Only Barbie should be plastic

I am sitting here watching a show on plastic surgery disasters. I am just amazed as to how young the women are who are having these drastic surgeries. These are women who are already very attractive yet they feel the need to make changes when there is nothing to fix. It is only after they go through this that they realize looks aren't everything. DUH!!

I've seen the reports about women needing bigger and bigger breasts or several sessions of liposuction. They have the fat sucked out of one place and injected in another place. They endure painful Botox shots, a product made from the same poison as botulism in an effort to stave off the ravages of time. They just keep going back for more, hardly giving previous surgeries a chance to heal. Eventually a woman can change herself so much her own dog barks every time she comes into the room. Could this be blamed on society's attitude about looks or is this just something in their heads? Perhaps it is a little of both.

I've noticed the evolution of toys for girls. This is usually the first place where little girls get the images of what it means to be a woman. When I was little it was Barbie. She had the pointy boobs, the impossibly tiny waist, and legs that were disproportionate to real life. As Barbie has gotten older her boobs have gotten bigger. Then along came the Bratz dolls. They are kind of cute and but again they have bodies that are really unattainable by natural biology or exercise. They have big butts and tiny waists. So what are little girls suppose to assume from this? Most psychologists think this can lead to poor body image in girls. It can be followed by eating disorders, etc.

So what does someone do if they are already insecure about their looks? They may have spend time and money at the gym, on make up, and clothes to hide what they feel is wrong with them. No amount of compliments can change their mind. That unreal image of perfection is ingrained in them. The last resort is seeing the doctor to carve them into this imagined perfection.

There are no quick fixes, no magic bullets. Work with what you've got. Treat your body with respect and reverence. There's nothing wrong with the occasional pint of Chunky Monkey. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with growing old gracefully.