The Socialogical Analysis of Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is an interesting cultural phenomenon. It is a very controversial subject that many people are fascinated by. Sociologists today use the three theoretical perspectives, conflict, functionalist, and interactionist theory to understand the range of issues and phenomenon in societies. In this paper I will present a sociological analysis of plastic surgery with a brief history on the subject matter.
Plastic surgery first originated in India in 600 B.C. The first procedure to be done was on the noses of people who had lost them due to committing a crime or an injury during a battle. The procedure was quite simple. The surgeon would cut the skin off the person’s forehead or cheeks and attach it to the nose, them he would put wooden tubes inside the nostrils, so the person could breathe.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, in Rome were beauty was highly valued, surgeons began practicing methods to alter the human body. They first started operating on gladiators whose faces had been severely damaged. Afterwards they began to use some breast reduction methods, but they mostly focused on reconstructing the ears, lips, and noses. After the Roman Empire fell the advancement of surgery was stalled for a couple hundred years. During the rise of Christianity in the Middle Ages and Renaissance period the church forbade anybody to have any surgical changes done to their body.
There wasn’t much progress for centuries till World War I. Many soldiers were coming back home with severe injuries on their bodies. Since there were more and more people in need of these surgeries, reconstructive surgery started to develop even further. They came up with new techniques such as trying to rebuild entire limbs, ...

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...east reconstruction surgery. In my opinion that is not that as serious as somebody who had severe trauma on their face because of an accident. That just shows how low society really is. Although I don’t understand why media is used to portray what is beautiful. That not doing society any good in fact it is hurting us. We should be focusing on jobs and school not being worried if we look good enough for society. This makes me think it is a distraction that is meant to keep us from other things.
In conclusion in this paper I have contrasted the three theoretical perspectives that relate to plastic surgery. These are basic theories related to how society works. They are meant to draw attention to a particular phenomenon and make you really deeply about it. It also shows there are many ways to look at the phenomenon, because it focuses on more than one aspect.