Cosmetic Surgery An Increase Worldwide Trend - 3793 Words

Cosmetic surgery is an increasing worldwide trend amongst a significant number of adults in the 21st century. As technology advances more rapidly than ever, the opportunity for people to undergo surgery enabling them to look younger and healthier becomes more readily accessible to the masses. From the more common Botox treatments to breast augmentation surgeries and rhinoplasties, every year up to 15 million people around the world have opted to undergo certain cosmetic procedures in order to enhance their appearance. This shows how much more increasingly popular and socially accepted it has become for people to undergo cosmetic surgery in the recent years, and it also suggests a change in society’s perception of ‘beauty’ and individuals’†¦show more content†¦There have been early-recorded instances of cosmetic surgery being performed in different ancient cultures and civilizations in the world; to begin with, certain African tribes make it a tradi tion to insert lip plates and plugs in order to stretch their lips (1). Dating back to as far as 3300BCE, one of the oldest natural mummies to be well-preserved kept to this date is Ãâ€"tzi (also known as Ãâ€"tzi the Iceman), and upon close examination, it can be observed that his earlobes are stretched (2) – this is a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years, and can be classified as cosmetic surgery since it was considered to be an enhancement for an individual’s beauty. This can also be seen in other Egyptian mummies. Traditionally, in China, women’s feet are also bound from a very young age to prevent them from growing; smaller feet was a symbol of beauty in ancient China, and also a status symbol for the privileged and the wealthy (1). These procedures are often done with minimal technology involved and are quite ‘mechanical’ processes. Coming back to the modern times, the technological advances in the past 100 years have sudd enly allowed for a rapid increase in the variety of procedures available and along with that, with marketing strategies and notable individuals (or celebrities) opting to undergo certain surgeries, some of these procedures have become increasingly popular; television shows, such as Nip/Tuck, Botched