A BAN ON COSMETIC SURGERY ADS?
“Boob jobs. Same day surgery. Get more, pay less!”
Ads like this one, displayed at bus stops in London in late 2011, will be banned in the UK if a new campaign spearheaded by women’s rights advocates there succeeds, reports the Huffington Post.
UK Feminista, a non-profit group dedicated to gaining equality for women, and a group of prominent plastic surgeons have issued a petition calling on the government to make cosmetic surgery ads illegal.
In a letter published in the Guardian, the groups make three main arguments for banning cosmetic surgery advertising: The ads present a public health risk because they “recklessly trivialise invasive surgical procedures”, they undermine body confidence and their prevalence makes them impossible to avoid.
They also argue that it’s not just the content of the ads that’s problematic, it’s their placement. “According to The Guardian, a 2011 survey by UK Feminista of four women’s magazines – publications filled with articles supposedly encouraging positive body image and self confidence – found that between January and June, Cosmopolitan featured 32 ads for plastic surgery, Marie Claire featured 16, Elle 12, and Vogue 10.”
The Hoopla asked stand-up comedian, writer and broadcaster Corinne Grant and author, social commentator and award-winning advertising writer Jane Caro to argue the case for and against. Here’s what they had to say:
No, don’t ban those ads, says CORINNE GRANT
Banning cosmetic surgery advertising won’t all of a sudden improve the self esteem of those who are susceptible to what it promises. It won’t take away the desire many of us have to change our appearance in an effort to change our lives. What we should be focussing on is the importance our society places on external appearance.
Instead of banning the ads, we should ridicule the magazines that pedal superficiality. You know the type: “He’ll love you more if you wear mascara,” “You will die lonely if you don’t have this season’s must have pony-skin wedges,” “Are you too smart to be loved? If you can read this, chances are the answer is yes!”
Okay, I’m exaggerating (just) but that’s the underlying message in many fashion and lifestyle magazines. We buy this crap because we feel insecure and publishers churn it out because they know we crave it.
I’d prefer to see ads like this: “Do you need bigger boobs? Of course you do! Look how well it worked out for Anna Nicole Smith!”
And what exactly is cosmetic surgery “advertising” anyway? It isn’t just advertisements in print, on television or on Facebook. It’s far more sophisticated than that. Reality shows that extoll the virtues of a better life after an eye-lift or tummy-tuck can be virtual advertisements, as can be ‘true life’ stories in magazines. Do we ban all the TV shows, interviews and articles as well? And if we do, who decides when we are crossing the line from banning into censorship?
Clearly, false or misleading advertising should be regulated and there are codes in place to do that. Promising pain-free overnight boob-jobs is just as irresponsible as flogging a nasal spray that will add two inches to your penis length or an exercise machine that will give you a six pack while you lie on it eating jelly crystals straight from the packet.
But banning something doesn’t make it go away, it just pushes it underground.
Forbidding plastic surgery propaganda won’t stop opportunistic surgeons finding another way to weasel their way into our self esteem. If we want to eradicate that, we’ll first have to abolish advertising agencies.
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10 Responses to this article
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Maggie Dana March 30, 2012
Many years ago I spent two years living in Alabama, and on a major highway near my house were two adjacent billboard ads: one for Hooters, a chain of sleazy American nightclubs … (you get the picture) and another for boob jobs, courtesy of a local plastic surgeon.
It hit all my buttons, and then some. I’m a breast cancer survivor. I am lucky to be alive. I wear a prosthesis (or strategically placed socks) in my bra. So when I found out that the plastic surgeon was holding an information meeting (a.k.a. blatant promo) about breast implants, I attended.
It made me want to cry. All those eager, desperate women, most of whom had husbands/boyfriends sitting beside them, hoping that bigger boobs would be a ticket to happiness and a better life.
Let me tell you about big boobs. They cause bra strap grooves in your shoulders, they get in the way when you want to bend down and cut your toenails, they jiggle up and down (and actually hurt) when you exercise … and forget about trying to be elegant in a silk blouse.
Long story short. I blasted the surgeon for what he was doing and got asked to leave the meeting, but I like to think (hope) that if I dissuaded just one of the young women there from having breast augmentation, it was well worth it.
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julie March 30, 2012
Good on you Maggie. Wear those socks proudly! One thing about being a cancer survivor is that you learn to wear your scars as evidence of a battle won. I know Icertainly do. It’s appalling that plastic surgery began as a way of helping those who were, or had become ‘disfigured’ for a variety of reasons, and has turned into a method for people to disfigure themselves. If people want plastic surgery they need to be prepared to wear the associated risks and not come crying to the govt when their dodgy implants start leaking. I have no problem with plastic surgery for people who genuinely need it, but for vanity reasons- no.
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Jane Caro March 30, 2012
That’s why we are talking about cosmetic surgery rather than plastic surgery. The guy who was shot in the face who got a face transplant – I have nothing but admiration for the doctors who can do that.
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Lisa N March 30, 2012
I agree with Jane – by advertising plastic surgery to make it seem like a normal, commonplace thing to, our daughters will come to believe that the acceptable thing to do is to alter our appearance as soon as we age or go through a pregnancy. Aging and pregnancy are the commonplace aspects of our lives, and should be accepted and celebrated. I object particularly to the radio advertising of plastic surgery. When I am in the car with my ten year old daughter and we have the radio on, I change the station to an alternative one when a plastic surgery ad comes on. I don’t buy women’s magazines, but I should be able to listen to the radio without being subjected to messages that I need a nip and tuck to look “fresh”!!!!
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sue elliott March 30, 2012
By banning the ads, it implies women are too stupid to think for themselves. It is insulting to most of us to ban something because of the ‘lowest common denominator theory’.
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elianda lee March 30, 2012
so sad that our world, has forgotten the value of a person, for their kindness, loyalty, honesty, compassion and love.
instead we value skin and bones, muscle and shape.In the end no one will remember what you looked like outside, but what you were INSIDE…. NIP and TUCK should be called SLIP AND MUCK…. I always think that maybe our fashion and trendy magazines/commercials should me turned into waste paper products fit for lining a PIG’s PEN….
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SandsOfTime March 30, 2012
There are some laugh out loud ads that you see on the tube station escalators in London for cosmetic surgery. Picture on the left the ‘before’ picture: woman with sad face, dirty hair, unflattering clothers and a B cup; on the right the ‘after’ -same woman with full make-up, beaming smile and a FF cup. Cosmetic surgery has magically allowed this woman to discover personal grooming too! I think it’s fair to say that the average person is able to form a judgement about most advertising and this is no different. So no to a ban – I’m with Corinne on this one. Instilling body confidence in girls and boys is clearly a huge issue and not a simple thing, but the answer is to stimulate those critical faculties so that the right judgements can be made.
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Maggie Dana March 31, 2012
Guess what, guys. A group of plastic/cosmetic surgeons from Beverly Hills are now following me on Twitter. Merely blocking them doesn’t seem quite enough, somehow.
Suggestions, anyone?
