When I think about everything I must do in my lifetime, the list gets rather long.
I must be happy.
I must be in a successful and fulfilling relationship.
I must strive for personal growth and development in all areas of my life.
Of course, I’m in my thirties now. When I was in my 20s, the list was a bit more succinct and–perhaps–naive.
But nowhere on my must do list did I ever include breast augmentation. Or a Brazillian butt lift!
Angeleno magazine, an LA-based publication, recently released a series of #MustDo items, focusing on every decade of a woman’s life. And in theory, I love the idea. My goals and aspirations are so different now when I compare them to my dreams of a decade ago. Aren’t yours?
But Angeleno dropped the ball {and pissed me off in the process!} Rather than emphasizing the talent and range of abilities through the years, the magazine focused on the aesthetics of women by detailing which surgical procedures they need to do and when. For example?
“This is the time for the selfie generation to remedy body issues that have prevailed since the teenage years,” the article says. According to the Angeleno {and the quoted doctor sources who–coincidentally–prominently advertise in the magazine}, the best way to handle this is with the recommended must-do surgery of your 20s: breast augmentation.
In case the dripping sarcasm in my tone isn’t obvious, let me clarify: I’m disgusted by this. It’s clear that we live in a society that is far too focused on our appearance. That said, I’m not horrified at the notion of plastic surgery. Different strokes for different folks, and all that jazz. I can’t judge.
But what I can judge is deeming a “body-enhancement” surgery as a must-do when all you are suggesting is that a woman is not beautiful enough to begin with. I’m a size B cup; should I be desperately running to a clinic to make myself “beautiful”? Or, since I’m in my 30s, did I already miss my window of ever becoming beautiful by leaving my cup size so small?
Back in 2012, Hillary Clinton jumped into the limelight when an issue of Elle magazine quoted her aides moaning over the fact that she wore minimal makeup and always pulled her hair back with a scrunchie. Clinton’s response still has me cheering for her:
“If I want to wear my glasses, I’m wearing my glasses. If I want to pull my hair back, I’m pulling my hair back. You know, at some point, it’s just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention.”
Bam.
In the 21st century, how is it possible that we are still bemoaning the hair style of one of the most prominent female politicians in our country? And further, how is still possible that we feel we have the right to judge female body types in order to determine what is “best” and what needs “enhancement”? Honestly, who the hell do we think we are??
To the Angeleno: you should be ashamed of yourself. Yes, I saw the response that you posted and truthfully, I’m still unimpressed. It’s all excuses for body shaming when you should be apologizing.
And as for me? I’ll be over here, working on my #mustdo list: living a life that I love.
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