Outlines: Attitudes to cosmetic surgery
The second task from your exam question asks you to give an outline of the various attitudes to cosmetic surgery presented in the three texts from your source material.
Text 1: “Body Image”
“Body Image” was published in 2010 on the website of “database.cmch.tv”.
The article presents opposing ways in which the media can influence a person’s perception of their body image.
Cosmetic surgery is presented as a way of a person achieving the beauty standards imposed by society and it is closely related to losing one’s self-esteem and having a poor body image: “Having poor body image can also lead to depression, eating disorders, and even the desire for cosmetic procedures, all of which can damage health.” (ll. 7-8)
...
Text 2: “I wanted a boob job to fit in”
Text 2 is an article written by Kate Morey and published in 2009 on the website of “BBC News”.
The article focuses on the struggle of mixed-race 13-year-old student Kianna, from the UK, who is determined to have a breast enhancement surgery when she is 16, in the US. She wants the operation because she needs to fit in: “My friends are more developed than I am at the moment and I don’t like it ‘cos they can wear whatever they want and I can’t. I stand out and look really weird.”” (ll. 6-7)
...
Text 3: “Changing Faces”
The text “Changing Faces” was written by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen and it was published in 2006 on the website of the “Time” magazine.
The text focuses on the frenzy for cosmetic surgery which seems to have conquered Asian countries in the last few years.
The text begins with the example of Saeko Kimura, an 18-year-old girl who discovered that having a crease that made her eyes bigger would make her more attractive to men and more prone to be offered good jobs. Although Kimura initially “decorated” her eyes with glue, she is now presented in the office of a plastic surgeon, ready to have cosmetic surgery in order to make her pretty looks permanent:
...
