Quote:
Originally Posted by nolla
I was talking / debating with a (male) friend about plastic surgery. My view was that there is something "off" about it. I couldn't quite explain it, though. Anyways, he pointed out that women have harder time with the expectations in this time and culture. In his opinion this is what makes women to go under the knife. He says it is woman against woman rivalry (not filling expectations of men). If you are pretty they envy you and you are glad for it, if you are not pretty, you are the jealous one. So, the reason for the knife would be to boost your self-confidence. I cannot entirely disagree on this one.
So, how do you girls see this? Does it seem like men have easier lives with this kind of expectations? Me, I don't personally have any desire to "build up my muscles" or anything. I don't care. I find it hard to believe it would be much different (psychologically) if we talk about women.
(Oh, I'm sorry if this is wrong forum to discuss this. I couldn't figure out a better one)
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My first reaction:
I feel like that's an excuse and women only do that to themselves, being so attentive and taken by society's expectations and what they feel others expect them to be. Women don't have it harder in THIS day and age. WOMEN HAVEN'T HAD IT BETTER. Men have just as many expectations to live up to. Men 'should be' macho, strong, reliable, stable, etc etc etc, just as much as women 'should be' pretty, sexy, sociable, etc etc etc. I feel that men and women have equally difficult problems in this day and age, and it doesn't matter what gender you are, it matters how well you as a person let yourself be affected by the messages around you. Women should be proud that they are WOMEN. That they can reproduce, create babies, that we are rooted to LIFE itself. Men should be proud of whatever they should be proud of too. Men are typically one rung up the ladder ahead of women, just because of how most of society places them, but they still have their problems. Lots of men have reaaaaal mental problems, are violent, lose their sense of reality more than women do, etc.
Women are super-sexualized in western society, and that's the only reason why there is this type of pointless expectation. I personally feel that if people rely so strongly on some fabricated ideal of 'prettiness' to measure up a person, then their opinion isn't really worth much anyway. Unless you look unbelievably deformed or something, going under the knife doesn't seem necessary. I tell that to my sister who wants to get a nose job and wants to get rid of a few hardly noticeable freckles on her face that, but she doesn't see it the same way, and I don't quite get it.