“What would possess a person your age to get a boob job?  You don’t even know what your body’s gonna look like. It’s an insult to nature and completely distracting. I can’t take my eyes off them, I’m actually talking to them right now.”

“I wanted people to notice me more. I don’t get what the big deal is.” 

“The big deal is that someone who has to pump her naughties full of gravy to feel good about herself clearly doesn’t have the self esteem to be my head cheerleader … Now take your juicy, vine-ripened chest fruit and get the hell out of my office.”

—————- 

So I had mixed feelings about this rant.  On the one hand, hell yes, “you don’t even know what your body’s gonna look like” is damn right!  Um, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that things in my bodyzone have changed quite a bit from high school…so everyone should just riiiide out the rollercoaster into full fledged adultism before making big cosmetic body-altering decisions.

On the other hand, it did make me a bit sad to see Sue persecute Santana for her supposedly shameful decision when it should have actually been a tirade against society and what society teaches young women to value in themselves.  It’s quite easy to hate on/judge other women for their decisions, especially when you may be more “resilient” to certain pressures and can’t imagine ever making the same decision. 

On the third hand (I’ve got so many hands!), it’s not like Sue is supposed to be some pinnacle of morality, and she randomly persecutes other people for her own gain, so this is totally in character for her.  And even if her rant is overly critical, if it damages the street-cred of plastic surgery to young adults, hmm I consider that a win.  We are pretty much bombarded with images of people changing their appearances in the media: so much so that it’s become normalized and even glamorized.  It just seems natural that people would support so-called “imperfect” women changing their “imperfect” bodies, instead of stripping down the motivations to something negative (but honest): insecurity.  And that is in no way a judgment on the person with the insecurity, that’s all on the external pressures that made them feel that way in the first place.  Big boobs: it’s just one of the many wonderful things society greatly values.  Alongside philanthropy, and other things of great social worth. 

If seemingly confident women in media admit to their procedures in Hollywood (which I think is actually positive in a way, since it shows that whatever bizarre ideal image of women we have created does not exist in nature without money and knives), and we train our youth to want to be like them, then yeah sure, plastic surgery would seem like a “cool” and “no big deal” type option.  (Oh man I think I’m really showing my age when I can’t think of better words than “cool”.  What are the kids saying these days?).  But by making the decision to alter yourself something that may portray some kind of weakness (again, even if it is not the most just association) to kids who are incredibly aware of how they are perceived by others, that might actually be effective.  Sadly, it doesn’t seem like the whole “every woman is beautiful” message works very well…women just don’t seem to believe that it is actually true.  Maybe we gotta go to the dark side and make the surgical alternative socially “cost” more than what would stand to be “gained.” 

In fact I think we are actually at a turning point in society re: the booby situation, and I kind of think Heidi Montag has turned the tide.  Seeing her now is just an unnatural, sad image…she doesn’t quite look human anymore.  The pretty, fresh-faced girl is completely gone, and I think people are starting to see that for the tragedy that it is (I hope, unless they just blame her for being “stupid” or something, then that’s not so great).  It’s kind of scary that societal views are so powerful that they drive people to get 12 painful body-changing procedures in 1 sitting.  And then we reward them by giving them random fame (but perhaps we only give them fame to secretly hate them for being “vain” and “vapid”?).  We’ve got some weeeird incentive structures set up here.

So I’ll end on an anecdote (thanks Jenny for pointing it out).  Tila Tequila apparently was being chased down by an angry mob that was getting physically violent.  And as she was trying to escape, she unsolicitedly showed her breasts in a desperate attempt to save herself from physical harm (I guess to somehow placate the crowd). So that’s what we have conditioned women to think: boobs have so much value they may save your life and are all that people want from you.  Of all things, why would she immediately think to do that unless it had worked for her before in some other social context…..Aaaahhhhh. I’m sad.

ranted by Liz (wearing Sue Sylvester track-rantpants)