Can you be feminist and have plastic surgery?

In this discussion, I am specifically regarding cosmetic surgery, not medical procedures or gender-affirming surgery. Choice feminism often promotes plastic surgery as an empowering act for women to take charge of their bodies. However, this point of view fails to recognise the primary issues within plastic surgery being the male gaze, eurocentrism and class distinctions. Plastic surgery is a product of the patriarchal system of society which upholds women to unattainable standards of unnatural bodies. At its core, the concept of plastic surgery is not feminist.

This emphasis on personal choice ignores how external factors, especially the male gaze, often dictate beauty standards. Certain physical characteristics, like youth, thinness, and symmetry, are frequently valued by society based on traits deemed desirable by a heterosexual male audience as indicators of worth and attractiveness. This perpetuates the negative belief that a woman's value is determined by her appearance.

Additionally, these beauty ideals are rooted in Eurocentrism, which favours white, Western features and marginalises women who don't match this specific mould. For instance, women of colour could experience pressure to get plastic surgery to meet standards of beauty that don't reflect their natural features or cultural heritage.

Also, access to aesthetic procedures is influenced by wealth, with richer individuals having more opportunities to afford cosmetic enhancements. This financial advantage reinforces societal ideas of status and desirability. It creates a harmful cycle where beauty becomes linked to economic privilege. The beauty industry profits by creating a problem, and then selling us the "solution."

Yes, you may believe you’d feel more confident with a button nose or larger breasts, but this desire is caused by socially constructed ideas which were formed by white men in history. Ask yourself: If you lived on a deserted island with no preconceived notions of beauty standards, would you still feel the need to change your natural body?

That being said, there shouldn’t be a set of rules women must follow in order to be a “good feminist.” Women who do get plastic surgery should not be condemned for their actions, and labeled as non-feminist, as they have been conditioned to believe they require change through this means by society. Nonetheless, the concept of plastic surgery is not feminist and requires deeper scrutiny. We must examine its influences as it is detrimental to society and promotes toxic standards for women.

Why fix what was never broken?