September 17, 2013

"Ooh! Interesting!"

What I said when I saw this collection of photographs of women in the post-op phase of plastic surgery.

You have to scroll to get to the 4th picture, which is NSFW, but that's the one that got me. Fascinating!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not sure I understand why it fascinated you? I'm truly curious.

Unknown said...

I'm deeply curious, why does #4 fascinate you so?

Ann Althouse said...

"I'm deeply curious, why does #4 fascinate you so?"

It's intimate and revealing. The person is vulnerable, yet willing to be photographed. I wonder about her, and she's letting us see what these plastic surgery patients submit to.

If you think of self-improving through surgery, you may look ahead to the healed result. But the truth is, there's a stage like this. Do you want to do that?

I've never had plastic surgery, but I have contemplated it, and I read about it and decided no way!

I could see that there was this grisly stuff like that.

It's horrible!

I appreciate a chance to see the horror.

William said...

If you undergo general anesthesia past the age of sixty, your chances of developing senile dementia double. On the plus side, you're the most youthful looking patient in the nursing home,

Anonymous said...

Yet there's something completely non-surgical and free that any woman can do, and which will immeasurably improve her appearance. In fact it's actually a matter of not doing something. Yet at least 85% to 90% of adult women these days refuse to avail themselves of this option. God damn it.

Peter

Anonymous said...

The horrible chase for beauty. I can understand plastics for birth defects and injuries, but it escapes me why one would put oneself through this for aging skin and minor issues. Rhinoplasty of an unusually large or bumpy nose is the one time I can see it. It's rough out there and people can be cruel, it's not an extensive procedure and am make the difference in a teenager's self image.

Anonymous said...

The photographer made a deal with women who had weak support systems; she took care of them after the surgery if they would pose for her camera. That sounds simultaneously poignant and creepy.

YoungHegelian said...

“This difference illuminates the fact that women across cultures are altering their form in various ways to respond to a patriarchal media that perpetuates specific but distinct ideas of what a woman should be,” she wrote.

Sure looks like critical thought got kicked to the curb a long time ago, don't it?

Tari said...

Except for accident victims and the like, plastic surgery mostly makes me sad. Lately it reminds me of Katie Makkai's poetry slam "Pretty", which is so worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0&sns=em

I showed this to my 13 year old recently, so when he catches himself judging people solely by their looks (and he will, we all do) maybe he'll stop and remember.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

People's opinion of plastic surgery interests me. I understand the fat and ugly people (which includes myself) who don't like it because it reminds them that they are fat or ugly. Some fat and ugly can be fixed with exercise and tailoring, but a lot of it is fixed and will never change.

What I don't understand are the thin and pretty people who resent it because someone found a way to be thinner and prettier than they are.

Well, actually, I do understand it. No one likes having to work for something they otherwise would get for free. It's easier to win the genetic lottery than get cut.

Yeah, yeah people are shallow. No kidding. Nothing is going to change that. Either play the game or don't. Don't get mad at people who are willing to go farther than you are to win.

And attractive people win more at everything. Only a fool believes otherwise.

FullMoon said...

Number one maintains her dignity.

Number 4 has a cute shadow

David said...

Plastic surgery works best on younger people, since they have more plasticity and resilience. It also works better if you have a great surgeon, and I'm not sure how many of those there are.

If someone wants to go through the ordeal, more power to them. But the expectations should be reasonable. It's older people for whom the expectations are usually too high, it seems to me.

Ann Althouse said...

"Either play the game or don't. Don't get mad at people who are willing to go farther than you are to win."

Define the game. Define winning.