When I hear the name "Laguna Beach," I think of blonde, skinny, spoiled girls. Let's face it, this is the image MTV has given our its viewers. One girl in particular that comes to mind is Heidi Montag, who fits this stereotype perfectly. Recently, Montag had ten plastic surgeries in one day to "improve" her already Barbie-looking image.
As most would agree, Montag had an already perfect, beautiful body that did not need to be touched. Apparently, she did not feel the same way. In one day, Montag had her breast implants increased to DDDs, an eyebrow lift, ANOTHER nose job, lipo on her neck, stomach and thighs, a butt augmentation, botox in her forehead, fat injections in her cheeks and lips, a chin reduction, and last but not least, Heidi had her ears pinned back.
At first, I did not believe this because it seemed so ridiculous and unnecessary. Then, I proceeded to call Montag an idiot for messing with her body and for spending so much money just to live up to the "Laguna Beach" image that is so unnatural and unattainable. But, after multiple articles and reading what Montag had to say about the surgeries, I actually felt bad for her. I felt bad that she could be so uncomfortable in her own skin that her obsession with perfection lead her to undergo million dollar, life-threatening surgeries. Montag told The Huffingston Post, "I was made fun of when I was younger, and so I had insecurities, especially after I moved to L.A. People said I had a "Jay Leno chin"; they'd circle it on blogs and say nasty things. It bothered me. And when I watched myself on The Hills, my ears would be sticking out likle Dumbo! I just wanted to feel more confident and look in the mirror and be like, "Whoa! That's me!" I was an ugly duckling before."
Yes, we all have imperfections that cause insecurities, but what actually leads people to go as far as Montag did? First, I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that she became famous and was constantly in the spotlight because as we've talked about many times, the media puts so much pressure on women. Also, since the show "Languna Beach" is a drama-filled show, Montag probably felt like she had to compete with the other beautiful girls that were on it.
Montag just goes to prove that perfection and the image that the media portrays is impossible to reach. Why are girls trying so hard and going to extreme measures to be something that is unattainable? While writing this, I thought of Jean Kilbourne's movie, "Killing Us Softly," and I remember her showing advertisements promoting breast implants and creams that make women's breasts larger. She also talked about an advertisement telling girls everything that could be wrong with them. In class, I laughed at this and thought, "Who would listen to this and actually take it to heart?!" Well, I guess these advertisements DO actually have an effect on people like Montag. Therefore, Kilbourne was exactly right: These advertisements are killing us (women) softly. They are killing natural beauty. They are killing girl's self esteem. But, worst of all, they are leading girls to do things that could ultimately kill them.
I loved your post Maya-and Heidi Montag has been in the media a lot the past year for not only her ridiculous relationship drama, but her ridiculous plastic surgery escapades. I didn't know she had 10 in one day though! I liked how you mentioned that the media makes fun of her for getting so much plastic surgery done, but yet months before, criticized her publicly on TV and in magazines about specific body parts and features. You included a quote where Heidi explained her insecurities about her chin and ears-if I hadn't read that-I would have still been saying "Wowww, why is this celeb getting MORE work done?" But I honestly agree with you and feel bad-she's stuck in the double bind that our society, often through the media, puts women in. Heidi was and is in a no-win situation. She was made fun of for being "too fat" in a bikini and having a "weird chin" but now is ridiculed for doing something about it (plastic surgery). I honestly do not like her as a celebrity-she really annoys me-but people (not even just celebrities) do actually take what the media and our society says to heart and go to drastic measures to adhere to the standards set before us. Jean Kilbourne mentioned how women even lose feeling and sensation sometimes in body parts that undergo plastic surgery-and it's so sad to me how people like Heidi are so tormented by the double bind the media has placed on them that they would be willing to sacrifice that to become "more beautiful".
ReplyDeleteI found this to be extremely interesting. The first thing that came to my mind was Heidi confirming that she wants MORE surgery. This is shocking to me because she already looks like a completely new person. This post actually reminds me of the show that used to be on ABC called "Extreme Makeover." This show used to constantly put people down and tell them that they were too ugly to be loved, so they completely changed them by giving them multiple plastic surgery procedures and a complete makeover. This show was on when we were about 11 so it was hard to me to see how awful it really was then. Whether we are talking about Heidi Montag or Extreme Makeover, different forms of media are sending out the same message: if you don't like the way you look, change it. I think it is very sad that we live in a world in which people are encouraged to have surgery to fix things about themselves, instead of learning to love their imperfections.
ReplyDeleteI also didn’t believe that she underwent all of those surgeries when I first about them. I think Heidi is a perfect example of how heteronormativity and gender stereotyping can become violent. I can’t imagine someone feel so uncomfortable about themselves that they had multiple surgeries to change themselves. I can’t imagine Heidi being ridiculed as a child to the point where she felt she needed all of these surgeries. I feel like part of it is definitely that fact that Heidi feels like she must fit into this perfect Hollywood mold, and she is simply using her childhood as a crutch. Although I’m sure it played a part in her decision about undergoing surgeries, I think her television show and fame has played a huge role in leading her to her decision.
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