Fountain of Youth

Hair coloring.  Facelifts.  Permanent makeup. Tummy tucks. Implants. Injections. These are just some of the options available for people who want to look young.  "Youth Maintenance" is a billion dollar industry, and it continues to grow as new technologies become available and cultural values shift. 

Of course, there is another view.  Reconstructive technologies have changed lives for the better.

Why is it so important to look young?  Why do we not honor old age? When did surgery to help people live better lives grow into a trend where people feel ever more pressured to have surgical interventions to live "better" lives?

***It is not required, or even necessary, to view pictures of reconstructive surgery; your task is to be aware of the procedures, not view them.***

Questions:

Key words: plastic surgery, youth and beauty, dangers of plastic surgery, self image, cosmetic surgery, body image, self esteem and plastic surgery

Starting Points:

History of Plastic Surgery – Provides an overview of the history of plastic surgery and the growth of surgery for aesthetic purposes.http://www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic433.htm

Enhancement Media: search page w/current links to plastic surgery in the news: http://www.enhancementmedia.com/plastic_surgery_news.htm

Patience a virtue, but plastic surgery is faster – article from Chicago Sun Times online. Includes some statistics on the increase of teens and young adults opting for cosmetic surgery: http://www.suntimes.com/output/lifestyles/cst-ftr-shesaid30.html

The Desire for Cosmetic Facial Surgery may reflect a Personality Disorder: http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/personaltydisordrs/l/blpdfacial.htm

Body Image at Tulane (article about negative body image among college students): http://hullabaloo.tulane.org/story.php?sid=2618&section=news&date=20040430

The plastic generation – An article about the growing numbers of people having cosmetic, as opposed to reconstructive, plastic surgery: http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=009667

Amazon Wish List

Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty
by Nancy Etcoff

Appearance Is Everything: The Hidden Truth Regarding Your Appearance Discrimination
by Steve Jeffes