Why are so many people critical of cosmetic procedures?
There’s this overarching belief that using any sort of cosmetic procedure—breast implants, body contouring, Botox, filler, veneers, plastic surgery, etc.—is unnatural and signals an insecurity or low self-esteem within the person (mostly women) who have it done.
There's a reason why my face girl calls her place The Perfect Secret.
Society has created a double-edged sword around cosmetics, both rewarding those who are perceived as more beautiful and youthful, while also shaming those who achieve this youthful beauty through cosmetic procedures.
This shame makes no sense, and with further examination you’ll understand just how illogical these beliefs are.
First and foremost, many individuals who critique cosmetic procedures actively filter their photos, take photos at specific angles, trash the photos that are unflattering—all of which alter the way they present themselves in the photo. What’s the difference between that and making such alterations in the real world? In both cases, you are attempting to change the way you look to others.
Second, please raise your hand if you exercise regularly, eat a certain diet, brush your teeth, do your hair, take a shower, wear makeup, color your hair, or engage in any other habit that improves your physical appearance. There is no difference between these everyday things and cosmetic procedures. All are done to alter one’s image.
When you witness one woman attempt to shame another over cosmetic procedures, you are simply looking through a window into their unconscious psyche. It’s pure psychological projection. These women are usually unhappy with their physical appearance, or hold strong beliefs about how women need to behave to be worthy of admiration. As such they need to put-down others and label them as "less than" to rationalize their own choices.
To feel morally superior for an aesthetic preference is silly, as aesthetics are highly subjective.
The reason we say “attempt to shame” is because shame is an internal process.
Period.
No one else can actually shame you, they simply lead you to feel shame because they hit on an insecurity and you unconsciously believe they may be right. This may be a new concept for you, especially with all pop culture rhetoric around others having the ability to shame you, so lets unpack it a little...
Shame is a feeling of inadequacy created by beliefs of inferiority. If you didn't have an insecurity tied to what is being said, you'll be indifferent to the opinion of another human. If an emotion like shame is triggered by what someone else is saying, it's time to look inwards. Correct the beliefs of inferiority for your choices and you correct the feeling of unwarranted shame.
This is also why different people become “offended” at different things. The offense stems from internal dialogue, not the external world.
As for accepting your body the way it is… we are biological creatures and we desire to appeal to a chosen mate and outrank the competition via desirability.
This isn’t shallow. It’s evolutionary biology in a nutshell.
We can hate the facts all we want, but that doesn’t change reality.
One last point of contention on this topic...
Loving yourself has nothing to with whether you get cosmetic treatments or not. Assuming that anyone who has done any sort of body alterations doesn’t love their body is erroneous. Attempting to shame someone for making any decision with their body is essentially conveying the message that their thoughts, desires, and ideas around beauty are invalid or superficial. You're making someone else's life about your preferences.
Check yourself.
Drop the self righteousness.
Quit conflating external aesthetic preferences with internal shallowness.
They aren't the same and this just alludes to your shallowness in evaluating another human.
Just as dieting to a goal weight, or training to look a particular way won’t make you love yourself, no cosmetic procedure will ever make you love yourself either.
Many people have an eye for body aesthetics (no different than collecting art pieces) and think that the body looks better with certain enhancements or corrections. No different than some individuals believing that tattoos make them more beautiful too. It’s all subjective to an extent. Meaning that not everyone will have the same aesthetic preferences.
This doesn’t mean that anyone hated their body, or were unhappy in any way really. We can't conclude that from visuals only and would need a full psych evaluation to make such bold claims. Maybe they thought they could improve their appearance through what they perceive as beautiful—so why not?
Comment over here.