Medicalization of Female attractiveness

Introduction

Medicalization is a process whereby a previously non-medical problem not which does not require a medical attention increasingly becomes defines as a medical problem, placed under medical examination, and treated with a medical subscription.

Overview

Being natural is no longer considered beautiful unless the bodily features resemble those of popular culture, that is, resembles a fake body. These images of beauty standards are dominantly created by medical industries, through the mass media. Female attractiveness has become one that is defined and accomplished by doctors, accomplished through medical processes. The invasion of plastic surgery in the 21st century has made the attractiveness and beauty of women to be dependent on and defined by the medical transformation . A process that subjugates women in the system as seeking approval for acceptance in the society through their level of attractiveness.

Given the depiction of feminine attractiveness especially in Hollywood movies and mass media, an increasing number of women have relied on a medical process to define not just their beauty, but their entire body shape, size, form, and outlook. And this poses a huge demand on women in the society to work harder in order to considered attractive. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic plastic surgery includes surgical and nonsurgical procedures individuals undergo to reshape normal structures of the body as well as enhance appearance, confidence, and self-esteem .

Origin Of Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is said to have originated far back in 2000 B.C. and was used to reconstruct the faces and bodies of those that were severely damaged by injuries. For centuries, plastic surgery struggled to survive and was performed sparingly with mixed results. Its low acceptance also stemmed from the Christian doctrine forbidding the alteration of natural bodies. But the course of WW1 changed the perception of plastic (reconstructive) surgery as soldiers severely wounded and disfigured from wars were required to undergo reconstructive surgical treatment. Coupled with war effect and considerable technological advancement in plastic surgery, the field received lawful recognition, which made possible independent medical practices across the United States. 

When medical, scientific knowledge is used to legitimate practices within the health care settings, the existing patriarchal power structures that can result in the dominance of one group over another are often reinforced. And this dominance can be subliminally transmitted to women, resulting in unequal power relationships and oppressive practices.

For over 100 years, plastic surgery has undergone advanced technological innovation adding a range of what can be achieved through the process which includes: breast, body, face, and skin care. These various innovations have been systemically targeted at women by encouraging women to be proactive against having bad skin and also promote the use of different anti-aging products to influence the body to look younger as well as increase personal wellness and identity thereby making women the highest receiver of plastic surgery.

The role of media

A cosmetic surgery Ad portraying all-women on its cover.

In American society, diverse media marketing strategies and materials perpetuate the idealized standards of beauty among females by influencing a particular body image as well as providing convenient solutions to achieve this body image by undergoing surgery , as such, being natural is no longer considered the standard beauty unless the bodily features resemble or are transformed to those of popular culture. This has been made possible by socially, and psychological rejection of naturalness of the body through the media’s depiction of what is highly accepted in the entertainment industry, where the demands and burden to meet the beauty standard and the need to enhance females looks are much higher.  

Historically, people were comfortable and confident in their bodies and their skin, until it was made possible by the medical practitioners that people could change their looks through plastic cosmetic surgeries. A process that started off by medicalizing every social problem and then providing a solution to these problems through a medicalized process. For instance, due to what plastic surgery has been able to achieve, an increasing number of people, especially women became dissatisfied with their bodies, to make this a medical discourse, it has to be given a medical name thereby making  the social problem a medical one, called “body dysmorphic disorder.” Dissatisfaction with one’s body is now being diagnosed as a disorder which could be managed through plastic surgery.

In this process, any external body features that do not resemble those of popular culture or those portrayed in media, are inadvertently pathologized and symbolized as a moral failure. 

Implications of Medicalizing Female Attractiveness

The numbert of cosmetic procedures performed has significantly increased over the past decade especially among American females compared to their male counterparts. This inevitably reinforces the cultural messages tailored to females to meet the female standards of beauty that are becoming even more limited and unrealistic over time. The increased innovative procedures in cosmetic procedures also witnessed an increasing number of patients, with women racking up the highest receivers of cosmetic procedures. Evident in the 2010 data on cosmetic plastic statistics which revealed that out of the 77% increase in total cosmetic surgery performed in the past decade, over 70% are females .

This has been the case because females are socially influenced to view their bodies through the lenses of medical terminologies made available by the medicalization, including aesthetic flaws and genetics as issues in which they should seek the help of medical professionals. Likewise, females are made to view body enhancing procedures as therapeutic treatments and rewards since these services are advertised and promoted through medically achieved processes. Oddly. Most plastic surgeons prefer clients who under cosmetic procedures as a means to achieve their body goals and feel good about themselves. This process legitimizes the medicalization of female attractiveness as such, a female’s unattractive looks can be fixed through a medical procedure.

Concerns have been raised regarding medicalization of the body, arguing that it is over-expansion of medical professional jurisdiction and a mechanism by which the pharmaceutical industries use to increase the market for their drugs, as such, the credibility of medicalization of plastic cosmetic surgeries as a mean to enhance females attractiveness should be questioned. The fact that it is in fact targeted at women whose body type does not conform to those of the popular culture perpetuates the increase in women suffering from what the medical professionals diagnoses as (dysmorphia). 

Conclusion

A research by the qualitative report, which involved the collection of brochures from cosmetic surgery centers, reveals that out of 21 brochures collected, 20 of the brochures portrayed female bodies on the front cover. All the female faces shown were smiling, and they also appeared healthy youthful and young. Interestingly, only one brochure portrayed a man body with his shirt off and a towel and a bottle of water” and this brochure advertised only cool sculpting. A systemic process of unequal power balance, which sees women as non-attractive enough, and thus the need for a medical process to enhance their looks and thus, attractiveness which begs the question, should medicalization of women’s body be delegitimized and thus, demedicalized? The answer to this question would require a debate between different professions.