Body Enhancement Issues: Who Is To Be Blamed, Lack Of Self Confidence Or The Media?

Following the articles that Ghanacelebrities.com wrote regarding the death of Claudia Aderotimi (for those of you that are not familiar with the story click here), I have been thinking about what would drive an already beautiful young woman to die in such tragic circumstances. I know that she wanted to be a ‘hip-hop video girl’, but I truly do not believe that this was the only factor that caused her to get cosmetic surgery, ultimately leading to her death.

As a 21-year-old young woman, I am well aware of the pressures faced in contemporary society by both men and women- women more so than men. Not only are we faced with an onslaught of how to make ourselves look younger or better, but our eyes and minds are barraged with images of celebrities who appear to look like Gods and Goddesses, making us disillusioned enough to believe that our bodies will never reach such ‘perfection’.

There are numerous reality television programmes that promise to make us look ’10 years younger’, or feature characters that have been so surgically enhanced that they resemble real-life walking Barbies. Not only do such programmes glamorise body enhancements, but also create an illusion that taking such drastic measures in adjusting what we have been blessed with, is as simple as ABC. What about the endless weeks of pain caused by plastic surgery? How often do they show us that on television or in the other sources of the media? What about the high possibility that something could go extremely wrong?

As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, one significant aspect that we must ensure that we always remember and engrave in our minds is the fact that Photoshop does exist; the celebrities you see in magazines dressed to the nines and looking like the epitomes of perfection do not actually look like that in real life! Beyonce is a 29-year-old woman- do you think she does not have an ounce of cellulite on her? No matter how toned she may be, I bet you that there is something about her that is never made visible to the media audience.

Speaking of Beyonce, just because she has been blessed with a curvy body, it does not mean every woman has to aspire to those standards. Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj (and her fake plastic booty), Kim Kardashian et al are some of the names that constantly top the world’s sexiest lists and are idolized by men all over the globe, but who is to say that we see in magazines or on the television is the actual truth?

Jennifer Lopez has had twins, and if someone told me that she doesn’t have any stretch marks just because you were able to witness this from her magazine bikini pose, I would tell you that moon is made out of cheese, or that the Earth is square.

Being pregnant with one child is enough to leave you with quite a few stretch marks, let alone two; the beauty of airbrushing and Photoshop continue to create such illusions that make us think that celebrities are perfect when they are just as human as you and me, and have their own flaws and insecurities.

As easy as it would be to say that body image issues are caused solely by the media and the images they present to us on a daily basis, I believe that there could be further underlying causes; what about a lack of self-confidence, pressure from our peers, or even being teased about certain features- all these are enough to lead some people to turn to surgery and other routes to try and change their appearance.

According to the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgery), more young people are now turning to Cosmetic Surgery now than ever before. Why do you guys think this is?; is it the media, or other factors?