The idea of ‘fixing’ oneself in order to become more beautiful is also found in cosmetic surgery reality TV shows. In these shows, it is usually presented in the context of contestants desiring to change something about themselves that they are insecure about or surgeons emphasizing how becoming beautiful and more confident is a process that can be supported through cosmetic surgery and other means. Those who achieve confidence through measures like cosmetic surgery tend to be supporting pre-existing beauty norms and ideals through ‘fixing’ a feature that they previously had that did not fit into these ideals and created insecurity within themselves.
Skin Decision: Before and After
In Skin Decision: Before and After, ‘beautiful’ (N=37) and ‘fat’ (N=24) were the most common beauty or weight-related words in the 6 episodes analyzed. ‘Fat’ was used primarily in a medical sense rather than in a negative sense. The female hosts of the show, a cosmetic surgeon and a skin/beauty expert also made sure to emphasize contestants’ beauty both before and after their procedure in attempts to make their client feel beautiful through the whole process. The primary locations that the hosts focused on for female contestants were the face, breasts, and stomach.
The ScreenShot shown down below shows the ways in which the hosts decided what would be best for the client. Through using digital software, the hosts were able to manipulate contestants’ bodies and faces in such a way that they thought that the contestant might like and then presented the image to them as a possibility. The hosts even went beyond what the contestant originally came to them about and gave them suggestions for what they thought might make them feel more confident. The hosts suggested to the client in the image down below that she should get filler in her temples and jawline in order to attain a more youthful appearance as well as more facial symmetry and volume. The very act of drawing on a picture of the client’s face with a stylus suggests that the hosts of the show view beauty as a work in progress and envision ways that clients can be ‘fixed’ by undergoing surgery or other beauty treatments.
Screenshot from Skin Decision: Before and After Season 1 Episode 4 “Feeling Like Myself” Netflix.
Despite their focus on these traditionally feminine areas, the hosts made it abundantly clear that their goal was not to ‘fix’ contestants but rather to bring out the beauty that they had already held inside them. In a sense, they were trying to help with contestants’ insecurities rather than make them more objectively beautiful. The introduction to Skin Decision: Before and After always starts with the statement:
“Skin procedures and plastic surgery doesn’t have to mean changing who you are. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself.”
Skin Decision: Before and After Intro
This concept is depicted throughout all of the episodes I analyzed since there was the main focus on making people feel like they are their best self, rather than on becoming someone else.
Botched
The idea of ‘fixing’ people through cosmetic surgery was much more prevalent in Botched and could even be seen in the intro song which went:
“I wanna be sexy, I wanna be hot, fix me, make me beautiful, I wanna be perfect.”
Botched intro theme song
Similarly to Skin Decision: Before and After, the word ‘fat’ (N=7) in Botched was used primarily in a medical context rather than a negative context. Contestants were only thought to be beautiful after they had undergone and recovered from surgery and were thought of as a work in progress. The only locations that the male cosmetic surgeons focused on for female contestants in the episodes that I analyzed were the breasts, stomach, and nose. There was also an overemphasis on making certain body parts like the breasts bigger, which could be seen by the frequency of the word ‘big’ (N=26) throughout the episodes analyzed. The surgeons were realistic in letting clients know what they would and would not be able to reasonably accomplish and even turned away some contestants since further surgery could have been even more harmful to their health. There was an oversexualization of breasts when they were the primary feature undergoing surgery in a way that was demeaning to the clients. While some contestants relished in the attention that their large breasts got them through being showered with compliments, it was uncomfortable for both me and I would imagine other viewers seeing such unrealistic female proportions being normalized on screen. One of the male cosmetic surgeons says something that seems inappropriate to contestant Blondie:
“If there’s a strong wind, it’s gonna knock her over, but at least she’s got cushions for her fall.”
Dr. Terry Dubrow, Botched Season 2 Episode 19, around 16.5min
Overall, on Botched, there was an emphasis on ‘fixing’ previous surgeries that had gone wrong as well as making oneself more beautiful in doing so.