Why the Body Positivity Movement Needs to Make Room for Those With Plastic Surgery

Body Positivity + Plastic Surgery = Conflicting Message?

I am a champion for body positivity. In this day and age, it's awful that women (and men!) feel uncomfortable in their own bodies, or unhappy about the way they look. There are numerous reasons why people have these insecurities - I've discussed them before, in previous blog posts - and there are so many different movements which encourage the acceptance of one's own body. From loving your stretchmarks, to accepting your cellulite, realising that not all men need to have a six pack, and that being plus sized, or having skin conditions, or not falling into the 'conventional' category of attractiveness: all bodies are beautiful, and all bodies are good bodies.

So what does this mean when we consider plastic surgery?

Joeyy Lee - unsplash

People tend to have more conflicting views when it comes to plastic surgery and how this clashes with the body positivity movement. (For the record: I will be using the term 'plastic surgery' to refer to elective, non-medical surgeries such as breast augmentation and tummy tucks). Some people believe that people who seek plastic surgery do so from a place of insecurity and poor body image, and thus surgery is a quick fix to a long term problem. Like slapping a very expensive plaster on a very deep and emotional problem. Others, believe that plastic surgery can be a very easy and very effective tool for boosting one's confidence. Insecure about your nose? A nose job fixes that. Say bye-bye to worrying about your side profile!

But is it really that easy? 

I won't lie and pretend that plastic surgery can't be done for the wrong reasons, and that a lot of those reasons are young women feeling insecure about their bodies because they haven't embraced themselves. When I was young and growing up, I would look towards magazines and TV shows and see images of women who were slimmer, prettier, and taller than me. And it filled me with a lack of confidence. I cannot imagine now what that must be like for the latest generation who have social media at the tip of their fingers - instant access to millions of images of models, celebrities, and plastic pumped bodies.

So it would be unfair and a disservice to these people to not admit that a lot of young women are motivated to get plastic surgery for the wrong reasons. Whether they think a boob job will make them more desirable to men, or a tummy tuck will make them get a waist like Kim Kardashian - these are NOT the right reasons to be getting plastic surgery. And, dear reader, if you're sitting here and doubting your motivations behind wanting a BBL, maybe consider the root of your insecurities and whether or not plastic surgery will actually help you. It's a big, often irreversible decision, and if even a small part of you thinks that it won't make you any happier to get it, then don't. 

That being said... (and brace yourself for a controversial opinion here)... body positivity is hard. Loving yourself is hard. When you are told on a daily basis that your body is undesirable, unworthy, and unappreciated, it's hard to pick yourself up and look yourself in the mirror and see someone worth loving. It's exhausting. And it's physically impossible to love every inch of yourself every hour of the day.

So, what's wrong in getting a little surgery to help that?

I don't mean to diminish the gravity of the decision in getting plastic surgery: like I said, it's a big deal and not one to be considered lightly. But for God's sake, we're only human after all! We can't be expected to be confident 100% of the time, and if we want to cheat a little and get a boob job, or a nose job, a tummy tuck, or a BBL, why can't we? 

YouTuber Patricia Bright brilliantly explains her choices to get plastic surgery in this video

Plastic surgery has some bizzare, social stigma to it, which I do not understand. You cannot deny that it isn't classist, for it is okay for a celebrity like Khloe Kardashian to get a boob job as it's seen as empowering, but your average working woman who has one is seen as insecure and shallow - verging on trashy. You cannot deny that it isn't hypocritical - for we are told that certain aspects of our bodies are undesirable, how to 'fix' or 'improve' these aspects through plastic surgery, and then judged for doing so through the very means we have been sold, all in the same breath.

And you can't deny that it isn't easy. Sure, depending on the surgery there are lengthy recovery times, follow up appointments, routine maintenance and upkeep, and massive financial requirments. But if you're in a position to commit to these consequences and willing to do so - I say go for it. Body positivity needs to make room for those with plastic surgery in the movement. 

Your feminist membership card isn't revoked the moment you go under the knife. You don't become a massive, raging hypocrite for screaming 'body positivity' one day and booking a boob job appointment the next. And, frankly, it's elitist, shameful, and toxic that those who seek plastic surgery as a way to make themselves happier are judged and excluded from the conversation.