How will the young TQ+ cope with bodily aging?

submitted by JulienMayfair from self.GenderCritical

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[–]BEB 25 insightful - 2 fun25 insightful - 1 fun26 insightful - 2 fun -  (11 children)

Plastic surgery. The US middle-class and wealthier young (and I'd say middle-aged and older now) are addicted to it.

I was shocked at how much surgery a young friend (mid-20s) has had - without blinking an eye, and completely unnecessary too. IMO it looks awful.

She looks like a middle-aged TiM instead of the beautiful young woman she was. The Drag Queen makeup that young women favor doesn't help.

Remember, these are kids who think that they will never regret neck tattoos, and now face tattoos...

[–]MarkTwainiac 17 insightful - 2 fun17 insightful - 1 fun18 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

The Drag Queen makeup that young women favor doesn't help.

Yeah, I don't get the appeal of this either. To me these young women do look like drag queens, and have all the appeal of Tammy Faye Bakker (which is to say, none). Remember when "the natural look" was all the rage?

About plastic surgery: Long before the gender vendors came up with the anodyne & baby-talk terms "top surgery" and "bottom surgery," cosmetic surgeries in the US had become normalized (& the risks minimized) by such phrasing as "she's getting some work done" or "I had my eyes/face/tits/[insert other body part]done."

It's like how cosmetic rhinoplasties have always been known simply as "nose jobs."

[–]BEB 13 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 0 fun14 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Girls in my high school decades ago used to get nose jobs, but now it's the full package - nose jobs, breast implants, lip fillers, cheek fillers, jaw work, liposuction and then the Drag Queen makeup to top it off.

But it's now in the middle-class and as normal as having your teeth cleaned, and affecting men too, when before it was somewhat limited to women who were wealthy and older. Sad.

[–]JulienMayfair[S] 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

Have you seen that TV show Botched where a team of plastic surgeons fixes the mess left behind by previous botched surgeries? Though they try not to overstate it, those doctors are clearly aware that some of the people who come to them have serious mental health problems, and they turn down some of the requests they get for bizarre body modifications.

This made me think just now for the first time: Is there a continuum between the women who want bizarre plastic surgery to give themselves unnaturally huge breasts, butts, and lips and the women who want all those things removed? Is one the flip side of the other? It's as though one side wants desperately to exaggerate markers of being female to the point of caricature, while the other side wants desperately to erase those same markers.

[–]BEB 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

I haven't seen Botched. I have just noticed that among women, even among women my age and older, there's this drive to "fix" their looks, that might have been always there but is now taken to the extreme.

Of course, the constant pressure from being exposed to the images of the beautiful doesn't help, but I think that plastic surgery has been normalized to the masses to the extent that "everyone" is doing it.

That's kind of understandable with women my age and older because we are morning our lost beauty. But all these very young women getting fillers and breast implants and liposuction and...when they are fresh and young to begin with and should enjoy their vibrant healthy look while it's there, instead of looking like dead-eyed, late middle-aged, Drag Queens.

And I do think that the normalization of plastic surgery (which is related to mental issues in some) has led to the idea of transgenders being more accepted, because the thought that's become pervasive (in the US at least) is if you don't like your body, or your YOU, just change it!

[–]powpowpowpow 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

I think plastic surgery was always associated with older women or men but as time passed they started to market it to younger people too, as a magical way for you to get rid of your insecurities and build your ideal self.

I think Kyle Jenner was a big part in normalizing plastic surgery for young women, considering when she was 17yo she looked completely different from what she used to look like

[–]BEB 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

I agree; the Kardashians in general did a lot of harm to young women, and I know that probably wasn't their intention.

Kyle Jenner is such a sad case (despite being a "billionaire") - after all that surgery she looks like a 45-year-old plastic surgery victim when she's all done up.

[–]powpowpowpow 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Yeah its fucked up, I have body dismorphia and if I leave it unchecked I get very obsessive about my appearance so I always wonder how many ppl who get lost on doing so much to themselves also have that and a whole market is there to profit off it :/

[–]BEB 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I don't think you're alone. Probably ever since magazines became widely available, women especially have been encouraged to obsessively compare themselves to others. Now, with the internet, plastic surgery, make up, filters, etc., we are forced to look at images of "perfect" people everyday.

But do try to learn to love your body. One thing to remember is that you are most probably judging yourself way harsher than anyone is judging you. This sounds shallow, but if you'll notice, many famous movie stars have very imperfect bodies. Their confidence blinds people to their flaws, so try to be like them - focus on your good points and try to take your mind away from your imperfections.

[–]powpowpowpow 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Yesterday I saw this awesome quote which was: my body isn't the most interesting thing about me, so why should I care so much?

And honestly that helped lol, I never looked at it like that

And for sure... even close friends now use photoshop/face tune, its widespread to oblivion

[–]BEB 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That quote is great; I'm glad you're taking it to heart.

Seriously, next time you see a big star take note of their imperfections. I know that sounds very shallow, but what I'm trying to get at is that no one is perfect, so give yourself a break.

I've met dozens of celebrities and they look so different in real life. Many you could have walked right past on the street and not recognized. There are only a few that I felt had "star power" in person, and yes, their bodies (and faces) are often nowhere close to perfect IRL.

[–]anxietyaccount8 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It's shallow and misogynistic. Supposedly, women need to make every inch of their body perfect, all so that they can have different variations of the same exact face and the same "curvy yet skinny" body.