Plastic Surgery: Beauty is Pain???

Recently, I read an article on a young reality star, Heidi Montag, who reportedly underwent 10 cosmetic procedures in one day. Heidi Montag, who is only 23 and held no apparent need for plastic surgery, has admitted to being obsessed with it which brings me to ask; can plastic surgery become an actual addiction? Should plastic surgery be considered a form of self-mutilation or injury?

After looking further into what self-mutilation and injury was: cutting, burning, breaking, picking, and inflicting pain on one’s self in hopes of relieving themselves of inner pain, receiving attention or even just to have control over hurt and pain instead of hurt and pain controlling them, Heidi Montag came to mind. This may be an extreme case to help prove my point but at the same time, Heidi Montag’s story is a strong one. Yes, there are other Hollywood stars, both young and old, who have received surgery to alter their appearances like Courtney Love, Joan Rivers, and Lil' Kim but no case has been as extreme as Heidi’s.

She claims that when she was younger, she was made fun of for her appearance. In my opinion, Heidi did not need to change anything about her body. She had gone under the knife one time in 2007 to change her nose and the size of her breast. I think it’s extreme and should raise some interest that her second encounter with plastic surgery almost took her life. Now, Heidi is left with the inability to show facial expression or even smile and the need to increase her breast to a size ‘H’ simply because “H will stand for Heidi”. When will she draw the line?

I have never been a fan of plastic surgery unless there was a need for it ‘health-wise’. For example, my mother got a breast reduction because the size of her chest was putting a strain on her back. Or for women who have a mastectomy and then have realistic implants to replace the ones that were removed. Other than those reasons and maybe a few more, I feel like plastic surgery encourages self-mutilation. I don’t approve of people who pay money to have their bodies cut into and altered, and for what reason? Because they were unhappy with themselves? How could a person inflict so much pain on themselves to try and mask their unhappiness with themselves? Maybe beauty really is pain. Or is the pain what is really beautiful?