Plastic Surgery

Originally Posted by Rome

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You're confusing IQ with intellect. Not saying you don't possess what you claim but a surgery for IQ augmentation would amount to a huge waste of money.

No ****. Remember how miserable Homer Simpson was when the crayon was removed from up his nose and his IQ skyrocketed?

Stupid people are happy because they don't have the brains to realize how miserable they really are.

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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Stupid people are happy because they don't have the brains to realize how miserable they really are.

Tom Cruise believes Scientology is giving him a higher IQ, that stuff is making him smarter he said. So you can always go that route.

If stupidity is happiness, then don't wipe the smile from my face.

One of my favorite bits of spurious wisdom there.

I once had cosmetic surgery of a sort. I had veneers put on my front teeth to close a large gap between them. It didn't make me any smarter, but it improved my apparent IQ as judged by others. It also improved my ability to bite into the ass of life.

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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It also improved my ability to bite into the ass of life.

LOL.

With the pic you posted in the babes thread, you would need them.

I always find it sad when someone gets plastic surgery as some sort of gift from those that bore him/her.

That said, there is a lot in the world that is depressing and I'm
"against", like the group of boisterous kids getting smashed right now at noon and splaying across pool tables of an airport bar.

well, since my dad got shot in the face and his nose got busted which needed it, i am all out for plastic surgery.

Originally Posted by Rome

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LOL.

With the pic you posted in the babes thread, you would need them.

True, I've had plenty of practice on that playground. You can imagine how it's strengthened my jaw.

Originally Posted by Rome

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I'm also not morally apposed to it. There is something about plastic surgery that just doesn't sit right with me though; it furthers the homogenization of the culture.

That the United States is among the most diverse in respects such as ethnicity almost certainly contributes to the popularity of cosmetic surgery in the USA.

As long as the patient is well educated and the procedure is performed by true experts, (The US allows way too many hacks to practice medicine, it's really sad, lawyers protect these bast321s) THEN it can be a life changing thing. Your self esteem is tied to your looks despite what any monk tells you that it is all inside. Life is not fair, and if your better looking it helps alot but its not everything obviously.

The key is to be conservative, have a complete psych eval prior, and find an ethical doctor that will turn you away if you are unrealistic.

Large Universities and teaching institutions are usually your safest bet and they usually have the best ethics and are at the forefront of medicine. Highly advertised or private practice physicians are the ones to be careful as they are usually the most aggressive and out for the buck despite what they say, not that they can't do the job though.

Originally Posted by mensimageconsultant

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That the United States is among the most diverse in respects such as ethnicity almost certainly contributes to the popularity of cosmetic surgery in the USA.
What I imagine Rome was implying is that plastic surgery is popular because there is an increasing singular notion of beauty and attractiveness in American culture.

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with him?

Originally Posted by Brian SD

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Totally against. You can't buy good looks. You shouldn't want to change who you are. If you aren't happy how you look, sucks to be you but it shouldn't matter so much. To all people considering cosmetic plastic surgery: get over yourself.
Well, for those of us who didn't win the genetic pick six like you must have... I don't think it's that simple. Rather, I don't think it's fair or reasonable to be so critical of one wanting to improve his looks. After all, tens of thousands of words of advice have been written on this forum wherein we help one another determine what type of haircut looks best or what workout regimen works best, etc. If we took your advice, then noone would ever shave or cut his hair or wear deodorant, because after all, that would be changing who we are. For that matter, would we wear clothes?

Maybe it shouldn't matter, but this very forum is evidence that the way we look matter very much in this society.

I'm not personally a big advocate of augmentation, but if I'd been born with 32A rather than ... well, what I am, then I might think differently. If for no other reason than clothes would fit much better. But I"m certainly not going to tell the kid who is painfully introverted after 10 years of being called "Dumbo" & "Elephant Ears" by mean classmates that he should just get over himself. I've seen this very situation turn a kid's life around, just with a relatively simple procedure. Maybe it SHOULDN'T be that way, but it is.

I'm assuming the OP was referring to purely cosmetic. Because I do hope that Brian wouldn't tell the woman who lost her breast due to cancer to "get over herself".

Originally Posted by Jill

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But I"m certainly not going to tell the kid who is painfully introverted after 10 years of being called "Dumbo" & "Elephant Ears" by mean classmates that he should just get over himself. I've seen this very situation turn a kid's life around, just with a relatively simple procedure. Maybe it SHOULDN'T be that way, but it is.

very well said.

Originally Posted by Jill

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Well, for those of us who didn't win the genetic pick six like you must have... I don't think it's that simple. Rather, I don't think it's fair or reasonable to be so critical of one wanting to improve his looks. After all, tens of thousands of words of advice have been written on this forum wherein we help one another determine what type of haircut looks best or what workout regimen works best, etc. If we took your advice, then noone would ever shave or cut his hair or wear deodorant, because after all, that would be changing who we are. For that matter, would we wear clothes?

Maybe it shouldn't matter, but this very forum is evidence that the way we look matter very much in this society.

I'm not personally a big advocate of augmentation, but if I'd been born with 32A rather than ... well, what I am, then I might think differently. If for no other reason than clothes would fit much better. But I"m certainly not going to tell the kid who is painfully introverted after 10 years of being called "Dumbo" & "Elephant Ears" by mean classmates that he should just get over himself. I've seen this very situation turn a kid's life around, just with a relatively simple procedure. Maybe it SHOULDN'T be that way, but it is.

I'm assuming the OP was referring to purely cosmetic. Because I do hope that Brian wouldn't tell the woman who lost her breast due to cancer to "get over herself".

Totally agreed, and well-said. My only issue with plastic surgery is when it hurts more than it helps--i.e. badly-done surgery. When done judiciously and well, I have no issues with it. Everyone wants to improve themselves, and this is just another way. It can be dangerous for some people, and feed their insecurities, but so can an obsession with clothing, for example.

Originally Posted by Edward Appleby

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What I imagine Rome was implying is that plastic surgery is popular because there is an increasing singular notion of beauty and attractiveness in American culture.


I would think quite the contrary -- that the diversity of cultures leads to a much broader sense of what is considered attractive. As much as the fashion industry and celebrity culture is assaulted for promoting unrealistic, idealized standards of beauty, it seems to me that in the last 20 years, there has been a significant broadening of what's considered attractive. Hardly a week goes by that I don't see some fashion magazine featuring a model who in another time might have been considered too pale, too dark, too full-lipped, too scrawny, too heavy, too chesty, too flat-chested, too freckled, too swarthy, too bald, too 'ethnic'...

It seems that Benetton was a leading promoter of 'world beauty' years ago -- if not the first, certainly one of the most prominent to the average consumer. I think Ralph Lauren also was pretty revolutionary in featuring the dark-skinned, full-lipped black/Asian Tyson Beckford so prominently in his advertising -- that's particularly interesting, given RL's strongly european-rooted brand image.

Anyway, as far as surgery is concerned, if it's relatively safe and helps you feel better about yourself, why not? Though I think if there's any way someone can possibly learn to love themselves and feel good about themselves just as they are, they will have learned invaluable emotional/psychological lessons from the journey. Easier said than done, but not impossible.

Originally Posted by Margaret

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I think Ralph Lauren also was pretty revolutionary in featuring the dark-skinned, full-lipped black/Asian Tyson Beckford so prominently in his advertising -- that's particularly interesting, given RL's strongly european-rooted brand image.

I think this model looks fantastic, but I also think RL was looking to appeal more to the African American market, not that there's anything wrong with that.