Not really. Well, maybe a little. More a scathing indictment of a culture that venerates women who mutilate themselves in a desperate attempt to fit an absurd and unattainable vision of “beauty.” And Miss Montag (aka: Mrs. Pratt) is just another body on the heap of women who have caved into the pressure of abandoning their natural beauty to become a Stepford pseudo-celebrity. While companies continue to distract us with shiny objects that promise happiness via age defying – lip plumping – bun shaping items, our culture’s determination to infantilize us only contributes to our disempowerment and insecurities.
And in case you missed it, the saddest cherry on top of this olestra Sunday was an interview with Miss Montag in which she claims that in light of her ten surgeries, her message for young girls is, “that beauty is on the inside.” She must be referring to the expert series dissolving stitches and subcutaneous staples that her surgeons left for none to see.
Look, I will be the first to admit I am capital V-A-I-N. I joke about needing to call Maayco to fix the hail damage on my thighs. I color my hair red. I get threaded to remove a terrifying array of black whiskers that belong on the face of a burly Hungarian cab driver. I have a ritualistic facial regime, but it’s over the counter and doesn’t require me to wear kooky oversized floppy hats, Blu-blockers and white gloves outside. And I do freak out at the tenacious adult-onset acne that besieges my milky complexion despite my insanely clean diet and good habits.
But when I see lines on my face from tension and anxiety, I don’t get botox. I refrain from having poison injected into the muscle that is trying to tell me something. My body is showing me signs of emotional imbalance. Instead of silencing my body, I listen. I work on relaxation. Damned if those lines didn’t disappear (see my blog Yoga Botox). Someone I know who hadn’t seen me for a few months with actually asked me if I had Botox done.
Ladies. Women. Girls. For the love of Pete. If you want color your hair, pluck your brows, wax, paint, tattoo, pierce, please enjoy these superficial expressions of your personal style. If your physical accessories require a scalpel, I submit that a perspective check is needed. Nose jobs, breast enhancements and Botox injections do not have to be a normal right of passage to be acceptable and attractive.
The temptation to change ourselves physically instead of doing the emotional work is strong. Like a black Hole if you live in LA and work in the biz. Where’s the line? You’ve got to decide for yourself. As I tell my young students at middle-school Unbreakable Woman seminars, if you’re not sure, say no. After you’ve thought about it, you can always go back and decide to proceed. But you can’t undo something once it’s done.
Give your natural, god-given beauty a chance. You deserve happiness, success and abundance without changing a single thing about your looks. If something is standing between you and your dreams, may I boldly suggest that it has nothing to do with your nose, boobs, lips or eyes. If you want to under go a transformation to change your life, start with some work on your emotional landscape.
Once those scars heal, you will be radiant, magnetic and free. Everyone who responds to the “new you” will be genuinely attracted to your authenticity and your soul, which are much more compelling than a nose, boobs, lips or eyes.
Amen.