Beyond the Filler: Unravelling the Media's Grip on Cosmetic Surgery Desires Amingst the Youth

Critical Issues in Fashion Research: The Body, Beauty, and Taste Unit Leader: Charles Athill Unit Code: FU009036

Beyond the Filler: Unravelling the Media’s Grip on Cosmetic Surgery Desires Amongst the Youth

( Bellocchio, N.D)

Sara Al Nour 22003351

Word Count: Submission Date: 2,974 15/01/24

This essay examines the complex nature of media representation, celebrity influence, and the rising tendency towards cosmetic surgery amongst young people in an era that is dominated by technology and digital media.

The terms ‘plastic surgery’ and ‘cosmetic surgery’ are often interchangeably used when referring to one or the other. However, according to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS), plastic surgery mainly refers to “reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns and disease” whereas cosmetic surgery focuses solely on “enhancing a patient’s appearance” (ABCS, N.D). This essay will focus on the media’s influence on cosmetic surgery patients, analysing the relationship to depict the hold that the media has on young people’s desire to undergo cosmetic surgery.

The essay will also focus on social media, specifically Instagram, to depict the influences that they hold over its consumers regarding cosmetic surgery and their willingness to undergo surgery. Textual evidence from authors and researchers such as Wykes and Gunter (2004), Davis (1995), Negrin (2002), Brown and Tiggemann, (2016) is outlined to analyse theories surrounding the subject of the body and beauty. The essay will then move onto visual analysis focusing on Stay Tuned’s documentary: “#FillerNation: Why plastic surgery patients are getting younger” (2022). This will be followed by the case study of Kylie Jenner which combines the effects of the media, growing up in the spotlight, and cosmetic surgery. Overall, I chose this essay topic because, like many others, I have felt the pressure to undergo cosmetic surgery in the past due to its portrayal and normalisation within our society. Having spoken to my friends and family, I have come to the conclusion that many young people, particularly women feel the pressure of having to meet unrealistic ‘fashionable’ beauty trends to fit in as well (Wykes and Gunter, 2004, p.155).

Methodology The essay will use textual analysis from secondary sources which include books, the internet, articles, and social media. Textual analysis creates a base layer for the essay as it includes a wide variety of quotes that can be used to “understand the ways in which members of various cultures and subcultures make sense of who they are, and how they fit into the world” (McKee, 2003, p.2). Primary sources will also be utilised in the form of case studies on Kylie Jenner and Molly-Mae and an autoethnography on myself. According to Adams (2014, p.1) autoethnographies are “artistic and analytic demonstrations of how we come to know, name, and interpret personal and cultural experiences” bringing a personal element to the essay.

Identity Today, many people who have had cosmetic surgery would describe it as being a part of their identity, having decided, to take their “life into their own hands” (Davis, 2002) to do so. Davis goes onto to claim that “cosmetic surgery is not about beauty but about identity. For a woman who feels trapped in a body which does not fit her sense of who she is, cosmetic surgery becomes a way to renegotiate identity through her body” in her book Reshaping the

Female Body: The Dilemma of Cosmetic Surgery (1995, pp.163). Davis’s empowering evaluation on cosmetic surgery urges women to unapologetically choose for themselves what they want to get done and do so with without any judgment, linking Barker’s (2004) theory suggesting that these women are exercising their “agency” which is essentially their free will to get certain procedures.

On the other hand, identity is a complex matter and its definition throughout history has been challenged. For instance, one’s identity was first believed to be a component of the soul and body (Gerson, 2004) but over time this notion has been disputed and newer ideas came about such as Mead’s symbolic interactionalism theory in the early 20th century. Symbolic interactionalism is a sociological approach that focuses on the way individuals interpret and give meaning to symbols and gestures in their interactions with others.

In this theory, Mead’s view on identity (which he refers to as “Self”) is at the centre of beliefs and experiences – “we are not born with senses of self. Rather, selves arise in interaction with others” (Griffin, 2012, p.60) This view of identity being attached to symbols that people give value to such as beauty standards and self-esteem could be a driver for the current international fixation on one’s appearance being ‘picture-perfect’ which is a result of “being relentlessly bombarded by pictures of perfection” (Negrin, 2002, p.21) , correlating to western societies and how much they have invested into their beauty regimes to look a certain way.

Influence of Social Media In the age of digital connectivity, social media platforms have emerged as powerful influencers and celebrities dominate the apps shaping individuals’ perceptions of themselves, their self-identity and worth. Instagram, a social networking platform that is visually driven is at the epicentre of this influence, offering a personalised space for users to express their identities. Due to Instagram being a picture-led app, “one’s physical appearance plays an important role in whether other users look at and comment on their pictures” (Walker et al, 2019) which can be quite detrimental to someone’s mental health. Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionalism can be used to provide a critical lens where continuous usage of Instagram can contribute to this. Symbolic interactionalism challenges the notion of identity as innate, but it is rather built through social interactions. For instance, the pictures, stories, captions, and hash tags that people engage with on Instagram can all be used as symbolic tools to communicate and discuss their sense of self. 72% of teens are on Instagram (Simpson 2019) making them susceptible to the negative influences of the platform. For example, British teenage girls have reported that they commonly receive comments about their attractiveness through their social media profiles (Ringrose, 2011) demonstrating that the way others perceive us on social media can potentially impact our own self-perception and, in some cases, could motivate people to want to do something about it (De Vries et al, 2014). Essentially, Instagram becomes a sort of symbolic space where beauty standards, selfesteem, and societal values evolve and leak outside of the app into the real world where the effects of this can be seen in studies

which show increased social media use has been related to more body images concerns (Holland and Tiggemann, 2016).

Continuous exposure to social media, specifically Instagram, can lead to negative impacts on our mental health (Simpson, 2019) leading to the breakdown of user’s self-esteem and identity formation. Thompson et al. in 1999 proposed ‘The Tripartite Influence Model’ arguing that beauty ideals are reinforced by three primary sociocultural influences: peers, parents, and the media wherein influences are mediated by two factors: internalisation of appearance ideals and appearance comparison. Internalisation happens when a person has seen and accepted the beauty ideal and participates in actions to achieve this standard. Appearance comparison occurs when people are seen evaluating and comparing themselves directly to someone else, whether that be in person or online (Walker et al, 2019) resulting in body image problems and body dissatisfaction.

Beauty ideals The concept of “beauty” has been around for centuries. It is often described as subjective (“beauty is in the eye of the beholder”). In ancient Greece, beauty was associated with wealth. This is because in a time of poverty having a ‘fuller’ body meant that you could afford to eat to your satisfaction (Agnew, 2019). Figure 1 shows Aphrodite who was considered beautiful because of her round face, large breasts, and a pear-shaped body. Over time, beauty ideals have shifted, and contemporary culture considers the Kardashian-Jenner family to the epitome of beauty with their heavily modified bodies which include fuller lips, large breasts and buttocks, and a tiny waist fashioning an idealised hourglass figure.

Figure 1 Statue of Aphordite (The Lourve, N.D)

The rise of Instagram has helped to also spread the notion of the new beauty ideal in which influencers go under the knife to achieve their own body style. The symbolic images shared on the platform are attuned to the international fixation on the “picture-perfect” look, creating a negative impact on young viewers where a cycle of ignorance and misinformation is perpetuated revolving around the topic of surgery and influencers (Stay Tuned, 2022). Negrin argues that the fashion industry created the ideology that “one can remake one’s own body according to one’s own will” (Negrin, 2002, p.91), however, the circumstances that Negrin is referring to suggest that someone’s “will” is in the hands of the industry, which itself dictates what is considered to be a ‘fashionable’ beauty ideal. This influence is starkly demonstrated in Dana Omari’s commentary in Stay Tuned’s “FillerNation: Why plastic surgery patients are getting younger documentary where people have been gravitating towards the Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner because it is what is in style and what is desired when the ideal body/lips/face are mentioned (2022).

This preference for the Kardashian/Jenner face and body is dominant as women who fall under this slim category, ticking all procedure boxes, are typically the ones that are successful in terms of fame, wealth, and popularity.

Case Study 1: Kylie Jenner Although Instagram’s main purpose is to connect peers with each other, celebrities are the most followed accounts on the app (Brown and Tiggemann, 2016, p.38). Celebrities can be one of two things: either they are “the attribution of [glamour]” or they have a “notorious status …within the public sphere” (Rojek, 2001). Many believe the Kardashian-Jenner family fall under the second category for several reasons; however, it is without doubt that they are celebrities that have created their fortunes for “doing something out of nothing” (Genz, 2015, p.556). Kylie Jenner currently has 399 million followers on Instagram making her the fourth most followed person in the app and very influential (Forbes, 2024). For instance, it is without doubt that when talking about the ‘perfect’ lips Kylie Jenner’s are typically mentioned. In order to delve deeper into her personal battle with insecurity and the lead up to her transformation, a close analysis of ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ (KUWTK) reality show would have to be undertaken. When the show started Kylie was only nine years old; having grown up under the spotlight, for everyone to see, she faced a lot of hate from ‘trolls’ that was being made about her appearance where viewers often criticised her lips for being “too small”.

In 2015, at the age of 17, she started changing her appearance and her lips started gaining more traction online, this time, not for being small but for looking ‘fuller’ (see Figure 2). Kylie, however, denied the rumours of having fillers stating she just overlines her lips. This allegation gained a lot of attention in the media as young people started overlining their lips to get the “Kylie Jenner effect”, but shortly after everyone realised that it is impossible without surgery. Later, that same year, Kylie finally admitted to getting her lips done in an episode of KWUTK saying that “it was an

insecurity of [hers] and what [she] wanted to do” (KUWTK, 2015).

Many viewed this confession as Kylie taking back power from the media’s hold on her and executing her “agency”. Her transparency with her followers could also be seen as educational helping to reduce stigma around cosmetic surgery, however, many felt differently. This was because on the other hand, it could be seen as if Kylie is now promoting unachievable beauty standards that can only be achieved through surgery.

Figure 2 before and after pictures of Kylie Jenner (McanHealth, N.D)

This was also around the time where the Kylie Jenner lip challenge emerged on social media where people would put a shot glass around their lips to create a vacuum-like suction to make their lips plumper (see Figure 3). The nature of this challenge and its sole purpose being to enlarge someone’s lips temporarily may have caused some negative psychological effects on people’s mental health as they could start comparing themselves to Kylie and other similar influencers leading to body dissatisfaction and body image problems.

YouTube channels such as Glamour and Megan Parken uploaded step-bystep tutorials on how to achieve the perfect pout driving forward the notion that big lips are ‘needed’. Contemporarily, lip fillers remain one of the most sought-after procedures for people under 30 in the United States (Stay Tuned, 2022). Not only are people repeatedly getting their lips done, but they are also promoting filler on social media. The hash tag #lipfiller has over 6.1 billion views on TikTok with many people sharing their experiences on the app and answering people’s questions/concerns surrounding the topic. This is shocking because just 10 years ago it was very uncommon for people to broadcast the aesthetic procedures that they have had done, but today it seems like the iPhone is the third person in the room (Stay Tuned, 2022). It should also be noted that according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) 2015 hit a new record in their yearly report stating that more than 27,000 lip implants were completed by surgeons which meant that one was being performed every twenty minutes (ASPS, 2016). These

findings although interesting are not able to pinpoint the cause for this behaviour, however it is reasonable to suppose that this was due to young people being influenced by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner.

Figure 3 Kylie Jenner lip challenge gone wrong (Imaclinic, 2015)

Case Study 2: Molly-Mae However, it should also be highlighted that social media can also be an educational and safe space as opposed to a detrimental one. There are lots of videos across all platforms where creators share their raw and unfiltered journey with aesthetics procedures which help viewers that are considering getting surgery get a better idea of what to expect the process to be like from start to finish. MollyMae is an ex-Love Islander who has over 7.8 million followers on Instagram. She first gained popularity appearing on the infamous dating show “Love Island” where she had already undergone her own body projects prior to the show. However, it was after the show had aired that people really started to notice her appearance, largely because of the way that it was criticised by online news reports and by her followers, all telling her to get her filler dissolved (see before and after in Figure 4 and 5) claiming she looked “five years younger with it off” (The Sun, 2021). Molly-Mae shared this on a YouTube video that has over 1.9M views inspiring others that have felt the pressures to conform to beauty standards which she admitted was her reasoning for getting surgery in the first place. MollyMae’s bravery has shown others that aesthetic procedures do not need to be idealised and normalised all the time as it can become an unhealthy obsession. Molly-Mae paved the way for other Love Islanders such as Faye Winter, Shaugna Phillips, and Anna Vakili who have all also reversed the effects of their aesthetic procedures.

Figure 4 Molly-Mae before dissolving filler Figure 5 Molly- Mae after dissolving filler (Closer, 2021) (OK!, 2021)

Personal experience Having grown up in the digital world of social media, I was subjected to the trends mentioned above and had grown up dissatisfied with the size of lips which in turn has led to me getting them done. I was eleven in 2015 when Kylie Jenner had undergone her transformation. I can undoubtedly say that it was around that time when my obsession with bigger lips started as I had grown up watching KUWTK every week, so it was safe to say that her new lips were fascinating to me. I became so obsessed with wanting lips like Kylie’s that I started participating in her lip challenge which resulted in my lips being bruised, but that did not stop or deter me. As time went on, I started noticing that almost every celebrity/influencer that I followed had started to get /already got their lips done. This realisation made me feel self-conscious about my own body and sparked this new level of determination where I needed to also get mine done. Last summer, after meticulous research and recommendations from family and friends, I booked an appointment with a trusted cosmetic injector and had 0.7ml on my lips. I was so satisfied with the results that I went back six months later to get a further 0.3ml to make them fuller. After the procedure, I felt very confident in my own body. I do however regret the fact that I was completely influenced into the decision, and it was not something that I was ever insecure about before 2015. Since then, I have started taking care of my own body and mental health to improve my self-esteem and worth from within.

Conclusion In conclusion, social media and reality TV stars have instilled the ideology of a certain “look” which is deemed attractive. By imposing

these unattainable beauty standards, societies all over will continue to strive towards them creating a cycle of being influenced to get work done on oneself and then influencing others to follow; this can be done through normative or informational compliance as social media offers both, whether you’re seeking prestige or education. It is also important to recognise the dual role that the media plays in the debate about cosmetic surgery, as social media platforms can shed light on what used to be considered ‘taboo’ topics such as having cosmetic surgery done helping raise awareness and transparency and therefore reshaping the narrative whilst giving others the freedom to choose what they want for themselves.

Moreover, as society battles with shifting notions of identity and beauty, it is important to critically engage with media influences.

By increasing awareness and encouraging open conversations we can help to create a more inclusive and accepting culture that values people’s rights to construct their own identities autonomously.

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Image References Front cover photo:  Bellocchio D, N.D https://www.feeldesain.com/davidebellocchio.html Figure 1:  The Louvre, N.D https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/thepalace/ideal-greek-beauty Figure 2:  McanHealth, N.D https://www.mcanhealth.com/kylie-jennerbefore-and-after-plastic-surgery/ Figure 3:  Iamclinic, 2015 https://www.lmaclinic.com/lma/blog/kyliejenner-lip-challenge-backfires Figure 4:  Closer, 2021 https://closeronline.co.uk/celebrity/news/molly-mae-haguesurgery-u-turn-results/ Figure 5:  OK!, 2021 https://www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/why-fillersactually-ageing-you-25947899