Body image problems for Australians are getting worse. In the midst of an “epidemic of body image anxiety,” could a single act change everything?
The term “body modification” covers everything from hair dyes and straps, to lip fillings, nose jobs and glute augmentation.
What is considered normal or extreme depends on who you are: depending on your social circle, you may find that makeup is unusual or that regular botox injections are the norm.
But across the spectrum of procedures, there are two powerful commonalities.
More of us opt for body modification than ever before.
And more of us judge the choices that others make.
The British philosopher Heather Widdows says that we are comparing ourselves more and more with others online, with a “moral judgment that goes in two directions”.
It is aimed at those who do and those who do not modify their body, he says.
And it is becoming a destructive force.
Heather Widdows believes that beauty has a disproportionate value in our lives. (Supplied)
“We have an epidemic of body image anxiety,” says Professor Widdows.
“We have to move away from that.”
In Australia, more than 43% of people are very concerned about their body image, according to the Monash University Body Imaging Research Group.
In a study of more than 3,000 Australians, mostly women, aged 18 and over, the Butterfly Foundation found that more than 70% said appearance was “very important” and wished they could change their appearance.
About a fifth of respondents had tried to change to look like images they saw on social media. Nearly half felt pressure to look a certain way.
Behind statistics like these is the influence of beauty ideals on body image, and it’s time to talk about them, says Professor Widdows.
“We have to start taking ourselves seriously.”
Joseph Taylor, 36, says he grew up hating his “stereotype.” [ethnic] He has had three nose surgeries since then, the first being when he was 17 years old.
The mockery of the school yard played an important role in his decision.
Joseph says today he is happy, confident and in control of his beauty choices. (Image: Jess Pace)
“Kids can be horrible,” he says.
“Someone probably said something like, ‘Oh, big nose.’
“At some point it must have really reached me.”
“When we’re young, we’re constantly trying to be the best we can be outside because we believe that’s all that matters … and we’re very impressive,” Taylor says.
But it is not only in our youth that we are susceptible to this influence.
For both young people and adults, beauty has become “our main obsession,” argues Professor Widdows.
She doesn’t want to criticize beauty rituals. After all, as he points out, “we are incarnate beings; we live in our bodies. It’s how we see other people, how we relate to them.”
And many beauty practices are enjoyable.
Mr. Taylor, for example, says today that he is happy and confident with his appearance, and that he feels he controls the influence of beauty in his life.
“I definitely liked how I am,” he says.
It is when the ideals of beauty become an obsession that problems can arise.
For example, when you don’t weigh what you want, it ruins your day. Getting a proper selfie takes hours of preparation and editing before you can post it.
Or when you’re not happy with your appearance, it can even stop you from leaving home.
These, says Professor Widdows, are things she has observed in researching her latest book, Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal.
She believes they indicate a “very profound change” in values.
“We’ve gone from beauty to being something that matters to us almost defining who we are,” she says.
“How we present success used to be the car or the house. Now that’s how we look.”
The British philosopher, Professor Heather Widdows, says that our focus on people’s beauty decisions, as we increasingly compare ourselves to others online, is becoming a destructive force. 2022. (Illustration: Michelle Pereira)
Professor Widdows suggests several reasons for this change.
We live in a more current “visual culture,” where “image always speaks more than words,” he says.
Courtesy of social media, we are able to constantly examine our appearance in relation to that of others.
Also, where before beauty treatments were “very topical and superficial,” now “we can literally change the shape of our body,” she says.
“Go from dress cut to chest cut.”
The philosopher and physician Yves Saint James Aquino argues that with an increase in accessibility, there is now a “normalization” of bodily modification, which has also fueled the increase.
“Now, because it’s so common, it’s part of people’s lives, they feel less stigmatized … and therefore feel more free to do so,” he says.
Dr. Aquino says another factor has led to an increase in body modification: prolonged exposure to our own faces in video calls during the pandemic.
Yves Saint James Aquino says body modification has been normalized and stigmatized. (ABC RN: Siobhan Marin)
“People are finding their faces more than ever,” he says.
“That’s when they start noticing things that they hadn’t really noticed before.”
This, says Dr. Aquino, has led to an increase in cosmetic surgery worldwide.
In the last five years or so, there has been a sharp increase in the use of injectables (such as wrinkle reduction or lip filling procedures) in Australia. And the Brazilian gluteal lift operation (BBL) is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world today.
In 2018, Australians spent more per capita on cosmetic surgery than people in the United States, with Botox injections being the most popular operation at the time. And while it is mostly women who choose cosmetic surgery, the number of male clients is growing.
Vogue Australia’s chief executive Kirstie Clements had most of her cosmetic procedures at the age of 40, including lip fillings, Botox and collagen injections.
A decade later, he had had enough.
“I didn’t like that kind of overworked look that gives you, the kind of plump cheeks and puffy eyes,” she says.
Kirstie Clements is a former editor-in-chief of Vogue. She believes that age is a driving force in increasing aesthetic improvement. (Photo: Carlotta Moye)
“When I turned 50, I thought, ‘Oh, who are you kidding about now?’
“So I gave up.”
Ms Clements, now 60, believes age is a driving force behind rising cosmetic improvement.
“The pressure is because we try to keep up and stay young and be fresh,” he says.
And cosmetic procedures are even more available today.
“Now there are literally lunchtime procedures where you can go back to work and no one cares that there are a few marks on your face,” says Ms Clements.
“They’re not taboo. It’s as fashionable as wearing a piece of clothing, which is pretty overwhelming. It’s your skin that’s stinging you.”
The British philosopher, Professor Heather Widdows, says that our focus on people’s beauty decisions, as we increasingly compare ourselves to others online, is becoming a destructive force. 2022. (Illustration: Michelle Pereira)
Mrs. Clements calls the “constant hammer” of edited or altered images that make us wonder if we should compare ourselves to them.
“She’s the brave woman who says, ‘No, I don’t care what anyone does. I’m happy with my own skin,'” she says.
But resisting pressure is not just courage or defiance; it’s about diverting incoming messages with increasing frequency.
Where before we could have found images of beauty 12 times a year in a monthly magazine, today “you’re seeing things 12 times in 10 minutes” on social media, Ms. Clements says.
“It’s more and more ubiquitous … So it’s the strong person who can step back and say ‘no’.”
Professor Widdows is concerned about a future in which we could “begin to see exceptionally modified bodies as normal.”
To lower the status of beauty in our lives, she calls for a cultural change.
She wants us to put aside negative comments about other people’s body and appearance.
“Cosmetic surgery recipients often report that their insecurity began with an unpleasant comment,” he says.
Professor Widdows believes that more of us need to understand the harm that negative comments and bodily embarrassment can cause, arguing that it should be considered as seriously as any other form of discrimination.
“I say, if you don’t [body modifying]don’t feel fat because you don’t feel the pressure, “he says.
Similarly, if you are involved in a body modification, do not question those who do not.
“Rather, do we think, culturally, do we want to live in a society where people feel pressured to get more and more involved? That’s the part I want to reject, social pressure,” he says.
Professor Widows’ plea?
Stop talking about other people’s bodies, period.
“We don’t care what people do or don’t do. Let’s not say, ‘This practice is good, maybe not,'” he says.
“We’re going to take the pressure off completely.”
This story comes from RN Presents: Face Value. Listen for free on the ABC listen app.