As beauty standards change over time, so, too, do the ways we view our bodies and others’. In recent decades, each beauty shift has had a ripple effect within the world of plastic surgery as well, creating trends like lifted eyes, smoothed foreheads or filled lips, tweaks that have become all the more common and accessible, often requiring needles not knives to achieve.
As these cosmetic procedures continue to skyrocket, the industry is expected to be worth 43.9 billion dollars by 2025, according to one study. Yet despite the growing familiarity with cosmetic procedures, the stigma surrounding them – and those who choose to get them – hasn’t shifted. In other words: Tons of people are getting work done, and no one’s talking about it in a positive way (if they’re talking about it at all). Tabloids and “gotcha” social media posts seem to go after celebrities with supposed before-and-after photos, attempting to out someone for having had work done, implicitly shaming them along with anyone else who’d choose to undergo the same. And what for?
Are We Done Shaming People for Having “Work Done” Yet?
