#cosmeticsurgery

This week’s topic centres around body modification on visual social media and how the need to improve one’s appearance has increased overwhelmingly in popularity. In this post I will be using the social media platform Instagram as an example, as it is a uniquely visual social media channel and is “naturally suited to plastic surgery” (Dorfman et al. 2018, pp. 332). Many celebrities have gotten aesthetic cosmetic surgery before and some even promote it on their social media sites, with the Kardashians and in particular, Kylie Jenner being heavily speculated to have had a Brazilian butt life or implants and her iconic lip fillers. However, due to the explosion of user-generated content online, this has resulted in a plethora of influencers referred to as ‘microcelebrities.’ These microcelebrities use a style of online performance in which individuals attempt to “gain the attention of a ‘following’ on social media through representations of their everyday lives” (Drenten et al. 2020, pp. 42). These ‘representations’ are often unrealistic highlight reels of the user’s life and since “influencer marketing on social media is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, expected to be valued between $5-10 billion by 2020” (MediaKix, 2018) social media influencers now have more power than ever over users and importantly, the younger generation.

After fending off rumours about aesthetic/cosmetic surgery, 26-year-old Australian influencer, Tammy Hembrow, admitted in her Q&A on her YouTube Channel to getting breast augmentation after giving birth to her daughter. She stated that she had gotten the surgery after she stopped breastfeeding her daughter, Sass, as she said “it sucked the life out of [her] boobs” and that “they were just little saggy pieces of skin after” (Tammy Hembrow, 2020) and wanted to undergo it for herself. Despite Tammy openly posting photos of her new boob job, she also has her own TammyFit workout programs and meal plans to promote growing a natural booty by proving this to her followers with her personal ‘before and after’ photos. Even though the constant exposure and normalisation of plastic surgery on social media can be damaging to youth’s mental health over time, I feel that influencers who are open about their surgery and those who also encourage working towards achieving your body goals naturally can have a positive impact on educating others about the risks and benefits of cosmetic surgery.

Here is a link to Tammy Hembrow’s Q&A YouTube video. Skip to 6:03 to watch her addressing her breast augmentation surgery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygC9gzUx3U&t=731s

References:

Dorfman, R, Vaca, E, Mahmood E, Fine, N, Schierle, C 2018, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332-338

Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L, Tyler, M 2020, ‘Sexualised labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention’, Gender Work Organ, 2020;27:41-66, <https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12354>

The new year brings exciting news for Plastic Surgery Associates: Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Eric Culbertson has joined our team of elite plastic surgeons! Specializing in breast and body cosmetic surgery, Dr. Culbertson received his plastic surgery training from UCLA and was a part of UT Southwestern’s prestigious aesthetic fellowship. 

Welcome to the team, Dr. Culbertson!!

Aesthetic templates can be defined as the deliberate aesthetic choices made by content creators, which typically involves “morphing yourself into an online brand”, and are considered a “necessary component of Internet participation” (Mavroudis 2020). The mainstream popularity of aesthetic templates is arguably led by the Kardashians, who are famous for their provocative poses and posts. This has also led to the rise of social media influencers and microcelebrities, who emulate the Kardashians through their own content, poses and product placements. Theresa Senft, author and researcher on Internet culture and self-branding, defines microcelebrities as a “new form of identity linked almost exclusively to online spaces” (Senft 2012). These performances of self involve “creating and maintaining an online identity that resembles a branded good in order to gain status through visibility online” (Marwich 2013; Senft 2012). Therefore, in the digital context, many women are presenting a highly sexualized version of themselves online (Mavroudis, 2020). Popular poses include serious ‘model’ type facial expressions and pouting to accentuate full lips, and sensual positions that emphasis a woman’s hips, bottom and breasts. In a similar vein, in recent years, heavily contoured and bronzed makeup is also popular and full-face of makeup selfies tend to receive lots of likes on social media.

Digital media and identity scholar, Dr Jonathan Mavroudis, describes these girls as looking essentially “like porn stars” (Mavroudis 2020). Within Western societies, is has become normalized and common-place for women to display sexuality which reflects the aesthetics of commercial pornography (Drenten & Gurrieri 2019). To clarify the meaning of this movement of pornification and suggestive poses, pornification can be defined as “portraying a heteronormative display of sexuality or ‘porn chic’ aesthetic orientated towards a male audience” (Drenten & Gurrieri 2019). This ‘porn chic’ aesthetic is evident through the way female influencers pose alongside the products they’re promoting, as objects themselves, illustrated through common gestures and body language that accentuates bodily curves (Mavroudis 2020). Some famous examples include brands like ‘Skims’, a shape enhancing undergarments line created by Kim Kardashian West and ‘Fashion Nova’, a popular online women’s fashion store specializing in cheap club dresses, bodysuits and other tight-fitting clothes. Both these brands exemplify the mainstream aesthetic templates that portray women as a commodity and sexual objects, and promote one specific body type – typically curvy figure, accentuated hips, large bottom and large-breasted.

Many of these microcelebrities and influencers have formed hugely popular digital communities with the public through social media platforms, particularly on Instagram and YouTube. However, these aesthetic templates can also be incredibly damaging and harmful for their audience’s mental health and self-esteem. In particular, many public ‘health campaigns’ promoting aesthetic templates are often unachievable and unhealthy, on a physical, emotional and social level. This is because they’re enforcing potentially damaging heteronormative ideals which perpetuate patriarchal ideals and strict gender roles” (Mavroudis 2020). The popularity of aesthetic templates on social media is also closely linked to Body Dysmorphic Disorder, as many young people struggle to “manage the tensions between their offline bodies and who they aspire to be on social media” (Mavroudis 2020). This is why microcelebrity-endorsed products relating to restrictive diets and detox teas, shape-wear and meal-supplements, can have very serious implications on vulnerable audiences and followers who would try anything to recreate the idolized body types they’re incessantly exposed to on social media.

Secondly, aesthetic templates has also led to greater cosmetic seeking behaviours, particularly amongst women who are dissatisfied with their personal image and are desperate to look like the digital microcelebrities they idolize. Visual social media platforms, particularly Instagram and YouTube have become popular platforms for people to search for reviews of procedures and ‘before and after’ photos of cosmetic surgery. However, this can be dangerous, as cosmetic surgery related content online is “predominantly framed… in a positive manner” and may include experiences that patients have been paid to share; and therefore aren’t always unbiased and trustworthy (Wen et al. 2015). Consequently, “the Internet and social media have become ubiquitous in the world of plastic surgery” (Dorfman et al. 2018, p. 332).

Therefore, body satisfaction levels, in both women and men, have been significantly impacted by the one-size-fits-all approach to body image, facilitated through popular aesthetic types, which are promoted in the digital sphere. This also highlights the deeply intertwined connection between aesthetic templates and public ‘health’ campaigns. Therefore, raising concerns about the problematic nature of these aesthetic templates, and the many negative repercussions these can have on an individual’s self-worth and body satisfaction, and society as a whole.

References

Dorfman, R G., Vaca, E E., Mahmood, E, Fine, N A. & Schierle, C 2018, ‘Plastic surgery-related hashtag utilization on Instagram: Implications for education and marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332-338.

Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L & Tyler, M 2019, ‘Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention’, Gender Work Organ, vol. 27, pp. 41-66.

Mavroudis, J 2020, ‘Lecture 8. Public health campaigns and social media influence’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 6 May, viewed 6 May 2020.

Senft, T M. 2012, ‘Micro-celebrity and the branded self’, in J Burgess & A Bruns (eds), A companion to new media dynamics, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 1-9.