Thursday, April 12, 2012
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Embracing the Burn |
I am opinionated. I'm not one to shove my opinions down your throat, but I'm also not about to allow you to force feed me yours, either. I'll politely listen to you. I'll nod my head and respectfully allow you to finish. But be warned that if I do have a different view, you will know.
I don't know where this trait came from...I suppose my mother could be to blame. But the odd part about it coming from her side is that she is just an all around people person: Always talking, always meeting new people, knows someone literally everywhere you go...one of those ladies :)
My dad, on the other hand, is who I've always thought myself to be more similar to than my mom. My dad hates crowds (me), isn't very outgoing (me again), and could spend days alone in his man cave (definitely me...although it would be my more feminine sort of a
Anywho, let's just say I got into a bit of a debate on Facebook. You know, I really get myself into it sometimes with these stinkin' fan pages that always ask for your opinion on conveniently controversial issues. This one was plastic surgery. As women, we are constantly getting the whole plastic surgery spiel shoved in our faces and whether it is "right or wrong". Well, I'm going to start by saying that in this day and age, how do you even define "right" and "wrong"? I mean, you can wave around the principles regarding morality that the Bible teaches all you want, but it's extremely clear that some people really could not care less about what the pages of the holy book has to say about anything, let alone morality. So where do you even start?
Do you think it is wrong to consider plastic surgery?
My response came quickly...part of why I love sharing my opinions on the internet is that I can allow my true feelings and thoughts to just flow, not worrying about grammar or spelling, and then I am able to go back, re-read, and change my statements before actually making them. But here's how I started:
I am personally not for cosmetic surgeries unless there is some major, life-altering reason behind needing the surgery performed (such as Cleft palate or burn victim cases). Bluntly (no offense intended) I think it's very selfish, superficial, and wasteful. Just my opinion though.
I checked back a few minutes later to see an angry woman with this response:
When people say plastic surgery is for those who don't love who they are or are superficial - I laugh. By that line of thinking anyone who wears makeup, gets their hair done, their nails, tans, teeth whitened, etc. must hate themselves and be superficial as well.
This is when I get excited. Is it wrong for me to get all sorts of pumped when I get people riled up by just stating my opinions? I made it pretty clear that I wasn't attacking anyone, merely stating my view as the fan page owner had asked for. Here's what I came back with:
It's more towards an extreme version of being superficial is what I meant by my statement. Spending thousands (and in some cases millions) of dollars just for vanity's sake on a body that is going to deteriorate eventually, with or without surgery, is sad. You could be feeding starving children. You could be providing clean water for those who don't have access to it. You could be investing in furthering your education - something that will last you your entire lifetime. Instead you'd rather have bigger breasts, fewer wrinkles, and a tighter ass. It's more of a morals and priorities issue in my book. I'm not trying to call anyone out - I'm just stating my opinion in that I, me, myself, would never be able to maintain a guilt-free conscience after spending that amount of money on something fueled solely by vanity.
Regardless of the crude comments or hate I may get from sharing my opinions, I think the freedom to do so is something every person should be entitled to. As a community of people and as a country, I think we need to give others enough respect to allow them to express their differences in opinions without being persecuted, shot down, or personally attacked for doing so.
I want to know your views on plastic surgery - Worth it? Waste of time? Good decision? Bad decision? Would you ever consider going under the knife for cosmetic reasons?
12 comments:
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I agree with you, to a point. Sometimes it may not seem like a big deal to others, but to someone, a simple surgery could fix something. For instance, I would love to have a scar removed from my face. Its the first thing I see every morning, yet no one else sees it. I feel like I am being superficial for feeling that way, but the scar makes me self conscious. I can also see other reasons for it, I would have a breast reduction. I would never want to completely change my appearance, there are just some some things that I would do.
ReplyDeleteOn to the problem with plastic surgery. I think that in the majority of cases (not victim scars, child issues, or movie stars), the things people want to "fix" could instead be fixed with therapy.
Even though I would have a couple of procedures, I don't think I could ever go through with it, I'm not sure that 1. I would actually spend the money on me. 2. I don't think it is worth the risk.
I would personally consider surgery, on certain parts of my body, because I too have a scar which if I could it have it removed, I would be happier. On other hand I have noticed that even in this country (South Africa) there are number of women who get breast implants, and over a period of time they get bigger and bigger. So I think in some instances it is a bad decision.
ReplyDeleteI agree that everyone should be able to voice their opinions without being slammed or persecuted. All too often people ask for an opinion but don't really want to know what you really think or they lack they ability to see another viewpoint. Frustrating.
ReplyDeleteAs for my opinion on plastic surgery, I had a procedure when I was 18, because it improved my overall well-being. I had a breast reduction, because I was HUGE. Like Dolly Parton huge. So big, that my insurance paid for it. No, I didn't need it and it didn't cause me pain, but it did improve my self-confidence and made me much happier because I could finally fit into my clothes. Money well spent.
And, I'll be honest. I want a tummy tuck. Really bad. I ended up with two c-sections, and my belly will never be the same. Now if I can just convince my husband ...
I agree that we all need to speak our minds, give our opinions and not be afraid of what will come back. Unfortunately, when we do that, there are other folks who will feel blamed or wronged even though that is far from what was in mind when voicing an opinion. It's tricky, especially through email/social media, where things are basically flat ~ no facilial expression, no gestures. So, there will be backlash that feels ugly ~ sorry you had that happen. As for plastic surgery ~ to each their own. I agree that the money could be better spent as you put all the reasons in that I would of where the money needs to go. But unfortunately, especially for women, there is a belief that we are to stay young and beautiful, thin and vibrant no matter what our age. Now that I'm in my 60s, there are definite differences from my 20s ... but I earned those differences.
ReplyDeleteI, unfortunately, don't care what anyone else's opinions are. No one knows where or why my opinions were formed, therefor I don't feel like anyone else has a right to decide what I should think.
ReplyDeleteIf I could afford it, I would get a tummy tuck in a heart beat. I'm too vain to do much else. Ironic, eh? But if I'm going to look good for my age/body type, I want it to be because I worked hard for it.
That being said, when I was younger, I would have gotten a boob job and a nose job. I KNOW I would have regretted the boob job no matter how well it turned out. Maybe not the nose job, don't know, don't care. I would get a tummy tuck because after 5 kids, I'm not going to be able to suck in that last bit of skin and if I could afford it... I'd do it.
I don't care if someone else does or does not want it, unless its my husband. If I don't have to look at it or have sex with it, its none of my business.
But that's just my opinion.
I don't have many opinions on what others do or think. I have enough to worry about in my own house. And I have strong opinions here..but that is what works for us...and it is working!
ReplyDeleteI am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.
Here's how I feel - I wouldn't ever go under the knife unless it were something necessary. Sure, some people might feel that it's worth it, but it's not for me. I think it's a bad decision, but people all over the world do it every day, and for them, it's whats going to make them happy.
ReplyDeleteA couple years ago some crazy girl punched me in the face and broke my nose in two places. A couple months after that I had surgery on my nose to fix this so that I wouldn't have breathing problems down the road in the future (who knows, maybe if this came up I wouldn't have insurance, and I'd be screwed!).
I've had a kiddo, so does my body look fabulous? No. (Although, lets be honest, it didn't look so fabulous before either) But you know what? My husband loves me. Just. The. Way. I. Am.
Going under the knife is scary to me.
I have this thing, with my feet. My big-toe bones are longer than they're supposed to be, so my toes curve outward a bit. I hate it, and if I'm on my feet for long periods of time it really hurts. A doctor told me he could fix it, but that's surgery, and for the most part, to me that's cosmetic because I hate the way it looks. But every time you're put under, you have that chance (even if it's tiny) of not waking up! I'd rather have my goofy looking feet and stay alive, than not.
Sorry for being all over the place with this.
Basically, no. . I wouldn't. Not for anything cosmetic. Us girls need to love our bodies (and trust me, there are a lot of days I don't!) but we need to!
I've had a few skin biopsies that required excising more skin and needed stitches and I go to a plastic surgeon for those biopsies to try to get better scars. (I'm going to scar either way, but going to a cosmetic surgeon, who is skilled in doing skin biopsies, gives my scars a better chance of being small and not to hypertrophic.) That may be vain, but it matters to me. I don't wear makeup most days, I don't dye my hair (yet), I don't consider myself especially vain, but for some reason I care about the biopsy scars. It's like, I already have to go through the pain and the anxiety of waiting to find out if the spots are cancer or not, so why do I have to have an ugly scar on top of that if I can try to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as injections, augmentations, lifts, I really feel that it is a highly personal choice and if it will make someone feel better about themselves and improve their quality of life then I don't see a problem with it.
Granted, I live in L.A. so I may be a little more desensitized to it than others.
I don't think there is anything wrong with expressing your opinion in a mature and non-condescending manner. Which by all means, from what you put up, it doesn't look like you were being rude or inconsiderate. Some people though don't think before they type and take EVERY opportunity to jump on the defense, especially over Facebook. I find it just as entertaining as you do.. believe me. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the plastic surgery bit. I tend to agree with you. There is a huge difference between superficial extremes such as plastic surgery and superficial things such as make up, tans and nails. Anyone that thinks there is any reason to compare the two is obviously being ridiculous. While I do think to each their own, I am also a firm believer that like you said, you can't stay young and wrinkle free forever. So live life and don't spend an absurd amount of money trying to slow that living of life down.
Thank you all for your responses - I love reading what you ladies have to say and it's wonderful that we can all have different views on an issue, but share them in love and still get along at the end of the day :)
ReplyDeleteIt means so much that you took the time to type out and share your opinion with me so thank you!
I'm with ya on plastic surgery. I don't believe in surgerically altering yourself unless there is a deformity that is very damaging, ie, clef lip, missing an ear, burn victims, etc. Stick to your guns gf!
ReplyDeletePlastic Surgery isn't wrong. I will support you in youre plastic surgery. you have a great article. Can you take a look at my article here.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Angelie