Attraction: Scalpel Slaves

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http://www.statepress.com/issues/2005/10/06/arts/694223

Attraction: Scalpel Slaves

More ASU students are going under the knife to improve

their appearance

by Sam Friedman

published on Thursday, October 6, 2005

Shaina Levee / STATE PRESS MAGAZINE

Sociology professor Deborah Sullivan in her office

with her book " Cosmetic Surgery: The Cutting Edge of

Commercial Medicine in the U.S. " Sullivan says she

worries that students might be trading their

self-esteem for idealized Barbie and Ken bodies. " We

increasingly see ourselves as body parts seeking

self-worth and happiness through operations, " she

says.

Although public relations junior Charlupski

just recently turned 21, she has already had six bouts

of cosmetic surgery, all involving her nose, and has

another planned for December.

Charlupski actually has a rather lovely nose. Sculpted

thin and straight, with a delicate aquiline finish,

most would agree it only adds to her beauty. But

Charlupski disagrees.

" I've always had a really ugly nose, " she says, " but I

never really worried because I knew I would get

surgery. Both my mother and my grandmother have had

operations and although there was never any pressure,

I always knew it was an option. I had my first

operation when I was 14 and have had one a year ever

since. "

The Kappa Delta sorority member has also had lip

treatment and around $15,000 worth of hair removal and

skin laser treatments -- something she says may sound

" over the top " but is common in the wealthy suburb of

Detroit where she grew up. She says the doctor who

performed her first nose operation didn't do it right

and she was forced to go back again. She tried nose

implants but calls them a " big mistake. " They soon

became infected and were removed. The operations have

taken their toll on Charlupski -- scar tissue gave her

trouble breathing through her nose for four years --

but despite the string of technical difficulties there

is another reason for her preoccupation with surgery.

" It's very addictive to wake up one day and just have

something fixed. I don't think there will ever be a

point where I'm happy with my nose, just a time where

I'll have to learn to live with it, " she says.

Charlupski is one of millions who will decide to have

cosmetic surgery this year. According to the American

Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there has been

a 465 percent increase in cosmetic procedures since

1997. And long gone is the stereotype of the wealthy

40-something struggling with mid-life crisis -- a

recent ASAPS poll found that the 18-24-year-old

demographic is most likely to consider cosmetic

surgery.

Indeed, for some types of surgery, such as female

breast enlargement, young people are already the

biggest customers. In 2004 more than 180,000

procedures were carried out on American women under

age 34.

And what about ASU? Gibney, a Tempe plastic

surgeon, says all you have to do is " look at all the

beautiful women walking around campus " to see the

growing popularity of cosmetic surgery. Echoing the

findings of the ASAPS, Gibney says around 70 percent

of his student customers are women who want breast

enlargement, although nose jobs and liposuction are

also popular.

He says he thinks one of the reasons cosmetic surgery

is rising so fast here has something to do with the

temperature.

" Out here there is a lot of flesh on display and that

is only adding to people's desire to look good, " he

says.

Hooper, a recent ASU graduate agrees there is

" certainly pressure to look good " at ASU. Hooper had

an operation in October 2004 to increase her breast

size from a borderline A-B to a C cup, something she

says she had been thinking about for five years.

" I have always had quite an athletic build, " she says,

" but always felt my top half was never quite in

proportion to my sporty lower half. "

Hooper says that although the pressure to look good

didn't directly affect her decision to have surgery,

it did greatly influence her daily decisions about

makeup and clothes.

" I think there's an overwhelming pressure to look good

these days, and people just haven't got the dedication

to stick to strict workouts and diet plans. " she says

Deborah Sullivan, professor of sociology and author of

" Cosmetic Surgery: The Cutting Edge of Commercial

Medicine in the U.S. " says an attractive appearance

has always had value but one of the reasons why the

demand for beauty has increased more rapidly in the

last century is because of our switch from an

industrial based to a service-based economy.

" There is a 'beauty bonus' in the workplace now, " she

says. " Jobs involve more interpersonal contact, and

attractive adults are assumed to be more competent. In

such a cultural context, patients' desire for cosmetic

surgery is rational. "

Both Hooper and Charlupski say surgery has made them

feel better and more comfortable with their

appearances. They agree the decision to undertake

surgery should depend on the individual, but in many

cases makes people feel better about themselves or

relieves certain crippling insecurities, something

they say can only be positive.

But Sullivan disagrees.

" Evidence overwhelmingly suggests surgery is unlikely

to positively change your life, you will be the same

that you have always been, extravert/introvert,

confident/insecure, " she says.

She also argues that the rise represents a negative

change for society as the relentless stream of media

images depicting attractive people has narrowed our

criteria for evaluating attractiveness.

" We increasingly see ourselves as commodities --

simply a bunch of body parts seeking self-worth and

happiness through multiple operations, " she says.

At first glance, Sullivan's argument is supported by

the testament of Churlowski, who talks of surgery as

both " addictive " and " exciting. "

" There's so much more I want to do, " she says. " At

some point I want to get some more lip treatment, and

after I have kids I'm sure I'll have my chest done. "

But, Churlowski is adamant she's not trying to seek

self-worth through cosmetic surgery.

" I may well be in the minority, " she says, " but before

surgery I was a happy person, and although my exterior

may change all the time, my interior doesn't. I've

always been 150 percent happy with the way I look.

It's just fun. "

Reach the reporter at sam.friedman@....