If you’ve been fortunate enough to watch the movie “White Chicks,” I hope you deem my take on what I call “the dressing room scene” to be fitting. A quick Youtube search for “White Chicks dressing room” brings up the one-minute video that causes me both hysterics and anguish every time I watch it. In the scene, one character, Lisa, has a full-on meltdown while trying on clothes. Despite her slim, athletic build, Lisa grabs the slightest bits of extra flesh on her body, referring to each with different names like “Cellulite Sally,” “Backfat Betty” and the infamous “Tina the Talking Tummy.”
Though Lisa may seem possessed by some unrelenting demon of body dysmorphia, this is by no means an isolated experience. The topic of illusory body image is one that has been frequently evaluated and discussed. One severe outcome of this internal affliction with one’s own body can involve a journey under the knife of a plastic surgeon.
Like most body augmentations, the end goal is typically a natural look, as if the person never underwent any type of procedure. While this is by all means a realistic expectation, it must be also be acknowledged that certain physical characteristics do not occur naturally. Yet, these artificial standards are highly sought after.
The most notable real-world example of this paradox is the case of Kylie Jenner. Her Instagram is riddled with shots giving various angles of her curvy, robust hips and rear end that sit all-too-perfectly between her minuscule waist and slim legs. Endless comments flood in below the picture, calling her #BodyGoals. Despite her relentless denial of rumors surrounding her seemingly overnight transformation, claiming she “got a little chunkier,” many professionals have agreed that Kylie actually underwent multiple plastic surgeries.
