Time to be more transparent about cosmetic surgery decisions

celebrity cosmetic surgeryThe media love a good story speculating about whether or not famous people have gone under the knife. Are they ageing extremely well or have they had a helping hand? Some celebrities are proud to talk about the work they have done; they work hard to earn their money and it is up to them how they spend it. If they choose to have work done they are not shy to talk about what they’ve had done and how pleased they are with the results.

The headlines speak for themselves.

“Geordie Shore’s Chloe Ferry, 21, on her plastic surgery addiction and how she already wants a second nose job” – The Sun

Reality TV star Chloe Ferry is a big fan of cosmetic tweaks, stating that she is not a fan of the natural look and cannot wait to have more work done.

“Loud and proud facelifts: Linda Nolan admits to £6,000 plastic surgery” – The Express

Linda Nolan was quoted as saying that she ‘dreaded looking in the mirror’ before she made the decision to take the bull by the horns and do something about it.

She was not alone in this approach; the Express reports that actress and fitness enthusiast Jane Fonda also decided that honesty was definitely the best policy when she decided to have work done to improve the appearance of her eyes, neck and chin.

Coinciding with a book release which spoke about the ageing process, Jane Fonda decided that her decision to have cosmetic work done was pivotal to how she felt about herself as she got older: “I decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going to tell the truth. I’m writing a book about ageing, so I can’t write that book and not say I’ve had plastic surgery.”

If you don’t have anything nice to say….

Although the adage ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’, is generally ignored by the media, the Huffington Post points out that there are over 1 million people living in the UK who have body dysmorphia, a condition whereby people suffer anxiety (sometimes to debilitating levels) about how they believe they look.

Their take on the matter is: “Let’s be nice. It is not our place to determine what another person should do with his or her body. Feminism and body-positivity encourage people to do whatever they want with their bodies.”

That’s a refreshing and forward-thinking approach and one that I believe we’re seeing more and more of in terms of how people regard cosmetic surgery.