Recently, the increasing number of people who have unnecessary plastic surgeries performed on their bodies, forced the British health department to issue a guideline, asking plastic surgeons to send people with severe symptoms of “BDD” to psychoanalysis instead of surgery room.
BDD or “Body Dysmorphic Disorder” is a preoccupation with an imagined physical defect in appearance or an exaggerated concern about a minimal defect which results in deep dissatisfaction and in acute cases, can lead to depression or even suicide. Naturally, plastic surgery is heavily abused by those with BDD, in a futile attempt to get prettier and considering the fact that just in England alone, some 600,000 people are assumed to have BDD, makes us think more seriously about it.
First of all, I’m not going to blame the media since it would undermine the ability of human being to think, but the effect of the media, is undeniable in creating such kind of disorders by publicizing aesthetic perfectionism.
Just think about all those magazine covers, TV ads and movies featuring almost perfect people all the time. I mean, just watching one of those super hot Victoria Secret’s TV adds with all those gorgeous goddess with their perfect heavenly bodies, cat-walking around in magnificent underwear, is enough to shake the confidence of any woman without chronic Narcissism (They also create another kind of disorder in men called ORBBM or “OONAA RO BEDIN BEH MAN!”)
And it is not only confined to women. The number of calorie-watchers, Gymoholic! men is increasing dramatically as a result of all those six-pack abs, Greek statue-type cover-boys (do we have this word at all? Like cover-girl?).
I’m not suggesting, like what some girls in a defensive reaction do!, that “these are all fake” or “all these models are ugly without make up or special effects”. I’m sure most of them are still very much attractive and voluptuous even in a pajama and with a morning face. The issue is not that whether they are beautiful or not, cause they certainly are. The question is, are they really aesthetically perfect?
First, like normal people, they have good days and bad days. They also have good hours and bad hours throughout a day. What we see is them at their best!
Second, their body has been fully prepared for the photo shoot.
Third, a professional fashion photographer exactly knows how he should cover up for all the imperfections of a model, by using the right filter, proper lighting, appropriate camera angle and finally, proper make up and that’s just the beginning because the outcome is also extensively edited by photo-editing softwares.
In other word, their beauty is not fake but their aesthetic perfection is. Regular people are encouraged to get to a point that doesn’t exist hence frustration is guaranteed.
Advertisement for drugs and cosmetic goods against certain defects is another problem–generating issue since in order to sell their products, they sometimes magnify a minor defect to an extent that the consumer believes it actually is a huge embarrassing problem that should be covered by any means. Put a normal teenager in front of TV to be bombarded by such kind of adds (by the way it’s not just TV adds, it’s a culture which is going on even in TV series and main stream movies), developing a BDD seems inevitable! It’s no wonder that even some beauty contest winners (including a miss world finalist) are among the victims.
The good news is, I happen to know the cure!
We have a friend called Kasra. Fortunately, He has the exact opposite disorder; I like to call it “Excessive Self-idolizing Disorder (ESD)”, in which his brain automatically erases any discomforting incoming signals (from his eyes or ears) about his appearance alongside with the memories of failures, embarrassments or mistakes in the past decade! I genuinely believe, using his DNA, there would be a definitive cure for BDD and since I’ve seen how he’s been going through a lot recently for a few bucks more! and considering the financial benefits of this research, I’m sure he’ll be pleased to help researchers, not to mention his enthusiasm for helping the humanity!
P.S. I have a feeling that he’s going to donate some of the financial benefits to Colombia! I don’t know why, but it’s just a feeling that I have!
