Web Finds: Beauty Recovery Room

You've all seen the before and after pictures of Korean women and men post-surgery. You see their dismal expression on the left and their beautiful carefree look on the right and think, "wow they look great now." You've probably also stumbled across Korean transformation TV shows on Youtube and gawk at their new unrecognizable faces. It's like permanently Photoshopping your own face, and who doesn't want to look like an enhanced version of themselves? Well, photographer Ji Yeo published a series of pictures taken right after their surgery. Not the cliche 'after' picture, but the ones you don't see; the struggle and recovery of these people straight after the OR.

Let's get to it:

 

As of 2010, South Korea has the most cosmetic surgery procedures per capita. It's not a surprise to anyone because of the hype that the country has gotten about this. The teenagers get eye surgery or a nose job for their graduation present and yet they cower behind an adamant, "no!" when asked if they've had work done. 

I think that South Korea has a bigger tendency to opt for plastic surgery because people there explicitly recognize that beauty is a powerful tool for work, life, and love. While most countries tend to hide the fact that lookism exists, South Korea recognizes it and gives a chance for the girls to compete in the market. The fact that the word 'lookism' is underlined with red dots mean that it's a term so infrequently used that it hasn't even been added to the dictionary yet. 

Lookism, as you have probably figured out, is prejudice given to physically attractive people. They get perks like better treatment, more employment, less of a suspect during crime, and all the good things that come with having a conventionally attractive façade. It's such an implicit action to treat someone attractive with respect and kindness that people don't think it's prejudice. When you bullied that ugly kid back in high school, or when you decided to hire a hotter secretary, that's still considered prejudice. People choose to work with more attractive people simply because they give off a more positive vibe and are less threatening.

So with this innate magnetism towards those with more symmetric facial features, lookism is looked over as opposed to a more conscious prejudice like racism or sexism. However in South Korea, people realize the fact that, hey, attractive people are treated way better everywhere.

People argue it's because that South Korean women live behind an extremely patriarchal media that perpetuates the ideal look of what a woman should look like. But the plastic surgery procedures are done to both men and women, and it's more of the idea that the better looking you are, the further your chances are to achieving your dream. They're also way more direct and condescending towards those who don't fit the beauty criteria. If you're ugly, your friends will say you're ugly. There's no sugar coating and a pat on the back. It's this kind of brazen honesty that's both good and bad for these women's self-esteem.

You might think that's complete bullshit and that achieving your dream has little to do with your perceived attractiveness and more to do with your inherent abilities. I agree, but I believe that what you look like on the outside plays a very important role in today's ladder of success, especially for women.

Just look at the most powerful male YouTubers; PewDiePie, Smosh, Nigahiga, PhillyD, DanIsNotOnFire, Nerimon, Charlieisocoollike, DavidSoComedy, BoyceAvenue, WongFu, and a bunch of others that rely on their humor and content more than anything to become a successful blogger.

Now let's take a look at the most powerful female YouTubers; JennaMarbles, MichellePhan, MacBarbie07, JuicyStar07, Andreaschoice, laurenbeautyy, Zoella, DailyGrace, and a whole lot more. What do they all have in common? They're all very nice to look at on top of actually producing premium quality blogging material. It's as if what launches them off the platform and into the eyes of the public is how they look. Like how the greatest cover artists on YouTube are Megan Nicole and Tiffany Alvord, both are extremely talented but extremely beautiful. Sure, Christina Grimmie isn't the Girl Next Door but it doesn't hurt to look at her, right? She's pretty cute and she likes video games.

I know that my fellow YouTube fanatics are probably like, "but most of the girls you listed are beauty gurus!" Yeah, some are beauty gurus. But why is it that most of the successful beauty gurus are drop dead gorgeous? Because you are more likely to listen to a beautiful beauty guru than you are to a mediocre-looking one, thinking that a pretty guru will know what she's talking about. False. The uglies actually know more because they're used to smackin' a pound of M.A.C on their faces to get rid of the unattractiveness.

Moving on from the humble platform of the Internet and on to Hollywood. Most female actresses need to be relatively good looking to get into the business, while men can come in all forms and still get the chance to play the leading role. The women who aren't conventionally attractive are going to be cast repetitively as the token funny friend who chime in with quips every now and then. This isn't always the case, but look at Steve Buschemi and Peter Dinklage who are applauded for their talent in playing both comedic and serious roles, but women like Melissa McCarthy tend to stick to comedies.

With all this said, even though plastic surgery is so taboo around the world, I think that it's completely fine. I wouldn't agree with a triple D breast augmentation but if that's what she prefers and if she's doing this for her own satisfaction, then alright, go ahead. If a girl doesn't like her nose and she has the means to go under the knife to fix it then alright. For a girl, this world is a mirror, telling you exactly what you need to do to your face and how many pounds you should lose. I see no wrong in fixing what you want to fix if you genuinely believe that it will give you a better life. I think the South Koreans aren't beauty-crazy—I think we all are. They're just the ones brave enough to step up and point out what we're all too afraid or ignorant to talk about.