Alright, readers. It's really important to me that I preface this post by saying that I wrestled with even writing on this for a solid few hours. I don't want to do this. I don't want you to assume you're supposed to know who this girl is. And I don't want to give this girl the credit of having a blog post written about her. But when push comes to shove, the fact that she somehow managed to compare her right to insert botulism into her forehead to her right to choose, well, the viscerally angry side of me won out. So: here goes nothing.
I'm not even going to bother giving you context; all you need to know is that this woman is currently fighting the good fight for her freedom to have "preventative" procedures such as Botox and Restalyne. (If you're mildly morbidly curious, you can find some Scanner-related background on her friends here and here.) And suffice it to say that regardless of merit, this wonderwoman has somehow managed to find herself a platform that includes close to a million pageviews a month. Which is why this whole thing is so frustrating to watch.
She begins: "Below is my thought process and opinion on the current views of cosmetic procedures."
Besides the nonsense that is her company's desire to "inspire you to live differently" -- which begs the question: What? Live differently? How? -- she equates breast implants as the standard to which Botox should one day be held ("As the NY Times pointed out the other day, boobs are now a standard high school graduation gift...") and then decides that Roe v. Wade is an appropriate argument for her right to Restalyne.
I site Roe v. Wade because it serves as a marker of people accepting (maybe not respecting) a woman's right to choose. Although abortion is still an issue at the forefront, it's notable the Supreme Court recognized women should be able to do what they feel is right for themselves.
Cosmetic procedures should be viewed in the same light.
No one is saying Botox should be illegal (though the argument could certainly be made) and the byproduct of NOT having Botox is not a living, breathing human being for whom you will be eternally responsible. Which, contrary to this woman's belief, does not only make "the severity of the issue...considerably less" but, in fact, incomparable.
But the most important aspect of this that she-who-shall-remain-nameless seems to be missing is the artificial standards of beauty into which she is unquestioningly and unapologetically buying. I don't mind that she got Botox. I don't mind that she wrote about it. What I do mind is that she has almost unbelievably and obtusely managed to not acknowlege why exactly she feels the way she feels.
The purpose of this post is to give you my perspective on women's image issues and try to understand why there is a stigma attached to maintaining your appearance. I care about how I look, why is that shameful? To some extent, we are all vain; that's how we have been socialized. [Emphasis mine.]
There is a stigma because it is an artificial standard created by airbrushing, shitty women's magazines, and headshots not unlike the Japanime bullshit found above from which she smirks, smooth and glistening.
Look, everyone, do what you need to do - I'm not saying I've never bought a jar of La Mer (What? I had a gift certificate!) -- but if you're going to write a soapbox screed justifying your guilt, maybe acknowlege why you feel guilty in the first place.
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