Plastic surgery is well on the road to being normalised, many public figures are no longer hiding what plastic surgery they’ve had done. Influencers vlog their breast augmentations and upper bleph surgeries in order to share the experience with their viewers.
From price points and specific surgeons to the recovery process, celebrities are videoing and discussing every step. In return, they are praised for their transparency, for their honesty in admitting the lengths they have gone to achieve their beauty. We are told that young girls no longer need to berate their natural appearances for not matching the models on magazine covers; after all, you’re not ugly, you’re just poor. In reality, what we’re witnessing is propaganda flooding in from the cosmetic surgery industry.
Rising rates of cosmetic surgery stem from more complex issues than we are led to believe, it runs deeper than our surface understanding of societal expectations of beauty, down to a rotten core. There is a gap in reporting that has failed to address why the astounding manipulation of the cosmetic surgery industry’s boom has been so successful. There is more than enough discourse surrounding body image and the desire to fit the current beauty trends- these are not new concepts, rather issues that have been present since the tabloidisation of the 1990s- but what new driving force has emerged since 2022?
This driving force is societal complicity, or even more dangerously, passivity.
In 2022, cosmetic procedures increased by a staggering 102% from the previous year. This rise has slowly but surely been increasing each year since. Unsurprisingly, North America possesses the largest market for cosmetic surgery, providing evidence linking the rise in cosmetic procedures to Hollywood and the surplus of American influencers online.
So why are men are becoming more comfortable in their skin, even amidst the heightening digital age, while women continue to become less comfortable?
This is undeniably a gendered issue, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons revealed in their 2023/24 report that from 2023 to 2024 the number of men receiving cosmetic procedures fell by 1.5%, whereas the number of women rose by 6%.
The only figures that can truly showcase the gender discrepancy in the cosmetic surgery industry is the 1,799 British men that received procedures in 2024 compared to the 27,462 women; the latter receiving an outrageous 15 times more. These figures are vastly lower than the reality as BAAPS yearly reports do not include submissions from all British plastic surgeons, nor does it report on British men and women seeking cosmetic surgery in foreign countries. It is almost unthinkable to imagine how conservative these statistics must be to reality.
So why are men are becoming more comfortable in their skin, even amidst the heightening digital age, while women continue to become less comfortable?
The internet is a brutal place; for men and women. But the rise in social conservatism, the increasing ‘tradwife’ trend, creates the perfect environment for men to lean into their natural states and for women to seek perfection.
After interviewing a number of students considering plastic surgery, I attempted to establish a common theme. Sophie* tells me that she has been considering lip filler for years. Lip filler is not a cosmetic surgery, but it is a medical procedure- one of the most popular forms of cosmetic procedures at the moment. “I don’t have any recollection of like when I first discovered it, I feel like I’ve briefly known about it for a while. Inspiration would definitely be girls from home that I wish I could look like, that I know have filled. That sounds so materialistic, but it is the honest answer.
Cosmetic procedures used to be a rarity, enmeshed in scandal, but now acceptance has spiralled out of control into complete normalisation.
“Also, influencers or people I watch on TikTok who I also think are stunning. It definitely stems from, well, not jealousy, but admiring them and beauty standards. I never used to be conscious of my lips but I always overline them now.”
Sophie* confirms that celebrities and influencers are largely to blame for the surge in young women seeking cosmetic procedures. To a greater degree, though, it appears to be those directly around us that are encouraging us, even indirectly, to go through with these procedures. Cosmetic procedures used to be a rarity, enmeshed in scandal, but now acceptance has spiralled out of control into complete normalisation. Altering our appearances, sometimes beyond recognition, has become a mundanity.
I also spoke with Clair*, a student from Aberdeen that has been considering a rhinoplasty and breast augmentation, among other procedures. Clair* tells me that her desire to alter her appearance began in school, “My friends were growing boobs, and the boys were talking about boobs. I had this idea in my head that to be a ‘woman’ and ‘feminine’ I couldn’t also be flat-chested. I think this insecurity came from the fear of how men would view me, how they would score my femininity.
“For me, it never seems to be celebrities that I compare myself to. It’s the girls I went to school with or the girl who’s recent TikTok went viral because she looks amazing.”
It’s not the individuals themselves that should be demonised for receiving cosmetic surgery, but rather the promoting factors that need to be deconstructed.
A newfound online affinity for choice feminism brands cosmetic procedures as empowering, ignoring the patriarchal origins of beauty standards.
Men are simply not witnessing their colleagues, friends, and acquaintances receiving cosmetic procedures at the same rate. In comparison, it appears to be an infrequency for men to be in close contact with another man that has had a procedure done. This explains why rates of male cosmetic surgery are actively decreasing while women’s increase; they are not experiencing the same peer pressure, or the same normalisation.
Statistics show that mental health worsens post-surgery. Pursuing cosmetic surgery is not a miracle cure for low self-esteem issues, it’s a shoddy bandage that often worsens the physical and mental state of the individual.
*Names have been changed to protect student’s identities.
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