What Is The Affect of Celebrity Liposuction On Society?

In the world today, many people are strongly influenced by what they see and hear, and most especially in the behaviors they see modeled by celebrities. What a film or television star looks like, the clothes they wear and the things they say all have a strong influence on the society in which they live. Thus, when a particular celebrity decides to get a cosmetic procedure such as liposuction, we expect that decision to impact the population at large.

For example, popular singer Britney Spears elected to get an abdominoplasty (also known as a tummy tuck) after having her second child. This particular surgery is most commonly used after pregnancy or other weight gain and loss, when the skin and muscles of the stomach have become soft and droopy. Abdominoplasty aims to trim and firm the stomach, restoring or improving upon the previous, pre-weight gain appearance. Much of the same effect can be achieved through carefully diet and exercise, but of course cosmetic surgery is the faster and easier option.

The fact that Britney Spears had this surgery affects society in several ways. One, it has helped make "tummy tuck" a household word, and makes the procedure seem more common and acceptable. Two, it may encourage any feelings of embarrassment or self -consciousness in other new mothers, who reason that if someone as beautiful and wealthy needs extra help to appear acceptable after pregnancy, then they must as well. Three, seeing Britney Spears looking so fit and trim even after having to children makes men and women alike subconsciously assume this possible for all women after childbirth, or even normal. The sum total of all of these separate effects is that the incidence of tummy tucks rises.

While cosmetic surgery can do a lot to enhance someone's self-esteem and shouldn't be viewed as categorically "wrong", it is worth pointing out that electing to have such an expensive and potentially risky procedure done just because someone else is doing it is not necessarily the best of motivations. In addition, celebrity plastic surgery can mislead people into expecting more from their liposuction or other procedure than is really feasible because they hear that so-and-so got lipo and they look great on the latest magazine cover. People frequently forget to take into account the extra boost celebrities get from just the right makeup and lighting, in addition to blatant airbrushing and other digital enhancements.