16 May 2010

The Distorted Perception of Beauty


There has been substantial evidence that there is a formula for beauty. My dissertation explores the link between beauty and symmetry. It examines why we prefer things symmetrical, and the benefits of symmetry, specifically looking at the increased health benefits and the reproductive advantages of humans and animals. It also covers symmetry in nature, art and architecture, as well as looking at the advantages of symmetry in cosmetic surgery.

My dissertation is the starting point for the final project of my degree. If you would like to read more of my dissertation please click here.

Personal Project


Advertising Cosmetic Surgery

It is has been found that symmetry plays an important part in how beautiful a person is considered. Asymmetry may be caused by disease or faulty genes and therefore our preference lies with the more attractive faces, as it has been found that people with symmetrical faces, are considered to be healthier. Symmetry also reflects a person's ability to cope with environmental stress during development. So by this theory, preference for a symmetrical mate is more likely to lead to strong children. Something symmetrical also puts less strain on the brain than something asymmetrical. Hence symmetrical faces are simply easier to look at or ‘easy on the eyes’.

Beauty is an ever-increasing obsession, which occupies the minds of both men and women. Man has always been fascinated by beauty but in today’s society we are influenced heavily by the media and this has only further intensified are need to be ‘beautiful’.

Cosmetic Surgery has been on the increase year after year.BAAPS members carried out 34,187 surgical procedures in 2008, over a 5% increase from 2007. 91% of all cosmetic procedures in 2008 were women with the most popular procedure being breast augmentation.

(Information provided by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.)

On average people aged 35-50 have the most cosmetic procedures with people aged 19-34 close behind.

(cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com)

My self written brief is to produce an advertising campaign that reveals how the media puts unrealistic expectations onto women in order to achieve the things they want out of life. My target audience is women aged between 20 and 40 as these are considered to be the most concerned about their looks and the most influenced by the media. They are also the ones that want what the media are promising, a man, a new job etc. My aims are to produce an advertising campaign that consists of print and web based media and to uncover and reveal to people what the media are really saying with their unique, sugar coated forms of advertising.

Joel Peter Witkin


One of the first things I started researching for this project was the work of Joel Peter Witkin an American photographer from New Mexico. His work is considered shocking and disturbing. “Finding beauty within the grotesque, he pursues this complex issue through people most often cast aside by society - human spectacles including hermaphrodites, dwarfs, amputees, androgynes, carcases and people with odd physical capabilities”.

His photographs are bold; they play on people’s reactions and push their perceptions of the human body. He also uses unique techniques to create his pieces. “Once photographed, Witkin spends hours in the darkroom, scratching and piercing his negatives, transforming them into images that look made rather than taken.”

His work showed me how people perceive the human body very differently. Some can find beauty in anything but with the constant pressure of society’s ideal body image being drilled into them by the media; most are influenced by this and conform to the ideal. His work makes me think that to do something unique and eye-catching, that will hopefully make people think about what they are doing to themselves, I will need to produce something shocking and uncomfortable.

Heidi Montag

Heidi Montag is known as an American reality TV personality, recording artist and
most recently plastic surgery addict. She first appeared on our screens in 2006 in
MTV's reality series The Hills.

Heidi first had cosmetic surgery in April 2007, admitting to breast augmentation,
collagen lip injections and rhinoplasty. Then in a 2010 interview with People Magazine,
she revealed that she had ten plastic surgery procedures done in one day. Heidi
underwent a mini brow lift, botox in her brow and frown line area, a nose job, fat
injections in her cheeks, nasolabial folds and lips, chin reduction, neck liposuction,
ears pinned back, breast augmentation revision, liposuction on her waist, hips and
inner and outer thighs, and a buttock augmentation.

She said, "For the past three years, i've thought about what to have done", and admits
to being "beyond obsessed". She also revealed that she almost dies from too much
Demerol, reducing her breath rate to five breaths per minute, but said it was still
worth it.

The Hills star said surgery has left her unable to job, and she added; "I'm very
weird about hugging people now - (my body) is very fragile." She was also recently
pictured in a magazine struggling to eat a burger at a family meal.

Yet despite all this extreme surgery Heidi has admitted that she's not totally happy
with the results. In early May 2010, husband Spencer Pratt spoke to Life & Style,
saying that Heidi will be having her third breast augmentation to increase her breast
size to an H-cup. She has already reached the FDA's maximum for implant sizes, so
she plans to travel to Europe to have the work done. The magazine also reports that
Heidi wants the procedures done within the next few months so that she can film it
for a reality show pilot she and Spencer are pitching.

I actually can't believe the transformation between her before and after pictures, it
barely looks like the same person, even her own mum didn't recognise her. I can't
understand why you would want to completely strip your face of any type of
individuality, and don't even get me started on those boobs! I think Heidi has a
serious problem, which she needs to get help with and regain control over before
she goes too far, if she hasn't already.

Why Do People Get Cosmetic Surgery?


Cosmetic surgery is very common these days, it is no longer only accessible to the rich and famous, anyone can have work done. But it is not all safe and problem free, so why do people put themselves through these risks for beauty? The are many reasons why people get cosmetic surgery but the top 5 most common reasons are:

1. Health Reasons.
Some people may have suffered severe illnesses and diseases and so it seems acceptable that people would want to rectify the problems caused by their illness through surgery. People may also want to fix a problem that maybe causing health issues by having cosmetic surgery.

2. Accidents.
People involved in serious accidents are sometimes left physically deformed and so cosmetic surgery can help to correct and improve these injuries.

3. Self Esteem.
Many people chose to get cosmetic surgery to boost their self esteem. They think that by having surgery and changing their body this will help them feel better about themselves and improve their lives. Unfortunately this is hardly ever the case and problems with body image can be related to past experiences and bad relationships.

4. Re-constructive Surgery.
Re-constructive surgery corrects deformities on the face and body. These can include physical birth defects, such as cleft lips and ear deformities, traumatic injuries, like dog bites or burns, and aftermath treatments such as breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

5. Vanity.
Vanity is also a reason why people get cosmetic surgery. Botox, facelifts, liposuction and tummy tucks can all be considered as vanity procedures as they do not benefit the person other than to feel better about themselves (or at least that's the aim.)

The World's Strangest Plastic Surgery and Me


I recently watched a Channel 4 documentary titled The World's Strangest Plastic Surgery and Me, presented by Mark Dolan. In this program Mark meets a range of people from different backgrounds who have all undergone major plastic surgery to change their looks for one reason or another.

The first person we meet is "American Barbie doll" Jenny Lee, who has had a total of 44 procedures including rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and a scary sounding "full body lift". As the interview progresses it becomes clear Jenny is suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Mark finds out that her quest for perfection actually stems from a past abusive relationship. She claims "My goal has always been to find contentment," but even now she shows no signs of stopping. She has had so much surgery it is actually starting to affect her health, her nostril even collapsed during filming. The documentary also filmed Jenny getting botox injections which showed that disturbingly she actually really enjoyed getting these procedures done, it has basically become part of her life now, a part that she was not willing to give up anytime soon.

The next person Mark met was Angela Bismarchi, a porn star and model, who holds Brazil's record for the most plastic surgery. She has just undergone her 42nd procedure to make her eyes appear more Japanese. (Why? I hear you say, well your guess is as good as mine.) She is currently married to her second husband, plastic surgeon Wagner, and as a wedding gift to him she underwent a procedure called hymenoplasty, which reattaches the hymen to give the impression of a virgin. Angela’s first husband was also a plastic surgeon who operated on her many times, but now Wagner is finishing off his work and has currently performed 10 procedures on Angela. She claims "I feel he has power over me, like he owns me," "I am his property."

The last person Mark meets is Denis Avner, aka the Stalking Cat, recognised by Guinness as "the world's most modified man". Denis has had many many procedures to turn himself into a cat including a cleft lip, pointed ears, extreme dental work and facial tattoos and implants. Again Mark finds out that Denis has had a troubled past and used to be abused by his stepfather as a child. He has also suffered from depression and has gone from being a Navy technician to working part-time as a home help for the elderly.

I found this program really interesting and slightly disturbing. It clearly shows that there is a relationship between bad pasts and experiences and wanting to take control of your life and create something perfect. I think this could be a key factor as to why so many people chose to have surgery to change their looks and bodies.

Celebrities Against Airbrushing


Reveal magazine recently published an article on celebrity airbrushing. The piece revealed that Britney Spears has taken a stand against false advertising and has demanded that the original images from her latest Candies for Kohl's campaign are released alongside the enhanced versions. The images show two sets of before and after pictures of the star in a pink bikini, which highlights the dramatic changes airbrushing can make. Almost everything in the airbrushed pictures has been changed from the originals. Britney's arms, hips, waist and bum look a lot firmer and smaller. The bruises on her legs are gone, as is the dry skin on her feet. Even her legs look longer and leaner. Britney is said to be "proud of her body - imperfections and everything."

Its really refreshing to see a celebrity for how they really are and not some airbrushed lie. I wonder how many other celebrities would dare to ditch the airbrush.

Others that have said no to airbrushing are TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, actress Kate Winslet and recently Madonna has also jumped on the band wagon.

Heelarious?


No wonder body image issues can start at a very early age. I recently came across a website called, Heelarious, which sells soft crib shoes designed to look like high heels for infants ages 0-6 months. Why on earth would an infant want to wear high heels. Why would you want your infant to look like their wearing high heels. I realise this is supposed to be light hearted fun but it really doesn't set up a good mentally for the child when they think they have to wear high heels to look cute and get attention. Also if the mother has this sort of mentally in the first place, their bad habits are going to rub off onto their children, giving them the same body image issues she has.

Yet mums seem to have gone crazy over these baby high heels, including celeb mums such as Nicole Richie and Tori Spelling. The shoes are available in an assortment of colours and designs, including leopard print and cowboy boots. And if that wasn't enough they also sell a credit card teether. The teether is designed to look like babies very own credit card. Could they possible get any more stereotypical! They come in either pink or green and i personally think they are totally ridiculous and quite insulting.

Cosmetic Surgery and Young Girls


GONE are the days when girls begged their parents for a pony. Today's youngsters are more likely to ask for some plastic surgery. One in ten girls in their early teens has argued with their parents over wanting cosmetic surgery, new research claims.

Others fall out over wanting to look like ultra-thin celebrities - a trend dubbed 'thinspiration' because of skinny role models such as Posh Spice and Lindsay Lohan.

The Dove survey - of 1,000 girls aged from 12 to 14 and 1,000 mothers of girls that age - revealed young teens are already worried about their body shape.

And many feel unable to discuss these issues with their parents, with nearly two-thirds claiming to hide their views on appearance from their mothers.

When they do talk about it, the conversation soon turns into an argument, with ten percent of girls claiming to have rowed with their mothers about wanting plastic surgery. A further ten percent say they have fallen out with mum over wanting to look like a celebrity.

More than a quarter have disagreed about dieting issues. Although 98 percent of mothers believe it is important to talk openly about health and body issues, many say they find it easier to discuss boyfriends, drugs and sex.

Experts recognise dieting is a difficult topic. Parents do not want their children to eat too much junk food and risk obesity, yet neither do they want to risk provoking the development of an eating disorder because of pressure to stay thin.

Leading psychotherapist Dr Susie Orbach said: 'In today's image-obsessed society, girls have a very different attitude to their body than their mothers did when they were growing up.'

'It's hard for mums to understand the enormity of the cultural shift that has taken place where girls grow up under inordinate pressure to be "perfect".'

Article taken from website Anybody http://anybody.squarespace.com/anybody_vent/2006/8/13/mum-please-can-i-have-some-botox.html

Male Cosmetic Surgery on the Rise


Male cosmetic surgery in on the rise. It seems men are becoming just as interested as women in their appearances, beauty regimes and cosmetic surgery. Inspired by sportsmen such as the Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, the number of men having laser hair removal has almost doubled in the past 12 months at one national cosmetic surgery chain. Botox is also becoming a fast favourite among men thanks to the likes of Simon Cowell and David Hasselhoff admitting to using it.

But why is this trend on the rise. Well you only have to look at the likes of men's magazines like Men's Health to feel intimidated by the perfect pecks and six pack staring you in face. Also take a look at the latest Armani underwear adverts, starring David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo - enough said!

Plastic surgeons are reporting a record number of "man boob" reduction operations as the rise in demand outstrips that for all other procedures, including women's breast enlargement.

Figures published by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPs) showed operations to correct gynecomastia in men grew by 80%, while overall male cosmetic surgery grew by 21%.

The association's audit reveals 581 male breast reduction operations were performed by members in 2009, up from 323 in 2008. Five years ago, just 22 gynecomastia operations were performed on men. The association represents one in three plastic surgeons, so the UK total is likely to be more than 1,000 operations.

We're certainly not at US levels though. Overall, 36,482 procedures were done by association members for men and women in 2009, compared to 34,187 in 2008, a rise of 6.7%. Women accounted for 32,859, a rise of 5%. The audit reported 8,537 female breast augmentation operations.

Too Much Too Young


Many high street chains and supermarkets have recently come under fire regarding inappropriate children’s clothing.

Primark has been shamed into abandoning sales of padded bikinis for seven-year-olds following a storm of protest over the sexualisation of young girls. The £4 bikinis, one in pink with gold stars and the other black with white spots, were sold for girls aged seven to eight. The company apologised for causing offence and said profits from any bikinis already sold would be given to a children's charity.

Asda have also been criticized for selling black lace underwear, including a push-up bra, aimed at children as young as nine. “This sort of lingerie is totally unacceptable. It feeds this idea of young girls wanting to look sexy.”

British Home Stores (BHS) have removed part of their children’s Little Miss Naughty underwear range after they were described as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘ill-advised’. “It is selling sex to kids. Girls shouldn’t be thinking about lingerie at their age or wanting to enhance their cleavage. They should be playing with their friends not trying to look sexy.”

Next have been forced to remove a t-shirt from their shops aimed at girls under six bearing the slogan, ‘So many boys, so little time.’ Hundreds complained that the top on sale presented youngsters as sexual objects. Child welfare campaigners warned that the clothes were a symptom of the increasing pressure on children to grow up more quickly.

Tesco has been selling a t-shirt aimed at 3-6 month olds with the slogan ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ I think it is disgusting that they can get away with inciting body hatred through image conscious messages on children’s clothing. Tesco has also been forced to remove a pole dancing kit from the toys and games section on its website after it was accused of ‘destroying children’s innocence.’ It describes the kit; ‘Unleash the sex kitten inside…simply extend the Peekaboo pole, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go. Soon you’ll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo dance dollars.’ Dr Adrian Rogers from Family Focus said, ‘this is a dangerous toy that will contribute towards destroying children’s innocence.’

No wonder girls are confused about their bodies and self image!

Cosmetic Surgery Advertising






In today’s society looking good and staying youthful is so important. Beauty has been proved an advantage when it comes to successful courtship and procreation. It can also have an impact on a person’s success and career prospects, so its no wonder people are turning to drastic measures to stay young and beautiful. Rather than eat well and exercise most people would prefer a quick-fix solution, giving them what they want with minimum effort.

Cosmetic surgery adverts usually show before and after images of patients, showing how they have gone from sad and insecure to happy and confident. They completely sugar coat what having cosmetic surgery actually entails. The cost, the pain, the scarring not to mention the risks of things going wrong, complications and side effects.

It is enticing for people to feel that their lives will be made better if they change their looks. These adverts seem to give women unrealistic expectations about cosmetic surgery. Fixing your nose will not guarantee happiness, enlarging your breasts does not mean you will find a man, but this is basically the message that adverts are portraying.

One advertising campaign I came across, done by McCann Erickson Bogota was for Dr Perea a plastic surgery company in Columbia. The adverts come across as cheeky, funny and harmless but the slogan “It will change more than your body” reinforces the message they want people to believe that cosmetic surgery will instantly make their lives better.

Somewhat Strident But Who Cares


Whilst doing my research for my project i came across a Facebook group called 'Somewhat strident but who cares' This is a group for people who often find the portrayal of women in the media one-sided, sexist, appearance obsessed and skewed. There is a website in which you download and print off stickers which can be used on your property to further campaign against destructive media imagery. They discourage illegal use of the stickers "especially not on the London Underground. That would be awful!" And instead creativity.

The stickers range from sayings such as, 'Comes with a free lobotomy!', 'Corporate Grooming', 'By women who hate women' and 'You are normal. This is not'. Even though they are clearly against using these stickers in public somehow some seem to have found their way to the Harley Medical Group adverts situated in the underground tube stations of London. I have to say, good on them, if i saw one of those stickers over a cosmetic surgery advert it would make me smile, instead of making me feel self conscious.

I decided to voice my opinions, on the recently viewed Boots advert which was inspiring my final project, on their group page. Hopefully it will bring it to the attention of people who may have missed it's hidden agenda or may not have seen it yet.

Boots Advert


I recently saw on TV the new Boots advert for the Tony Ferguson weight loss plan designed by ad company Mother. This advert inspired my ad campaign for the final project of my degree. I wanted to expose what the media was really saying by removing the sugar coating and revealing to women what they are actually being made to believe.

The advert shows a group of women (and guy) gossiping in an office environment about their colleagues recent weight loss and the differences in her life due to this. The women’s discussion escalates from how ‘Joan’ now looks ‘happy’ and ‘amazing’, to her just returning from a holiday in Paris with a new man, a pilot with a yacht no less, who proposed, and ending with her getting married in a mansion. The women in the office seem to get wrapped up in this fantasy lifestyle that their friend is now living, ooohing and ahhhing with jealousy, wishing it was them.

I feel that this advert is reinforcing a bad message, that if you lose weight you will be happier, you will marry a rich, handsome man who will sweep you off your feet and you will live happily ever after. Unfortunately this is almost always not the case and I think it is cruel and unfair to put these types of unrealistic expectations onto women and for them to think they can only achieve this dream by losing weight.

For me Boots comes across as a well respected, family company, so I was surprised that they would openly portray this type of message.

I can honestly say I was really shocked when I saw this advert and found myself wondering if anyone else picked up on the same things I did or is this type of advertising acceptable nowadays?

Reveal Magazine


After voicing my opinions to the 'Facebook group Somewhat Strident but Who Cares' on the Boots advert and the way women are portrayed in the media, i decided to expand my voice to different companies who are more involved in the way women are seen.

I decided to write to Reveal magazine after seeing a selection of their articles, including 'I lost 21lb and saved my marriage', 'I couldn't be a fat bride' and 'I lost 2st and feel sexier than ever'. They also cover celebrity stories such as a piece written on Coleen Rooney's crow's feet at age 22, and reality TV show Big Brother's Kathreya loses 4st for her wedding, you can too. No wonder women feel under pressure to conform to all these standards with them being shoved into their faces day in day out.

So i wrote to them expressing my concerns about how the media stereotypes women and how they put unrealistic expectations on them to conform to get what they want out of life. I am currently still waiting to see if i hear anything back from them so watch this space.

My Campaign






So this is my campaign for the final project of my degree; my personal project. A campaign aimed to uncover and inform women what the media are really saying with their unique, sugar coated forms of advertising, by creating a series of adverts to shock and intrigue women. The feminine, pastel colours draw the audience in then the harsh, bold copy hits them hard to cause insult and to educate.

I plan to place my posters in women’s toilets, on the backs of cubicles and above the hand dryers for maximum exposure. The reason i would place them on the backs of cubicles is because it is a place where women get undressed and so they see the parts of their bodies they may rather cover up, and as soon as they leave the cubicle they go straight to the mirror to analyse themsleves. So the toilet door advert would first put doubt in their minds, which they then go and examine in the mirror, then when they dry their hands, they are hit with the advert again, ensuring it has a real impact on them.

I also plan to place my posters in women’s changing rooms. The reason i would place them here is because it is also a place where women get undressed and evaluate their bodies in front of a mirror. There is also the pressure to look right and fit into the best clothes and with the poster their to put doubt into your mind you may even consider just giving up shopping. The aim of the posters is to create a real impact on women and i think the positioning of the posters has a lot to do with how successful they would be.

I Say I Say


Okay so i got on a bit of a roll and decided to further expand my letter of complaint to some shows that would maybe have similar opinions to myself.

I managed to write to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2, Women's Hour on BBc Radio 4 and Loose Women on ITV. Loose Women in particular i thought would have some thoughts on this issue as they have had discussion topics in the past closely related to the subject. Some of the stories they have previous talked about include, 'Is beauty something to be envied?' and 'How much pain would you endure for beauty?' I also thought it may be an ideal topic for this program as one of the shows frequent participants recently revealed that for her 50th birthday she treated herself to cosmetic surgery. Actress, Denise Welch, underwent both upper and lower eyelid surgery, dermal fillers and anti wrinkle laser treatments to give herself a younger and fresher look. Welch's move follows the findings of a recent study, which revealed that 1 in 30 women at, or close to, retirement age would consider cosmetic surgery to remove the signs of ageing.

I then went straight to the source and decided to write to both Boots, the company featured in the advert selling Tony Ferguson weight loss plan, and Mother, the creator of the advert. I let them know my thoughts on how the advert was stereotyped and how i thought the women were portrayed. I am really hoping to hear back from these letters, as i would love to hear the other people's views on this matter.