We live in a consumer culture where products and services such as diet pills, slimming creams, weight loss products that tone fat without exercise, liposuction and cosmetic surgery, are just a few of the popular methods that are promoted by advertisers to help people in achieving their ideal body image. Advertisements draw attention to a host of ideologies, by offering products and services that attract consumers who oblige their bodies, minds and souls to achieving the ideal appearance of beauty. Advertisements are present where ever we go, they are present on buses, billboards, in malls, magazines and many more. Advertisements all serve the same purpose of promoting and selling products and services that strive to help people, specifically women, to achieve a slimmer toned body, bigger breasts, and a face that is accepted by society. Advertisements that contain beauty related images, sometimes portray negative effects on a women’s view of her own body image and her perceived idea of how she should actually look (Heyes 2007). This paper will analyze several advertisement ads, their denotative and connotative meanings, where cultural and social context play a role in how advertisements are produced and read. This paper will argue how the effects of advertisements on body image and size results in dangerous and extreme options such as cosmetic surgery, diet pills and slimming creams, and lastly, bulimia and anorexia. This paper will focus primarily on Korean advertisements, where beauty is pursued through extreme methods.
Many Asian countries, especially Korea, are trivialized by their appearances because many are seen as not beautiful enough. In Korea, plastic surgery has now become a massive player in Korean culture, where com...
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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.
Sullivan, Deborah A. "Tightening the Bonds of Beauty." Cosmetic Surgery: The Cutting Edge of Commercial Medicine in America. N.p.: Rutgers UP, 2001. N. pag. Print.
Beautiful people with stellar personalities are often found within the media, whether it be in a television show, a movie, or a magazine. These so-called celebrities set the standards extremely high for appearance, making those who do not meet those standards come across as unappealing or unattractive. The media creates a negative stigma that unpleasant looking people are inferior to the good-looking, ergo, many people strive to become more attractive looking and are willing to do ludicrous things to themselves, such as plastic surgery, in order to obtain this fabricated sense of beauty. According to media standards, Pal...
In today society, beauty in a woman seems to be the measured of her size, or the structure of her nose and lips. Plastic surgery has become a popular procedure for people, mostly for women, to fit in social class, race, or beauty. Most women are insecure about their body or face, wondering if they are perfect enough for the society to call the beautiful; this is when cosmetic surgery comes in. To fix what “needed” to be fixed. To begin with, there is no point in cutting your face or your body to add or remove something most people call ugly. “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery” explored the desire of human to become beyond perfection by the undergoing plastic surgery. The author, Camille Pagalia, took a look how now days how Americans are so obsessed
Plastic surgery, a procure used to restore, repair, and reconstruct the body has dominated the 21st century by letting one obtain their “ideal” body. As various types of plastic surgeries, such as, rhinoplasty and breast implants emerge in popularity, a popular procedure used to remove the epicanthal fold of the eyes, has been questioned by some of “stripping” away an ethnic identity. East Asian Blepharoplasty, also known as “double eyelid surgery,” has dominated East Asia, claiming to make one look “younger.” However, the unobtrusive reason for its popularity, to stray away from “chink” is represented by an obsession over “Western” beauty and the effects of “internalized racism.” The experiences of those who went through the procedure and others who went through similar procedures for similar reasons, express how “internalized racism,” has brainwashed the people to conform to a society which has diminished the true meaning of “beauty.”
The advertisement of cosmetic surgery can be seen just about anywhere today. Driving down the street it is advertised on billboard ads, listening to the radio it is advertised by radio spokespersons, while surfing the net it appears in pop up ads, even social media is flooded with cosmetic surgery advertisement, and with the vast majority of those who surf the net, and use social medial on a regular basis it lures, thousands of teens on a daily basis, and increases the number of likely candidates for such
The word "diete" originated from Old French "diete" meaning "regular food" c.1225 AD and from Latin "daily food allowance, prescribed way of life," also from Greek "diatia", originally meaning "way of life, regimen, dwelling," from diaitasthai "lead one's life."¹
Many startling statistics surround the topic of plastic surgery. The strong economy of the 1990's, and the decrease in the average amount of children, is what many credit for the excess income that has allowed for "discretionary spending" on plastic surgery. An opportunity to improve one's self-image at what seems to be a fair deal. Cosmetic surgery fees, as reported by the Sun-Sentinel, range from a modest six thousand for a complete facelift to a meager five hundred for a partial chemical peel. Once you have completed a consultation with the chief surgeon, or a patient coordinator, a financial arrangement is typically available through some type of assistance program. While women make up most patients, (Neimark 9), men represent 13% of current patients. This trend has been on the rise mainly because of the mainstream acceptance society has of plastic surgery. In addition, the expectations of women are strongly based upon their physical beauty, especially in the workplace. Yet some link the psychological need for an acceptable body image to the fact that plastic surgery helps emphasize the feminine and masculine features that many desire. Is this national ob...
Today plastic surgery has become a multi billion dollar industry and continues to evolve each day.
Beauty has always been society’s greatest obsession and without realizing it, society is breeding a society that satisfies their standards. Society has compelled women to go “under the knife” as society’s ethics and beliefs have set an unrealistic standard of beauty that is unreasonable to meet. Cosmetic surgery has become a practice that is used to help women abide these societal standards of beauty. Women undergo surgical procedures to gain social acceptance in society, meet the standards that the media sets and satisfy today’s male dominating society. A woman’s physical appearance have been so concerning and important, their need to possess their desirable traits is eliminating their own individuality.
In Asia, cosmetic surgery has become more popular, and countries such as China, India and Thailand have become some of the main cosmetic surgery markets in Asia, in particular for “affordable breast augmentation and sex reassignment surgery, with international patients coming from Australia, Europe and neighboring Asian countries” (Riggs).
Flipping through the pages of Vogue's latest edition, 23 year-old Susan seems quite upset. She struggles with the thought of lacking the perfect body and delicate features in order to be considered attractive. Surprisingly, Susan is not alone in this kind of an internal struggle. In contemporary society, every other woman aspires to have the lips of Angelina Jolie and the perfect jaw line of Keira Knightley. Society today looks down upon individuals that do not fit in, whether in terms of body shape or facial attractiveness. This forces them to consider the option of 'ordering beauty.' Since cosmetic surgery is no longer a social taboo in America given its widespread popularity, more people are promoting it which ultimately affects the rest of the world due to the unwavering influence of American culture. Cosmetic surgery should be deterred in the US because it promotes the idea of valuing appearance over ability, gives rise to unrealistic expectations, and brings with it high cost to society.
Colins, Joan. N.d..”The Pro’s and Con’s of Plastic Surgery”. Retrieved on January 28th, 2008. From http://cseserv.engr,scu.edu/StudentWebPages/KNguyen/researchpaper.htm
Goudrea, Jenna. “The Hidden Dangers Of Cosmetic Surgery.” Forbes. 16 06 2011: n. page. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Some people’s obsession with plastic surgery is obviously getting out of control. It starts with only getting one thing fixed or corrected but then quickly escalates and before you know it, a face that once was all-flesh turns into plastic. According to a study conducted by Nigel Mercer (2009), “The number of official cosmetic surgeries has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003”. The two reasons why plastic surgery should be banned are because of its high health risks, and because of the additional pressure it puts on people to look picture-perfect.