The Plastic Surgery Stigma

I had a breast reduction, let’s start with that. And since that life changing surgery, I’ve had more than a few things to say about it. My surgeon for one always reminded me of the importance of sharing my story, because of society's views and judgements on plastic surgery. It can make considering getting a procedure like this done seem ludicrous or completely absurd, because it falls under the term “plastic surgery,” and that’s only for rich Hollywood people who wanna fuck with their body, right? Also because getting surgery by choice can seem terrifying, but if you're in the right hands, with someone who understands what you want, supports your decision, and you can see enough results and healthy recoveries, it’s actually totally all okay. Visibility is important.

And yes, while I am a huge body positivity activist, and I truly believe we should make valid attempts to love the bodies we are born with, we should not suppress how we truly feel about our bodies, because we are constantly being told to “love ourselves,” and while this should be practiced, it should not be forced. Loving yourself and the body you are in does not extend to every situation, think of transgender people, non-binary people, anyone who has experienced dysphoria or dysmorphia. Sometimes you cannot simply just love your body, and fake believe it, because you know that deep down it is making you incredibly uncomfortable. If you could be having an entirely different, happier life, if that one thing was changed, or gone, or altered, then that’s okay, and that’s your truth. Embrace it. Do not be ashamed.

To be completely transparent about my own experience, I was hesitant to share it at first. I didn't want people to know I had my boobs reduced, that seemed too private and personal to just share with the world. But when I looked at what was actually making me anxious about it, I realised I didn't want people to bring their uneducated opinions into my new realm of happy small boobs. I didn't want them to misunderstand my reasons for making this choice. And that was exactly when I realised that when my surgeon told me to share my story, this is why.

Having said that people’s decisions don’t always need to be made public, that is their choice. Saying “I had plastic surgery, and this is how my recovery went” is more than enough, in fact that’s a huge step. That by itself it enough to normalise it, to bring it back down from that scary Hollywood plastic surgery stigma everyone has. It is a hard step too for a lot of people, because you’re admitting you weren’t happy with your body, to everyone, in a world of people yelling on social media for you to love yourself, and a world of frowned upon opinions that plastic surgery is only for unhappy actresses, it’s a scary and brave thing to do.

For me, my journey was because of gender, and dysphoria, and feeling like I was limited to who I could be. My self expression felt suffocated, literally, by my chest. I came to terms with the fact I wanted to share that, because visibility of different genders, sexualities, and how people choose to identify or not identify still isn't as prevalent as I would like it to be, so I wanted to be another voice in that conversation, even if it only makes a difference to one person. For me seeing others making choices, not conforming to society's pressures, and being brave is what helped me make this choice to get surgery. Seeing others normalise it, seeing others talk about their journey and experience made all the difference. I would sit and watch YouTube videos for hours, listening to people talk about their surgery experiences, whether it was relevant to the procedure I wanted done or not, they were being transparent and brave about what they went through. It was inspiring.

And here is the most important part.

Not all people have plastic surgery for vanity; that judgement needs to be shown the door, as well as any other judgement that might be passed on someone else’s reason to have plastic or cosmetic surgery on THEIR body. Their body, not yours.