox. The doctors worried that my face would be scarred much worse than it is. They gave my parents two options—sand my skin down to create smooth skin which could potentially cause worse scars and redness in cold temperatures, or do nothing and hope that the scars would disappear over time. My parents, hoping for the best, went with the latter choice.
And some 18 years later, my father questioned this decision.
Dr. Grace Kim got her bachelor of science in biology from MIT in 1995. My father found her office advertisement in the Korean community newspaper. She shared her office in Inglewood, NJ with two other doctors whose degrees from prestigious universities hung like graffiti on the walls. The office was softly lit and had a sort of Zen themed feel to it with bamboo shoots, rocks, stone tables, all classily done. The magazines spread across the rock table tops were plastered with skinny young Korean girls with perfect chins and tiny frames. I could sound out the words on the cover: “ooh-manz sen-suh” or “Women’s Sense.” The door opened and my name was called.
My scars never really bothered me. I can remember the few instances when someone had noticed them and asked about them. But having someone specifically appointed to sit, stare, examine, and evaluate what “your biggest problem areas are” is not the highest rung on the self-esteem ladder. There are some days I don’t even notice my scars; then again, there are days they seem to pop off my face eclipsing my otherwise clear complexion. Dr. Kim’s remedy for my scars was to cut the “more noticeable ones” using a very precise eyelet cut, stitch, then after healed, use laser technology to smooth the scarring from the stitches. Each eyelet cut would cost $200 and “with my condition” could cost over $2000. But before any services could be rendered, her exclusive line of skin emulsifying products must be used 6 weeks prior to surgery. Her technologically advanced and proven products were available at the value price of $600. She gave me a pamphlet.
I could not imagine spending so much money on a process that would make so slight a difference in my visage. It would seem that each person is the one who most scrutinizes herself making them the master of her body. It is funny that individuals can be so sensitive to how they look day to day, and even moment to moment, when others do not even notice major differences in their appearance. But apparently some people are willing to spend the money on changes that she may be the only one to appreciate. Cosmetic surgery today is more popular than it has ever been in the past. This could be attributed to the fact that medical technology has advanced significantly and procedures that were once considered hazardous are now considered mundane and low-risk. Though I do not believe in macro-evolution, I do wonder how much of this cosmetic surgery/beauty industry has to do with natural selection. Studies have shown that handsome people (men and women) get more attention than less attractive individuals. Forget scientific studies, watching television is proof that this is the law of the land. There are no ugly people selling products/services on TV. Everyone is tall, thin, flawless, and physically attractive. One might take it further and say everyone on television is beautiful.
What exactly is beautiful? What factors does beauty encompass? Is it a certain hair color or style? Facial features? A particular build or skin color? Or is it perhaps a combination of certain conjugate features? Beauty is very much culturally based. What is beautiful in one culture might be scorned and rejected in another. I have to agree with the adage that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” And since America has many different peoples in its population, the ideal beauty is not clearly defined.
Looking at the images and prominent figures of television, there seems to be a vaguely defined American Beauty vaguely defined. Perhaps she would have the hair of Jennifer Aniston, the complexion of Elizabeth Hurley, the height of Nicole Kidman, the curves of J.Lo or Beyoncé, the sex appeal of Britney Spears, the sex life of Kim Catrall, and the wardrobe of Sarah Jessica Parker. America embraces these icons and the evidence is in the popularity of their television shows and products. Marketing and media point to the idea that only women who look/act like these women can be successful and desirable. And who doesn’t want to be successful or liked? Americans buy into the hype in the hopes of being like the women in the media. And violà! Enter the popularity of cosmetic surgery.
Even in cultures where the skinny blond cheerleader is not the ideal, women are altering their God-given bodies. From the highlands of New Guinea to the Sahara, societies exist who hold women with long necks in high esteem. In China, years ago, females’ feet were bound, causing small, dwarfish, deformed feet. This represented a woman’s superiority in submission, and the smaller the feet, the more desirable a wife she made. In these two examples women’s physical likenesses are coupled with the idea of making good mates. How is this any different from breast augmentation in American culture? It is still an alteration of the body to fit the cultural norms for superiority and in turn increases desirability. Enter natural selection. Isn’t this what is at the core of cosmetic enhancement and the beauty industry? Sure, many will justify having cosmetic surgery—to make them feel better about themselves, to give them higher self-esteem or greater sense of confidence. But in a way, isn’t that related to natural selection? Not only does surgery serve the purpose of making people more attractive and thus more desirable, but also the newfound confidence is a desirable trait making them look stronger and superior to the other sex. These observations and rules apply to males as well. Who stereotypically spends hours weight lifting, or working out the abs for a perfect washboard stomach? Well dressed, well built, handsome men tend to be the ones with beautiful girls. If a man wants a beautiful girlfriend/wife/partner, then he too must have something that is desirable to her. Our culture makes us question when pairs mismatched in physical appearance are coupled—be it height, weight, age, etc. We wonder, what does he/she have that is desirable to the other person?
I have often joked with friends that I do not have any “ugly friends.” Though sounding very haughty and maybe even offensive, I do think it is true to some degree. Beauty is not necessarily always coupled with physical likeness. Beauty is, I think, liked hand in hand with many things like joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and regard for others. In this case, I know that all my friends are beautiful people, and I would not associate with them otherwise, as snobby as that sounds. But I do not consider myself completely out of the grasp of society’s superficial view of beauty. It’s hard to escape when everywhere you look the same message is being shoved down your throat.
And so, alas, beauty is not always so easy in “the real world” where beautiful people are treated more kindly, given more of a chance for success, and are in higher demand than less beautiful people. How else would models be able to make such lucrative careers by strutting down the catwalk and spending only a few hours on photo shoots? How is it that movies like Titanic (a terrible love story) are so popular, and television shows exposing the stupidity of beautiful people are so popular (The Newlyweds: Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson).
So are we just a product of our genes? I hope not, but I do think that the choices we make as humans and a society do sustain natural tendencies. I don’t know that there is a solution. It is hard to fight what is so deeply rooted in culture and society. Change comes rather slowly and usually not without resistance. The only solution I can offer is to act according to what is in my heart and what I believe and know is true and right. And if I do this, I don’t think I’ll be dishing out $3000 anytime soon.
|
