Beauty is on the Inside but a Knife will get it out

The modern day female is under attack from all directions. The latest, fashionable look is that of the voluptuous and healthy Amazonian woman. Tall, lots of hair, beautiful face, a large chest, narrow waist, full hips and long legs are now de rigeur. And, of course, all topped off with a forever youthful appearance.

Cat walk models might get the fashion work, but when it comes to the high street and the magazines, the ideal woman is young, curvy and sexy.

The problem is, that most women are not born like this. Few women in fact are the ideal shape and most feel they have to do some work to get to the ideal shape. Research has shown that the modern day woman is very unhappy with her shape, pointing out that although individual parts might be okay, the overall effect is not always what they want.

And one of the more harmful consequences of all this body insecurity is that many women are being drawn to cosmetic surgery. In the past, women would work with what they had and enhance, or play down certain of their features with the clever use of cosmetics. But with the pressure being stepped up by the tabloid newspapers, glossy celeb magazines and music videos for women to achieve the idealized shape, surgery is becoming commonplace. Afterall, you can choose your breast size when it comes to surgery, whereas you’d be hard pushed to do the same with the subtle shading offered by cosmetics.

And this situation is worrying a number of pressure groups, who are particularly worried about the bad influence the idealized shape is having upon youngsters who are particular prone, especially during their teenage years, to body insecurity.

So in steps plastic surgery with the answer to all women’s problems, or so the beneficiaries of the vast money spent on such procedures would believe.

Surgery can basically be used to create the ideal shape and that’s why it’s so appealing for many women. Plastic surgery is basically all about remodeling, restoration and repair of body parts. Plastic surgery is especially good at the transfer of tissue.

Plastic surgery can be divided into two areas, cosmetic and reconstructive. And the field of cosmetic surgery is what appeals to women keen on a new look, or enhancing a particular feature. Procedures include breast augmentation, liposuction to remove unwanted fat, or ‘nip and tucks’ to provide a more youthful appearance.

For the record, reconstructive surgery plays a crucial part when it comes to correcting birth defects, or burns damage, or injuries following accidents.

It is said that in the U.S., the home of plastic surgery, that in 2007 nearly 12 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were carried out. And that represents an increase of nearly 500 per cent since figures were first compiled in 1997.

Older people using plastic surgery tend to do so to defy the aging process and help them stand out, whereas younger people use it to actually fit in and become part of the accepted shape.

But the fact that so many younger people are trying out cosmetic surgery, has led to calls that it should be curtailed until the implications of its use are fully understood.

Although the majority of procedures are performed properly with no side effects, there are a number of cases in which there have been horrific examples of things going wrong. Gaping wounds, bodily rejection of implants, tumours and cases of high blood pressure have all been logged against plastic surgery procedures.

And observers feel that people should be fully informed of the risks and possible consequences of the procedures before they pay out the thousands in fees needed to fund plastic surgery.

Social commentators are now saying that women should not listen to those trying to define the ideal form and should have confidence in their own shape, and not to resort to plastic surgery as an easy and quick way to conform.

But whether the knife will eventually be laid to one side, or used more often, remains to be seen.