People have been unhappy with their looks for years. Since the advances and availability of surgery it has become a trend to change these dissatisfying natural features. But has it gone to far?
People who suffer from Body Dysmorphic disorder are excessively concerned and pre occupied by a perceived defect in his or her physical features. This unhappiness can cause psychological distress, sever depression, anxiety and complete social isolation. The need to fit in to the norm and present themselves as the idea of perfection is becoming harder, it seems, with every new trend.
Fashion icon Lady Gaga has been seen sporting flesh coloured spikes on her face and shoulders that look like subdermal implants in her new video ‘Born this way’ and on Jay Leno. This is apparently the latest trend in body modification in which metal shapes or even items of jewellery are implanted under the skin. It is questionable whether these are convincing prosthetics or surgically implanted.
She claimed on Gayle King’s US chat show that ‘They’ve been there this whole time but I waited until I’d put Born This Way out for you to see them’. Fans have questioned her new look and the hypothesis they have come up with is that she is referring to a new race of humanity in which there is no discrimination and equality for all is prevalent in society. Another theory is that it is a tribute to Alexander McQueen who’s eccentric style inspired Lady Gaga in the spring summer catwalk for 2010.
Lady Gaga’s new look has been seen for years in magazines like Bizarre with articles further back than 2008 on Dennis Avner the human ‘tiger’ and Erik Sprague the Lizard man who have now found fame for their unusual looks. The question is with all this publicity surrounding subdermal implants will it become the norm and soon the desired look?
Facial piercing, branding and scaring have been popular throughout the years in primitive and modern cultures. Some tribes use body modifications as a right of passage. Today we see these piercings and modifications amongst our culture but they serve as an aesthetic purpose. These looks, which have become the norm, would have been frowned upon years ago however, now they have become almost desirable.
The constant development of body modification forces people to conform to the desired look and makes perfection harder to reach. People are fighting to fit in and this constant need results in plastic surgery and an increase in body dysmorphia.
It’s one thing to change your nose, get a facelift or get breast augmentation surgery if you are unhappy, but to implant objects under your skin to reach an, as some would say, unnatural perfection is a step to far. It seems we are travelling down a road of which there is no return, the desired look becomes more and more eccentric and further away from our ancestors. Could this be seen as evolution or merely self-mutilation?
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