Beyond Beautiful: A Practical Guide to Being Happy, Confident, and You in a Looks-Obsessed World

by Anuschka Rees

That’s not to say that if everyone suddenly decided to reveal their past nip and tuck list we’d be in a much better position. Yes, it might make us feel a little better about our God-given bodies, but it would still send the message to girls and women everywhere that beauty is a prerequisite to success, and that it warrants all the time, energy, money, and physical discomfort you can afford.

Articles in magazines about the newest high-tech “totally pain-free” procedures and casual “My plastic surgery experience”–type content are problematic for the same reason. By normalizing cosmetic procedures and thereby normalizing the fact that so many people go to great lengths to look better, we raise the va...

Soon enough you’ll attribute those feelings of self-consciousness to another aspect of your appearance, perhaps your thighs this time. Yeah, you never liked those. And so the whole process starts again, except this time, your decision that you want it “fixed” will come easier than before. Your experience the first time around, all of that extra confidence, happiness, and the positive responses from others (which may well have just been reactions to your new happy vibe, instead of your new physical attributes), has only strengthened your belief that beauty equals happiness. Plus, having gone through the process once before, you will have also broken down the natural barrier that people have toward being cut into or injected with something for the sake of beauty. You already went through it once, it was fine, so what’s the harm?