Impossible Beauty Welcome to the Dark Side

I recently accepted my dream job. Set in beautiful Cartagena Colombia, a block from the beach, a city full of salsa dancing and Latin men. I have a flexible schedule with the ability to spend 25% of my time volunteering for my favorite NGO that provides free surgeries for children with facial deformities around the word. My bosses are laid back and give me the autonomy and resources I need to make things happen. There’s just one little catch. I work in an industry that I once considered “the dark side of medicine.” I’m a cosmetic surgery nurse practitioner.

Yep, I’m “one of those girls”.  Before taking this job, I would stare at women with perfect breasts, tiny wastes and bubbly butts and think,  “damn she looks better than me. Whatever...I’m sure it’s fake. “ Without even realizing it, I objectified women’s bodies as a way to boost my own self-confidence.

Somehow knowing a woman had cosmetic surgery gave me license to discredit their beauty. My friends and I would make a game of it. We’d see gorgeous girls and ask each other, “fake or real”? How is it that objectifying other women makes us feel superior? Does going under the knife somehow diminish your authentic femininity?

We live in a society that values physical beauty but discourage us from talking about our insecurities. We are supposed to look amazing but never reveal how we do it. If it isn’t through diet and exercise or you aren’t born with it, you cheated. It’s an impossible contradiction. Pick up any women’s magazine. I guarantee you the cover will have some article about how to lose belly fat and next to it another article stressing the importance of self acceptance and the path to a better self image. What’s a girl to believe? Does working at your appearance make you a weaker woman?

Do we truly expect women to look naturally gorgeous without putting any obvious effort into it? Yes we do! It’s another headline you’ll see everywhere, ‘Look effortlessly beautiful in 10 steps!’ Ha! Make-up ads flaunt “invisible coverage”, undergarments boast they’ll squeeze you into a 6 without anyone knowing you’re really a size 10!

With such impossible messages it’s no wonder women are ashamed to admit they’ve had or are considering cosmetic surgery. I’ve been given a rare chance to learn about this “dirty little industry” from the inside out and guess what? The secrets I’ve uncovered made this feminist a cosmetic surgery advocate.

It’s time to come out of the closet girls. Let it all out on the table (excuse the surgical pun). You and I both want to be beautiful. We are both likely to spend thousands of dollars a year on anti-wrinkle creams, cellulite treatments, the perfect cover up or lotions guaranteed to erase your love handles. Let’s take down our pony tails and admit it, we all want to look good! We all want to feel beautiful! We are as real as they come. We are women, we have insecurities, we want to look our best and enjoy our bodies as much as possible. AND THAT’S OK!