The immediate question: Why is society so shallow that a bump on the nose
might have such an effect on someone's self-esteem or on his or her success?
We all know the role that appearance plays in our lives and the impact it has on our
relationships with others. Dr. Joyce Brothers has clearly shown that how we are
perceived by others determines how they interact with us. She says, When you
look good and feel great, people treat you as if you're special. Your appearance
sends signals to others about who you are, how you feel, even about your values
and aspirations. When people treat you as if you are intelligent and friendly, you
behave that way, and that starts an upward spiral of success. "As facial plastic
surgeons, we can feel comfortable as we do facial rejuvenation surgery, knowing
that we are helping our patient's outward appearance more appropriately mirror
their inner vitality," says Dr. Kridel.
But what happens when we change a feature with which one was born? Are we
bowing to society's whims? Not according to some more recent authors. In fact,
several scientific articles about the science of beauty by well-respected biopsychologists
indicate that the desire for beauty may be an instinctive reproductive
desire rather than an arbitrary cultural artifact. As author Brad Lemley states, "If
beauty is not truth, it may be health and fertility," Lemley goes on to state that
landmark studies show that attractive males and females not only garner more
attention from the opposite sex, "they also get more affection from their mothers,
more money at work, more votes from the electorate, more leniency from judges,
and are generally regarded as more kind, competent, healthy, confident, and
intelligent," The facial plastic surgery community is helping individuals achieve this
instinctual need with cosmetic facial plastic surgery.
Actual cognitive averaging has evolved where we all strive to fit in and not look out
of the ordinary, Aristotle's definition states that aconcept of beauty occurs when all
parts work together in harmony so that no one part draws unjust attention to itself,
The superficiality of an individual society (that we may try to blame on the
modeling agencies and women's fashion magazines) may not exist since our quest
for beauty has been in play since the beginning of the animal kingdom.
* condensed from an article written on beauty in Facial Plastic Times by Dr. Kridel
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