[miss_jane]

As I read through some of the threads about various aspects of beauty (cosmetic surgery, shaving, makeup etc) I noticed that the majority of them were distinctly not about the politics but about hints ands tips. I thought it would be useful and nice for busties to have a place to discuss the politics behind the "beauty myth" and hopefully clear some of our thoughts on it.

The type of topics that have been playing on my mind:

*Cosmetic Surgery
*The Removal of Body Hair
*Diets
*Makeup
*The Media's Attitude

Just to make everything clear I don't want this to become a place to attack busties who chose different ways of expressing their beauty.

So what are your thoughts? Can stereotypical beauty maintenance sit comfortably with feminist politics? Feminism is about a lot about choice for the individual, but is any choice (specifically about beauty) that a woman makes necessarily feminist? How difficult is it to stand up and fight the beauty myth?

As a side note : The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf is the book that stemmed these thoughts in me and a few years own I still haven't cleared in my mind the way I feel about things.

[smurfin]

I don't wear make-up. I have never been on a diet (well, once, when I was 12, I went on a diet. It lasted two days). I only shave if I'm wearing something short, and I only shave what shows. I do not wax. Ever. I do not always feel happy in my body, but I am loath to change its appearance: I wánt to be confident of myself, but I not always ám. I try though. And usually I succeed.

However, if someone has the money and wants to have plastic surgery done (by a qualified surgeon), I say: go ahead. If you think it will make you happier, and you have realistic expectations: seriously, go ahead.

I don't want to make distinctions. Where I live plastic surgery can sometimes be paid for by your insurance if there is a 'medical indication'. So, people will have their eyes lifted because it apparently gave them headaches. Well, I doubt those medical indications. I think a person who is truly unhappy with her A cup may well benefit from an operation just as much if not more than a person who has the top of her pinky reattached after an accident. Both examples of plastic surgery, one 'medically indicated', one not.

I do think people who want to have elective surgery should maybe speak to a psychologist. Not because they're mad, but because they need to have reasonable expectations. If you're counting on a boob job to fix your relationship with your husband, you need to realise that's not a reasonable expectation. Problems of the interpersonal variety aren't going to go away along with the fat you're getting liposucted. Yes, it may make you feel better about yourself. It may also make you feel worse.

Anyway, what do you think?