Bodies a La Carte: Latin American Women Are Reshaping Their Form Through Plastic Surgery

In Latin America, Women have been desperately demanding surgical operations to reshape their figures. Women were calling and wanting to schedule the surgery for the very next day. A craze for cosmetic surgery has infected Latin America; surgeries demanded include breasts, noses, thighs, eyes, buttocks, and pretty much everything and anything in between. Women all over the continent were eager to improve their appearance, image, self-esteem, and perhaps even their social status. Like many other spectacles of mass media, the plastic surgery craze has been strongly influenced by America and the medias distorted perception of beauty. In America, especially Los Angeles, the media is part to blame for the extreme ideals of beauty. Los Angeles is like this vortex, once you are sucked into this world, you do anything and everything to fit it. Plastic surgery is a taboo subject. I think that if you want to enhance something surgically that is completely a personal choice and other people’s opinions should not matter. However, I do think there is a point where people get addicted and out of control and those people should stop and get some help. In America, statistically it shows that the five most popular plastic surgery procedures are breast augmentations, nose jobs, eyelid surgery, liposuction, and tummy tucks. Each year the percent of these most common surgeries continues to increase, as more people are going under the knife to reshape their bodies. I wish more women felt beautiful in their own skin and did not have to result to plastic surgery to reshape their entire appearance. ~ Chelsea

According to the article, many Latin American women are choosing to basically look like Barbie. However, it’s not just limited to Latin American women, but to American women as well. I find it incredibly odd that a lot of women would go through so many procedures just to look like a piece of plastic or something that’s completely unnatural. Thinking back on the videos we saw the other day about a few people who’ve gotten plastic surgery it’s crazy to think that it’s become an addiction to them. To me plastic/cosmetic surgery is something that can either be positive or negative. It’s negative in the fact that it makes some people completely want to change their natural, physical attributes to the point where they can’t even be recognized anymore for who they once were. But it’s positive in the fact that it helps people who have been victims of violence or dangers such as those who have been burned or attacked. It’s also positive for those who have been victims of bullying for their “physical abnormalities.” So basically plastic surgery can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. ~ Ashley

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Breaking News

Women in Brazil aspire to look like a “Nordic Fantasy”—big boobs, small nose, aka Barbie. The demand for rhinoplasty and breast augmentation has seen a great increase throughout the most recent years. Women see getting a nose job or getting a breast augmentation as simple as getting a new hairstyle. Women in Brazil see plastic surgery as a big deal. I feel that plastic surgery is not yet seen as a mundane, every day occurrence but it is well on its way. Women in Brazil are not ashamed too admit that they have had cosmetic surgery. In fact, it is liberally announced on the covers of magazines and stars open u p about those surgeries. Magazine covers will say “check out _______’s new body” and that encourages even more women to go get procedures done. On the other hand, we tend to shun women for getting plastic surgery and it is rare to hear celebrities admitting to having had surgery. I do not understand why the women in Brazil are re-shaping their bodies. Every nationality has qualities that make it unique. We tend to want to look like the women of Brazil, with their thick thighs and shaped butts. And they want to look like the Barbies from California. No one is happy with what they have. Everyone just needs to embrace what they have or else we will all end up looking the same. I, on the other hand, have not had any plastic surgery procedures done and I do not plan on having any. I do, however, plan on taking care of my skin and having an intensive skincare routine. I also realize that eating healthy is important for our skin as well. ~ Sandy

My Jewish Nose

Race is a term that refers to certain visible and very distinctive characteristics. Besides gender, race is the first thing we notice about another person. The real challenge lies in truly identifying the physical traits that differentiate one race from another. In the article, My Jewish Nose, the author discusses how her appearance is tied to her race and cultural beliefs. Growing up, her mother continued to offer paying for her to get a nose job, so she would not be stereotyped as a Jewish girl and be more attractive to the opposite sex. One part even states that her father would not have fallen in love with her mother had she not gotten a nose job. Although she is not a practicing Jew, her nose is her one true characteristic that identifies with her race. With all the pressure from her parents and even the media to have the perfect nose, she felt no need to change her identity to blend in with mainstream culture.  I think having certain characteristics that allow you to identify with your race and culture is what helps us form our personal identities and become unique individuals; rather than conform to what others think you should look like or how the media portrays beauty. ~ Chelsea

Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/57913545180057296/

We all have unique characteristics that tie us to our roots and our culture. To relate this back to the article, I dealt with a similar situation growing up. Like her, I constantly felt the pressure to change my look because people kept commenting on how light skinned I am compared to the rest of my family. I’m Filipino (Chinese/Spanish blood mix) but everyone mistakes me for a different Asian race. Even my family points out how different my skin color and my eyes are from my siblings. So growing up, I constantly felt the need to get a tan or to put eye make up on to look less “Asian” because it made me stick out from my culture. However, it wasn’t until high school that I’ve learned to accept and embrace who I am after seeing a picture of my maternal grandmother. She had light skin and almond-shaped eyes as well. So in a way I felt connected to her and my culture because I was able to see that not everyone in my culture has the typical dark skin and non-Asian eyes. ~ Ashley

Source: http://voicesofthephilippines.com/country/cultural-characteristics

Lisa Jervis is an “ethnic Jew” as she puts it. She is not religious, she doesn’t know Hebrew, but she is Jewish nonetheless. She views being a Jew as cultural not spiritual. Even though she isn’t a religious Jew, she says she can be easily classified as Jewish because of her “big honkin’ nose”. She states that growing up her mother has offered to pay for a nose job. Her mother does not find it to be a big deal and says people do it all the time. Even her father agrees and says he would not have ever gone out with her mother if she had not gotten a nose job.

            Lisa views “getting a nose job” as a negative act, which would strip away her culture. Getting a nose job is conforming to a “white, gentle mode”, as she puts it. She states that Jewish women are stereotypically viewed as loud and pushy, which are not viewed as feminine qualities and so women opt for a nose job in order to be viewed as more feminine. In doing so, she feels as though these women they lose physical and emotional ties to their ethnicity and I agree 100%. It is sad to see women being forced into getting nose jobs by their loved ones so that they can “look prettier”. Women from all cultures are beautiful in their own way, cliché as it may sound.  Women have different features that make them beautiful and in this case, the Jewish women are defined by their noses. Women can view it negatively or positively. I view it as a positive. Look at Barbara Streisand. Lea Michele. Their noses make them who they are and without their noses they would not be themselves. ~ Sandy

            I’m glad that the author embraces her nose and is now able to see how important her nose is to her identity. It is heart breaking to see how her family has changed things about themselves so as not to be so Jewish—her mom got a nose job and they changed their family name. But now she realizes how she likes being recognized by her nose. It defines her.

A physical appearance of someone can quickly determine what race that person is. There are several physical traits that have been consistent for some races and help people define others. The article, My Jewish Nose, states that there are people that try to change the way they look so they wont be stereotyped under their race. The way someone looks according to their race helps others have a sense of your identity. Race is also tied into someone’s culture. Culture and race come hand in hand. Being part of a specific race takes you back to  were your ancestors come from and what your family is consisted of.

Personally my race is one of my values and I cherish it. My race, my culture is part of me and has created a huge impact in my life. ~Brenda