Should beauty be standardized? Or can it ever be? At different eras people had different beauty standards and perceptions. Since immemorial times women followed the trends of current fashion and aimed to approximate themselves to the ideal image. In the modern world more and more women decide to take advantage of advanced technological tools by, literally, carving themselves into an ideal of beauty. Today, when beauty fashion is so diverse and standards of beauty are very vague, women, like never before, sacrifice their money, health and identity for the sake of standardizing their image. Why instead of valuing distinction and appreciating individuality are we attempting to build an army of clones?

People can choose to change or improve their look for different reasons. Now I am not discussing obvious abnormalities or deformities caused by accidents. I am talking about the growing popularity of common aesthetic procedures such as nose jobs or breast implanting. According to the statistics of International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the first five countries with the highest number of plastic surgeries are in the American continent: USA, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Argentina. They account for 47% of the procedures worldwide. The United States leads the list with almost 9 million procedures done and over $8 billion spent in 2003. And the numbers keep growing every year. The most popular procedures are liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty, with non-surgical Botox being number one.

It didn’t take a lot of effort (wasn’t much work) for me to find the statistical facts above. But it is much harder to find trustworthy statistics of all the complications and negative consequences of such perfectionism. It must be well known that risks of plastic operations can range from asymmetry to death, including infections, airway obstruction, necrosis, brain damage, nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, temporary paralysis and even cancer in between.

One of the examples, not the worst case by the way, is the experience of Scottish model Karen Buchanan, who said her ten-year catwalk career for Italian fashion houses was ruined after she decided to get a small plastic surgery to straighten her nose for the sake of career advancement in March 2003 at a private Glasgow surgery. Instead, the 32-year-old model joined the thousands of plastic surgery ’victims’. She said: “I had been warned that there would be some swelling and bruising, but I had paid Ј2,500 and my nose had been transformed into a shapeless nub. It looked as though I had just done ten rounds with Mike Tyson. I was horrified.”

“I went from being happy and secure to being withdrawn and miserable. I wanted to slightly alter the shape of my nose, but it turned into an absolute disaster.”

The biggest problem is that the media, instead of encouraging appreciation of beauty in its different forms and manifestations, try to provoke people by offering a new face, new body and new life to those who “will not accept looking like second best”.

Joan Morris wrote in her article “Reality of Plastic Surgery”: “While some doctors worry that turning plastic and cosmetic surgery into televised entertainment lends itself to trivializing the seriousness of surgery, others fear the shows send the wrong message, telling those with real emotional problems that the pathway to happiness and stability goes through the operating room.”

Critics argue that “society has ill-advisedly crossed a line” with shows like ABC’s “Extreme Makeover,” Fox’s “The Swan” and MTV’s “I Want a Famous Face”, when “experts” evaluate the women and draw up the list of flaws they say need to be corrected. Dr. Katherine Young, a San Francisco plastic surgeon, said: “I watched ’The Swan’ and was very shocked that they would do something like that on television. Not because it was so graphic, because it wasn’t. But because it really sends the wrong message to women. This panel of judges is telling her something is wrong with her because her appearance isn’t perfect. That’s very dangerous, especially for young women. It’s so easy to get obsessed with image.” Doctors also say that there’s nothing wrong with cosmetic or plastic surgery to correct or improve serious physical defects, but the shows cause wrong perception of it and affect popularity of surgeries. Dr. Young does a lot of reconstructive surgeries, working with women who have undergone mastectomies. She said she turned down some patient’s requests when she believed they were using the surgery as a way to solve an emotional problem.

Women think that approximating their bodies and faces to the perceived ideal can actually improve their lives and bring them happiness. Well, if it is a desperate situation that makes a person miserable, then maybe such a solution should be considered. But what women refuse to realize is that even the most beautiful celebrities get hurt and betrayed, and the beauty they possess doesn’t necessarily make them happier than a regular non-model looking woman.

One writer said: “What really is beauty and why is it deified by people? Is it a vessel filled with emptiness or it’s a fire glimmering inside of it?” I am not denying the importance of looks but I want to point out that uniqueness of appearance and personality can make up the beauty. We just need to learn how to discover and appreciate it. I knew gorgeous women who were unpopular among men and could not set up their personal life. Because the surface is enough only for something superficial and non-lasting. I had a friend with a teenage body constitution, no curves and an A bust size. Neither her face would strike one’s eye with the beauty of perfect features. But, let me tell you, she was a real femme fatale! Her style, her posture, her piercing eyes, her impetuous temperament and her boundless energy just drove men crazy.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen once said in her interview: “I think beauty is about taste. Some may find me horrendous, and some can find me pretty. In the beginning it was hard. People said, ’Oh, she’s too skinny, she’s got a big nose.’ I don’t have one of those plastic surgery noses, I have a German nose, but so what? I have a big personality as well, so that goes with it.”

You cannot satisfy everyone with your look. Even such popular and stunning women as Jennifer Lopez or Catherine Zeta-Jones can find their critics. And while thousands of women around the world were filling their buttocks with implants, trying to get a-la J.Lo bottoms, my playboy-type uncle, while watching a video of the hot Latin singer, made an insulting comment that implied excessive weight on the Lopez’ lower part.

Experience shows that everyone can be liked and loved. And you can be the most beautiful and desired woman for someone even without Pamela Anderson’s breast and Angelina Jolie’s lips. And does it make that much of a difference for you if not all men on this planet are dying for your body when you are already loved by a special one and, most importantly, by yourself, and maybe are much happier than any of the beauty queens?

Maybe the solutions of your personal and psychological problems should not be sought in making your face or body look “popular” but rather in learning to love yourself the way you already are and trying to improve your perceived imperfections using other methods or turn them into your unique features.