“The Swan” is one of television’s newest reality shows. Its Web site describes it as “a new series where fairy tale turns into reality.”Producers say the show offers women the opportunity to undergo physical, mental and emotional transformations. So, basically, if you think you are really ugly and people tell you that you are really ugly, call them up and they will operate on every one of your body parts to try and make you look better.
I decided to give the show a chance and watch an episode. The women who were on the show were not what I was expecting to see.
These women were 40-somethings with husbands and children. Why would a woman who already has someone who loves her for who she is think she needs to change?
They did a tummy-tuck on one lady and her stomach ended up looking better than mine does. The doctor said, “That will look great in a bikini.” Why on earth would a 40-year-old mom need to look great in bikini? She’s a mom, it is OK to look like one. Anyway, even if she thinks she really and truly is ugly, are numerous surgeries really the answer?
I saw the “before and after pictures” of the women on the Web site, and I can honestly say I thought some of them looked better before their surgeries. At least they looked like real people.
Plastic surgery is a good name for the surgeries that these women get because in the end, they really do look plastic. These women endure so much facial surgery their faces don’t even look real anymore. They look like really ugly drag queens.
Also, let’s not forget that these women have children. Their kids are going to see and know that their moms are getting surgery to look better. Isn’t this going to send a message to these kids that appearances are everything?
There was one woman who at the last minute backed out of a lot of the surgeries she was scheduled to have.
The host and the doctor thought she was making a mistake. The reason this woman backed out of her surgeries was because her daughter had gotten into a car wreck and it made her realize the important things in life.
She decided that she wanted to keep a little bump on her nose because her daughters had the same bump. The host and the doctor both tried to talk her out of it. Then she wasn’t picked for the pageant. I guess she wasn’t fake enough. This woman decided to make herself less fake and got criticized for it. I thought she looked a lot better than the other girl because she looked more like a real woman.
Getting plastic surgery is a major decision. Not only are there health risks, but what if you get it and you hate what you look like in the end? There is nothing you can do about it. You will still be as miserable as you were before, except now you are out a few thousand dollars.
Everyone is beautiful in their own way. That isn’t just something that people say either, it is true. The only really ugly people are the ones with ugly hearts. It is really sad that these women think they are so miserable that the only thing that can help is getting cosmetic surgery so they look better.
It is very depressing to think that society has put so much emphasis on being beautiful that wives and mothers think they need surgery to really be happy.
Kira Hild is a student at Texas Tech University.