"You-Only Better" Discussion questions

[Casey Tom]

What is a person's primary goal for getting cosmetic surgery?

If society embraces cosmetic surgery, then what will society look like in 50 years?

Why is society uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing happiness by means of cosmetic surgery?

[rachelverhagen]

1. The main goal of plastic surgery is to improve the way one looks. Most people are born with some aspect of their physical appearance that they are unhappy with. Usually, one learns to "deal with it" and move on or even embrace their flaw. In some cases, those who can afford it may seek cosmetic surgery. No matter what body part is being changed, the ultimate goal is to improve one's looks.

2. If society embraces cosmetic surgery, I feel that eventually we will all look very similar. If a lot of people decide to undergo surgery, the aspect of being "beautiful" will be redefined. If everyone suddenly becomes beautiful, I believe society will find new ways to define beauty that people will try and achieve - thus creating new ways to "improve" appearance. This will lead to a never ending cycle of trying to be the "prettiest" and the "best" looking.

3. I feel that society is uncomfortable with this idea for multiple reasons. First of all, this technology has not always been in existence and certain groups of people may still be adjusting to the idea of physically altering one's body. Second, certain religions and groups of people are opposed to this idea and would never consider it for moral reasons and wish to keep their natural look. Some also believe that changing one's appearance will not provide "true" happiness and satisfaction. Finally, most people cannot afford to undergo these surgeries so they have to find alternatives to altering their appearance. These are just some of the reasons why society is uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing happiness through cosmetic surgery.

[Jenna D]

I feel like usually, a person's main goal for getting plastic surgery is to look younger, or, in their opinion -- "better". I feel like it can really be a huge self esteem thing as well, especially for women who face extreme pressure for looking young and thin from the media and such. They get the surgery to feel validated and increase self esteem and probably fit into society more (at least that's my opinion).
If society embraces cosmetic surgery, it could become more socially accepted and then more people would probably get it. But I really believe that cost is a huge issue and if prices don't come down, then a lot of people will be alienated from these procedures. This could also cause a lot of debt because if it becomes more accepted, people may get it even if they don't have the money, and then plunge into debt just to indulge. If prices do come down, many people may engage in such processes and in 50 years, The United States could become a nation of "enhanced" people...a nation of youth and perfection that is paid for. That's quite scary to me. Could we be seeing lots of botoxed cheeks and eyebrow lifts and face lifts? If I have a daughter or even a son in the future, will they feel comfortable living in a society and be strong enough to stay natural and feel special? Or will they feel the pressure to conform and use their hard earned money to support plastic surgery "needs" instead of family needs etc? I'm just not sure.

[Rick P]

3) I can't say why society as a whole is uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing happiness by means of cosmetic surgery, but I can personally say that I think that most of the time plastic surgery will make someone look less physically appealing to me (unless it's a boob job). Personally I think aging with beauty is the way to go because when someone looks unnatural it's often more uncomfortable to look at for me compared to someone who is just naturally ugly. The reason society might be uncomfortable with it might be that a lot of people don't find plastic surgery to be physically appealing in the least. There's also the fact that many people don't find it morally right too.

[Zach Miller]

I think it is universally perceived that for the most part if someone decides to receive cosmetic surgery, it is primarily to enhance some aspect of themselves and is generally not a mandatory procedure. Because of this perception, cosmetic surgery is not yet socially accepted and is often frowned upon by the general public. However, there are many cases when due to some sort of genetic deficiency cosmetic surgery is highly recommended and that I fully support.


Personally, I do not think society will embrace cosmetic surgery even in 50 years. It is a luxury that primarily the wealthy can afford since they do not know what else to spend their money on. Therefore I can't predict a future where society will accept that lifestyle and predict it will continue to be looked down upon.

Most people think cosmetic surgery is an unnecessary procedure that is only to fulfill some selfish ambition. Honestly, to some extent, I would have to agree since the only people I have known to make the choice to pursue cosmetic surgery are generally superficial in many ways and have the means to spend an obscene price to receive a more "ideal" look in their eyes. Although, as we saw by the "cat woman" in class, most cosmetic surgery leaves you looking worse then you started therefore society has a hard time accepting cosmetic surgery as way of achieving happiness.

[Warner]

It all comes back to the idea of what it means to be your true self. If cosmetic surgery becomes more subtle and natural looking then I think it will be more accepted or perhaps more people will undergo the procedure but yet keep it a secret. When I look at celebrities who have had cosmetic surgery, I often think they looked better beforehand. Take a look for yourself ...http://www.goddessgab.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Heidi-Montag-New-Surgery-Before-and-After.jpg

Those who get cosmetic surgery become almost alien looking. I agree with some of the previous posts; there is great pressure to look young and retain this look for as long as you can, since from an evolutionary standpoint youth is correlated with fertility. If I were to ever undergo cosmetic surgery (which I'm never planning on) then I wouldn't want anyone to know because it would make me appear superficial. Isn't strange how much we care about how people view us, both through our looks and our choices. Like I said above, if it becomes more natural looking then I predict more people to have it done.

[Nicky Mas]

1. The primary goal for a person getting cosmetic surgery is to improve their appearance because they are unsatisfied with how they look. By getting surgery, the person can “find their true selves” and look how they always wanted to. Cosmetic surgery is solely for improving appearance.
2. I think that society will not be as diverse as it is now. There will be many similar looking people just because of a cosmetic surgery trend because everyone is embracing the surgery. There will be a “fake” type of society, where you would not be able to tell if someone’s face is the one they were born with or if it was enhanced through a surgical process to make it look the way the person wanted it to.
3. Firstly, I think society is uncomfortable with pursuing happiness by mean of cosmetic surgery because of the price. Surgeries are not cheap and can take a long time to heal. If more people were rich, then there will definitely be more people requesting cosmetic surgery, however, there are so many other means of pursuing happiness in a less expensive way.

[Sean K]

1. A person's primary goal when getting cosmetic surgery is to alter their appearance so that they feel better about themselves. It gives them confidence and makes them feel how they interpret they should look. Whether it is outrageous or completely unnecessary, people get cosmetic surgery feel it makes them more like themselves than ever before.

2. If society embraces cosmetic surgery, I do not think much will change. It is not often that I hear of people getting cosmetic surgery and while it is expensive which is why only a small portion of people get procedures done, I feel like most people are happy with themselves and would rather be themselves and look natural than have surgery to look like someone that they are not. If it is more accepted, the percentage of people that have procedures may rise but certainly not by a lot.

3. Society is uncomfortable with the idea of using cosmetic surgery as a means to happiness because it is a strange way of trying to find happiness. Changing the way one looks to try to find happiness is not a traditional way to become happy. Most people find happiness by going on a trip, getting a job they love, or finding someone to fall in love with. Changing they way one looks does not seem to be as effective as a way to become happy. Many find cosmetic surgery unnatural which is why they do not like the idea of it in order to find happiness.

[Breyana Gibson]

1. The primary goal for most people who get cosmetic surgery is to "better themselves", or to bring out "the real me." They are uncomfortable with their natural features and undergo surgery to bring out what they believe they are supposed to look like or to make themselves into what they believe is beauty. Many people have different reasons for getting cosmetic surgery, for some people who are aging, it is to preserve their youth, strength, and beauty. For others, especially younger adults it seems like its the new thing to do. Most people aspire to look like their celebrity idols, but what they fail to realize is that most of their celebrity idols undergo surgery as well to stay in the public eye, while other use cosmetic to redefine themselves for medical reasons.

2. Since most people who can afford cosmetic surgery are abusing the privilege, if society embraces cosmetic surgery, within the next fifty years as Rosen states, "the risk is not a society of beauty but of homogeneous mannequins." Their will be very few natural features because everyone will follow the trend, of face lifts, botox injections, lipo if overweight, etc. Everyone will look ridiculously like everyone else, and natural beautiful features will be a thing of the past. But then again will it? Cosmetic surgery is quite pricey and majority of these simple surgeries such as botox injections only last temporarily, so this solely depends on who can afford to continuously pay for these surgeries which only leaves a select few. So, unless prices go down or insurance begins to cover a significant amount of the cost of these surgeries, I don't think our society will change much.

3. Our society is uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing happiness by means of cosmetic surgery because many reasons. Some says it is unethical or not moral because of various religious reasons while others simply believe that people should be comfortable in their own skin and should love and embrace their natural beauties. Also, the outcome of some cosmetic surgeries are not always successful.