they have narrow lips
with downward lines in the corners of the mouth and a deep wrinkle between
the eyebrows. Others feel that their peers often have comments like “Don’t
you look tired and worn out”, just because they have baggy eye-lids or look
angry because of a deep wrinkle between the eyebrows. The following example
illustrates very clearly to me that weire judged by what we look like and
not by who we are. A patient had been referred to me to get help for her facial
paralysis, which had affected not just one side of the face but both. This
condition causes not only purely functional difficulties, such as the inability
to close one’s eyes or eat, but also and just as serious, the emotional difficulties
which arise due to the inability to show feelings through facial expression.
When expressing joy we don’t just use words but we add a smile and maybe other
facial movements. If someone expresses joy in words while displaying a flat,
mask-like facial expression it won’t be communicated as a real show of joy.
My patient’s mouth drooped very obviously at the corners, which gave her a
very grumpy appearance (see photos). Her affliction was clearly illustrated
to me when I heard her pass a nurse who, without knowing her condition, said
“and why are you so angry?” Her problem wasn’t that she was angry or sad,
but that she looked angry and sad. She was in fact on this day unusually happy
because she had learned she was going to receive help through a facial operation.
Within literature it’s more the rule than the exception that the writer through
various character descriptions gives a thorough account of the appearance
of the people involved. Many times a particular appearance will be connected
to a certain personality. For example an underdeveloped, weak chin might be
included in the description of a weak personality while a big, strong and
maybe crooked nose is often used in the description of a criminal.
Personally I believe that just about all people have some trait that they
think is unflattering or ugly. One might even be so provocative as to claim
that plastic surgery therefore affects just about all people, and that only
four factors restrict the will to correct an appearance “defect”:
- One doesn’t accept
cosmetic surgery at all.
– The final result is not guaranteed.
– The risks.
– The cost.
If every person made decisions without worrying about the opinions of others,
if one could be one hundred percent sure about the final result, and guaranteed
that no risks were involved, and didn’t have to pay anything, I think very
few people would refrain from surgically altering an “appearancedefect”.
Attitudes toward cosmetic
plastic surgery have changed dramatically over the last few years and we now
have an increased acceptance and a more liberal attitude towards people making
their own decisions about their bodies and their looks. In our modern society
we also have an older generation thatfs considerably healthier and more sound
than ever before. They are also a considerably more active generation both
in sports and in travelling. Grandma and Grandpa are no longer home in the
rockingchair, they’re out sporting about
