Plastic surgery correlated with suicide, poor taste

23 October 2003

[W]ith Botox parties now mainstream and network television shows like “Extreme Makeover” documenting every nip, tuck and strategic enhancement, it was perhaps inevitable that before too long patients would be feting themselves with “coming-out” parties and surgeons would be showing off their patients like artists at a gallery opening….

And many invited their loved ones to the fashion show. Ms. Kaufman, who had a tummy tuck, works out avidly at a Bally’s gym, and she had a flock of friends in the crowd. Ms. Draizin, the high-school junior with the nose job, brought along her mother, her grandparents and six family friends.

David Sarwer, a psychologist at the Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania, which studies the human form and its impact on people’s lives, said the acceptance of plastic surgery went beyond mere vanity. “We’ve become increasingly accepting of ways of changing our bodies,” he said “We’re much more comfortable with our bodies as malleable.”

BBC:

[R]esearch, carried out by Dutch scientists, found that there were almost three times the rate of suicides among women who had received breast implants compared with the population at large.

They say that a desire for breast augmentation may, in some women, be a symptom of a far deeper insecurity and low self esteem which, in extreme cases, could trigger a suicide attempt.

BBC article via the Othermag weblog

technology

Later: Once again, the chocolate ration has been increased
Earlier: Chazzerai