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 42^nd 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.