Correlates of young Women's Interest in Obtaining Surgery

Author: Charlotte n Markey and Patrick M. Marley
Source: Sex Roles Aug2009, Vol. 61 Issue 3/4, p158-166

• Background: From current statistics, cosmetic surgery has increased 59% from 2000 to 2007. the majority of patient are women (90%). The cause of these cosmetic surgery trend is that people can choose how they can shape their appearance. Also, important factors that people may choose to have surgery is weight status, self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, being teased about their bodies, and media messages.
• Argument:
  ~Women's body dissatisfaction will be related to their interest in cosmetic surgery and that this relationship will remain significant even when their actual body size is taken in to account
  ~Women's socioculture experiences as predictors of their interest in cosmetic surgery
  ~Body dissatisfaction as a mediator of weight status, women's internalization of media messages, and teasing in predicting women's interest in cosmetic surgery
• Method: This study included 101 female participants that complete a survey with a series of questions involving their personal income, how they feel about themselves, their appearance, and options they want to alter their appearance. The survey measures weight status by Body Mass Index, body dissatisfaction by Contour Drawing rating Scale, media influences by Socioculture Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire, physical appearance teasing by the rate of how often they were teased, and their interest in cosmetic surgery.
• Results:
  ~The results was consistent with women who were dissatisfied with their bodies were more interested in cosmetic surgery to alter their body. Also, women that were more satisfied with their body were not as interested in cosmetic surgery to alter their bodies. Women interest in cosmetic surgery only do it to change how they look, but also how the feel.
  ~Weight status, media influence, and teasing were all factors that would predict women's interest toward cosmetic surgery. There was a direct relation between media influence and interest in cosmetic surgery because women who view media messages as a basis for comparison for their own bodies are more likely to be interested in cosmetic surgery. Women that were teased in their childhood about their body are more likely to be interested in cosmetic surgery to change their appearance.
  ~With the combination of the results for the first two argument, it was found that weight status, media influence, and teasing and interest in cosmetic surgery were mediated by by dissatisfaction.
• Personal thoughts: Despite of all the media messages that influence women's appearance, I believe that women who consider cosmetic surgery to improve their looks have self-esteem issues. Other than reconstruction surgery due to accidents, diseases, and extreme cases, patient who choose to get cosmetic surgery has deep emotional issues to be able to go under knife, cut their skin open, and then get sewed up. I do support cosmetic surgery to people to a certain extent because I understand how important self-esteem is, but I do not support people who excessively get cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery was suppose improve the way you look, not to change your look. Some people get cosmetic surgery to become someone else, which is also the wrong reason to get cosmetic surgery. The media does emphasize on celebrities' features as they are the norms.