[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]

bklyn: I'm not sure your conclusion is correct. All it shows, is that people enjoy being what is considered the norm, and that they expect other people to want to conform to that norm, too.

And even though I agree that that's not necessarily a good thing, the fact remains that many people who have surgery *do* feel better about that part of their anatomy afterwards. Of course, nothing stops them from finding fault with a different part after, but still.

Just because the reasons someone feels a part of her body is inadequate are fishy doesn't mean that changing that body part is not going to make her more happy with herself.
Example: I am not overweight (at all). Yet I feel happier when I've lost a bit of weight. I realise the standards I'm trying to conform to are not my own, and are usually inattainable. The fact remains: I am happier in my body when I'm slimmer.

Conformist behaviour? Surely.
Unhealthy behaviour? That as well.
Still the truth? Absolutely.


I don't believe everyone should go and have surgery when they're feeling down. I don't think giving your girlfriend/mother/wife liposuction is going to help her feel better about herself. I don't think it's at *all* desirable that so many people are unhappy about their bodies. But the fact is: they are. And if they have the money, and they have reasonable expectations: go for it.

I understand that many people feel the choice is not that of these girls, but of their environment: that the pressure upon them from their peers or their parents or whomever to be perfect is what makes these girls want to have operations.
I suppose that is partially true. Quite possibly horribly true. And it would be wonderful if we could get these women to realise they are perfect as they are as long as *they* feel they are. But we can't. Our culture is what it is. We can try to change it, in fact we should work hard to change it, but in the meantime the option of surgery should be available for those who wish it.