extreme makeover- would you?

[satindesire]

CHRIST, this is depressing.

A smart, self-assured, savvy female caves to the bullshit pedaled by the "beauty" industry. God damn it, Netzach. Don't do this. Don't let them win.

The beauty industry exists for a reason. It's not all bullshit.

 

[JMohegan]

Leona Helmsley was ugly as fuck because she was total bitch and lying thieving tax cheat. Her personality was written all over her face.

What do you people think when you look at your grandmothers? Are you thinking ugggghhhh, god I wish she'd get something done?

 

[JMohegan]

The beauty industry exists for a reason. It's not all bullshit.

It exists to make investors money. And it does so by pedaling insecurity.

 

[satindesire]

It exists to make investors money. And it does so by pedaling insecurity.

You're entitled to your opinion, but I don't agree.

 

[Netzach]

Leona Helmsley was ugly as fuck because she was total bitch and lying thieving tax cheat. Her personality was written all over her face.

What do you people think when you look at your grandmothers? Are you thinking ugggghhhh, god I wish she'd get something done?

That's kind of Renaissance that we're written on our faces in some way. Was being blown up to Mr. Mackie size head a reflection of my inner state or just cushing's disease? You know, I've done freaky ugly. I have to do freaky ugly chipmunk head every time my gut has a tantrum requiring steroids - it's just not that exciting and I make no apologies for wanting to be as attractive as I can be the rest of the time. I have a moon fac e all the time, which is OK with me, it's just how it is - so steroids is moon face on top of moon face. It's worse than it is for almost everyone else I've seen with it because they wind up as round as I started out - and it kept me from a large part of my livelihood for a year plus - this is not just Netzie's insecure ugly but whoa - what's with her head ugly.

One week I shot photos the next I shot more and when I went to edit I was monstrous and unusable. It's that fast. I'd say that was half my income - gone.

That it was temporary was the only thing keeping me sane sometimes. Losing income was the part pissing me off most by far - I had that miserable sidelined out of work depression. I like doing photos and clips and my normal face is a strong suit when it comes to that. Being conventionally attractive enough to sell my face when I am not sick is insurance for when I am.

My grandmother is a wretchedly unhappy person with great bone structure. She's old! She finally looks like an old lady at 82. I'll probably age just fine but I don't think The Man wins if I tuck a jowl or cover my gray any more than he does if I buy new shoes.

Also, I'm married to someone I see as hot, fine, perfect don't change. How he wants to be for *his own sake* may involve a LOT of time under the knife. I just see the whole issue of surgeries in a more nuanced way hanging with as manyI TG's as I do - appearance isn't just superficial and brings people's vision of self in line.

 

[Netzach]

No one had to sell me my insecurtities, they were free!

I have remarkably few of them when it comes to physical stuff, well, prior to CD diagnosis and steroid o rama I did. Now I sound like kind of a nut, ha. I feel entitled to a couple. And honestly my surgery-curious orientation IS a "hm, what if?"

 

[Netzach]

To illustrate - my mother had her nose done in her late teens.

She said once "more boys will want to date you if you decide to do yours" (self esteem she is not the voice of)

I looked in the mirror. I was 16. I was like 'fuck that if they can't get with the nose they have a problem." My nose to be fair to my mother is not as aquiline as hers was. I could see being *very* fed up with it all if it were.

I'm pleased with this. I still feel the same way. And now I'm old enough to just look at my nose and it's one more thing. If it's not like this it's like that. If it's not like that it's like this. How would it change the symmetry of my face?

It's MY face.

And it's just my face after all.

 

[rida]

*snip*
I just see the whole issue of surgeries in a more nuanced way hanging with as manyI TG's as I do - appearance isn't just superficial and brings people's vision of self in line.

Even without being a TG I understand the desire to look the way you (generic you) feel.

The desire to look a bit (or a lot) different does not necessarily mean that you (generic you) are buying into a media sold image of beauty. And it does not have to do with wanting to "please" or "keep" one partner.

 

[Netzach]

Even without being a TG I understand the desire to look the way you (generic you) feel.

The desire to look a bit (or a lot) different does not necessarily mean that you (generic you) are buying into a media sold image of beauty. And it does not have to do with wanting to "please" or "keep" one partner.

To be fair a lot of people DO do it for those reasons.

Just like not every stripper is a grad student writing a book not every stripper is a trafficked Russian slave. Some are.

 

[Netzach]

post snafu

 

[JMohegan]

Even without being a TG I understand the desire to look the way you (generic you) feel.

The desire to look a bit (or a lot) different does not necessarily mean that you (generic you) are buying into a media sold image of beauty. And it does not have to do with wanting to "please" or "keep" one partner.

Different in what way?

No one on this thread has presented a list of TG needs. People here are saying they want to look..

younger
thinner
smoother
firmer
plumper-lipped


When someone posts a desire that does NOT reflect the media sold image of beauty as young, thin, firm, and flawless, perhaps I'll see your point.

 

[JMohegan]

That's kind of Renaissance that we're written on our faces in some way.

I'm saying that someone's personality and behavior will have a powerful influence on how attractive he or she is perceived to be by other people.

Not "attractive," as in: the Barbie standard. Attractive, as in: I like to be with, and look at, this human being.

Renaissance or not, that has been my experience and is what I honestly believe.

 

[ecstaticsub]

Different in what way?

No one on this thread has presented a list of TG needs. People here are saying they want to look..

younger
thinner
smoother
firmer
plumper-lipped


When someone posts a desire that does NOT reflect the media sold image of beauty as young, thin, firm, and flawless, perhaps I'll see your point.

I didn't have my tummy tuck to look younger, thinner, smoother, firmer or plumper-lipped.

I did it because I was tired of seeing the extra skin hanging on my belly reminding me everyday of a period in my life when I was depressed. I worked very hard to lose the weight as I got mentally healthier. The surgery for me was a kind of cleansing process.

i will admit though that I also like being able to wear skirts that I couldn't have worn pre-surgery. That's probably a bit a vanity there. But also practicality, clothes shopping is much easier now.

My issue with plastic surgery is more with the surgeons themselves. They tend not to be forth coming about the after effects of the surgery. They act like it is just a simple procedure and in a couple of months you will be back to normal. I still have some lasting side effects from the surgery. I still would do it again, but it is important for people to realize that surgery is major, even minor surgery is an invasive procedure.

 

[JMohegan]

I did it because I was tired of seeing the extra skin hanging on my belly reminding me everyday of a period in my life when I was depressed. I worked very hard to lose the weight as I got mentally healthier. The surgery for me was a kind of cleansing process.

This makes sense.

 

[rida]

Different in what way?

No one on this thread has presented a list of TG needs. People here are saying they want to look..

younger
thinner
smoother
firmer
plumper-lipped


When someone posts a desire that does NOT reflect the media sold image of beauty as young, thin, firm, and flawless, perhaps I'll see your point.

Beside the "plumper-lipped" I don't think is much the media sold image as much as the fact that it is only human to want to look at our best.
Younger is perhaps a bit borderline as it often related with wanting to be "attractive". In my case, it is a question of wanting to look the age I feel, as I said in this previous post where I answered your questions.

Personally I see plastic surgery as a problem if it is viewed as the magic wand that will fix all underling insecurities. And even wanting to look like the stereotypical media beauty is problematic, for me, only with the wrong motivations.

What is inherently wrong in wanting to look different if different means better according to whatever standard/reference you use?

 

[ownedsubgal]

Different in what way?

No one on this thread has presented a list of TG needs. People here are saying they want to look..

younger
thinner
smoother
firmer
plumper-lipped


When someone posts a desire that does NOT reflect the media sold image of beauty as young, thin, firm, and flawless, perhaps I'll see your point.

everyone is not wrapped up in pop media's idea of attractiveness. my tendency to have a negative view of my appearance has nothing to do with not fitting into some pop culture standard. it also has nothing to do with anyone else's opinion of my appearance...as stated, including my own Master. someone can feel with all their heart that you're the most beautiful and sexy person in the world, but if you don't feel that within yourself, it's just not going to take. Daddy would often become frustrated and even angered when he would compliment me on my appearance and i would immediately negate it, "oh not really, you haven't looked up close," or "well you love me so of course you think that." He finally forbid me from doing so, and in addition directed that i receive such comments with a smile. previously, i would always react to compliments with a kind of grim, stricken look.

while i certainly don't think that cosmetic plastic surgery is some kind of magic pill of confidence and happiness, i do believe that for some people, it can go a heck of a long way in furthering that cause.

 

[JMohegan]

Beside the "plumper-lipped" I don't think is much the media sold image as much as the fact that it is only human to want to look at our best.
Younger is perhaps a bit borderline as it often related with wanting to be "attractive". In my case, it is a question of wanting to look the age I feel, as I said in this previous post where I answered your questions.

Personally I see plastic surgery as a problem if it is viewed as the magic wand that will fix all underling insecurities. And even wanting to look like the stereotypical media beauty is problematic, for me, only with the wrong motivations.

What is inherently wrong in wanting to look different if different means better according to whatever standard/reference you use?

The very notion that it's possible to feel younger than your calendar age exemplifies the bunch of nonsense people have been fed about age itself.

If you're 40, then how you feel now is what it feels like for someone like you to be 40. Sexy, vibrant, creative, happy, whatever.

I see a lot wrong with an industry that pushes unrealistic standards, impossible frames of reference, and a very narrow vision of what it means to look your "best." But with regard to your question at the end, as specifically worded, my answer is: nothing.

 

[rida]

The very notion that it's possible to feel younger than your calendar age exemplifies the bunch of nonsense people have been fed about age itself.

If you're 40, then how you feel now is what it feels like for someone like you to be 40. Sexy, vibrant, creative, happy, whatever.

I see a lot wrong with an industry that pushes unrealistic standards, impossible frames of reference, and a very narrow vision of what it means to look your "best." But with regard to your question at the end, as specifically worded, my answer is: nothing.

I don't know if the way I think I should look being that I do not feel 40 has anything to do with the nonsense about age. Right now I'm pretty much ok with how I look and I think I already look younger than my 41 years of age.

However it is also true that if I lift just a tiny tiny tiny bit the skin around my temples, my face acquires a freshness that is not there now. And that is the way I see my face in my mind.

However, I do agree that there is a lot of wrong in the cosmetic industry, or the beauty industry or any image related industry. And that is why I stressed the importance of motives.

Cosmetic Surgery is not going to do an overnight Cinderella-Godmother make over to your life. And it is important to understand that the insecurity might even get worse (on top of the surgery going wrong).

 

[JMohegan]

One more thing, I actually feel younger than my calendar age. So there is also the desire to look as young as I feel. Right now it's ok.

What do you mean when you say you feel younger than your calendar age?

If you are 41, but somehow "feel younger" than 41, what assumptions are you making about what it's really supposed to feel like to be 41?

Why not just accept the way you feel now and say: wow, so THIS is how 41 feels!

 

[rida]

What do you mean when you say you feel younger than your calendar age?

If you are 41, but somehow "feel younger" than 41, what assumptions are you making about what it's really supposed to feel like to be 41?

Why not just accept the way you feel now and say: wow, so THIS is how 41 feels!

Mostly this:

However it is also true that if I lift just a tiny tiny tiny bit the skin around my temples, my face acquires a freshness that is not there now. And that is the way I see my face in my mind.

But as I said, it is not a problem now. I just do not exclude that when I hit 50s (or 60s or whatever that age is) the gap between my image of myself and the image in the mirror will be big enough that I'll consider fixing it. Not by making myself into a parody of someone half my age, but by "freshening up".

And if you just want me to admit that I'm vane, that's true too.

 

[Keroin]

It exists to make investors money. And it does so by pedaling insecurity.

Bingo. Don't anyone kid themselves that that the beauty industry is about anything other than this.


As for women wanting to appear younger, there are a few things going on here. Vanity and peer/societal pressure play a big role but also society typically places less value on women who present as "older". Simply put "You are no longer able to produce offspring therefore you are not as important to our 'tribe'". A sociologist I know, (a woman), explained this to me and talked about some studies that were done to prove such. The same is not true of men who present as "older".

I wish women didn't feel the need to make themselves beautiful via surgery, and I wish, as ES pointed out, that they could understand that it's not as simple as "snip, snip" and "voila!" you look and feel wonderful! There is no surgical procedure for self esteem. And physically, the landscape of your body continues to shift as you age and that tends to highlight, in the worst way, the surgical procedures you have done. However, I'm not going to condemn women who have these things done - I know how powerful that feeling of "I'm not good enough" can be.

I will continue to preach the gospel of natural beauty, though. Those models and actresses you see that look SO great, well, they've got make up and lighting and camera angles working for them. It's fake. Fake, fake, fake!

Fight the power!

 

[graceanne]

I'm already a D cup. I just love large breasts and have always wanted them to be bigger.

I'll be glad to trade. Mine are F cups and weigh roughly a ton apiece.

Yeah! What she said! Although I'm a JJ cup, but still, what she said!

You big boobed ladies who are in pain should check into your insurance! Don't listen to what friends tell you, ask. Lots of people I know say "oh, I have to do so many years of physical therapy, etc before it's approved" and that was not the case for me at all. I did so some physical therapy for my back but when I started the paperwork for the surgury the only think the insurance company needed to know what how big my jumbo-boobs were, how much the dr estimated he would take off. They took my word for the type of pain I was in, and also considered the "emotional" aspect of being a circus freak.

Most insurances consider breast reduction to be 'cosmetic' and won't cover it. It's one of the reasons why army insurance is considered one of the bests. As soon as I finish loosing weight these fuckers are coming OFF. I want to be a C.

I doubled her before the boob job.

In a state of nature, I would guess that she is a 36B, just like me. And I thought she looked awesome as such.

I spent my teens and early twenties feeling super self conscious about not having GIANT melons. Fuck that. I get that men like big tits but oh well. I like my perky girls just fine and I won't be carving them open for anyone, thankyouverymuch.

You would look ridiculous with really big boobs. You'd walk down the street and women would turn to eachother and say 'FAKE!'.

And I'd rather have my house made over, dammit.

I have a feeling you and I are going to be friends.

<hijack hijack>

Ooooookaaaay... but I'm telling you a size 5/6 will almost always have a 31" - 33" ribcage (if not smaller), which generally speaking means a size 36 bra will completely overwhelm the frame.

</hijack hijack>

Sigh... I can't even hang out on a porn board without talking shop. How freaking boring is that?

I was thinking, when she told her size that she's actually pretty big for her size. lol I guess selling underwear never goes away.

Anyway, I'd get breast reduction because my boobs hurt me. After I lose weight I might consider tucking some skin, just because if I go to all the trouble of losing weight I want to be able to enjoy it. Nothing else. My mom would get her stretch marks removed, but I consider mine battle scars and I like them. I like my face when I'm slim, and the only other thing i'd like to change is to be tall and that aint EVER gonna happen.

 

[Keroin]

I was thinking, when she told her size that she's actually pretty big for her size.

chest 36, waist 27, hips 37, height 5'7", weight 125 - 130lbs, inseam 31, shoe size 7 1/2, hat size 7...that's me. The measurements fluctuate slightly but not much.

 

[subish2009]

I'm vain. And I fluctuate between feeling pretty good about my body and feeling like a fat cow. Yeah, that's mostly media/the man/societal influence, and it's a shame, agreed. I will likely spend the rest of my life trying to come to terms with loving my body, but I'm okay with that. It's a challenge of being a woman in America at this time in history and, frankly, as much as it may suck, there are way worse burdens out there with which I could have been saddled. I have the financial resources. If/when I at some point get around to doing any cosmetic surgery, it will be to please no one but myself. You can get all philosophical about WHY it pleases me, and blame that on my caving to societal pressures, and you'd probably be right. But, in the end, I want to do it because I waste so much emotional energy on very specific parts of my body that very much bug me and have for years. I'm pretty fit. I'm an ex-D1 athlete. I work out regularly, eat healthy, I work on my body. It's almost a control issue. No matter what I do, my breasts are always going to be uneven to a point that looks wretched to me (though no one else seems to notice), and I have excess fat cells that can't get any smaller in the pooch area because I was a chubby kid. Should I really struggle through this in therapy for the rest of my life? Or should I take care of it surgically, if that's what I decide I want, remove that stress from my life, so I can focus more clear-headedly on enjoying life and getting over some of my insecurities?

I don't know. I could go on. But that's my 2 cents, FWIW.

 

[neci]

my body is not perfect, but it's mine. there are times i hate my arms, but they are my mother's. my waist is no longer smooth, but it bears the scars of childbirth. if i could take anything, it would be the personal trainer and the permanent hair removal, just because i hate to shave. i struggled with body image when i was younger, and there is something about just being able to accept who i am - right here and now - that feels beautiful to me. i love the lines around an older woman's face. the creases in the eyes that say i have smiled, cried and survived. for me, surgery comes with way too many risks. risks that i'm not willing to take, to achieve some idea of perfection.