Monday, September 8, 2008

Big Fake Boobies? Glass Eyes? Lipo? Tattoos? What is "acceptable"?

I recently did a post that elicited a lot of (90% negative) comments, about considering liposuction, the gist of which were that lipo is for the vain/lazy/shallow/SoCal set.

I actually do have a cosmetic augmentation (a prosthetic eye). Is this shallow vanity? If not, what is the difference?

Is is acceptable to have giant fake tits, like those featured prominently on the national site recently? Is that different?

Is it shallow vanity to remove an unsightly but harmless mole? Why or why not?

And who amongst us has nary a tat? Is that not shallow (almost by definition) vanity?





8 comments:

Sameer said...

Wouldn't you have to rest for something like 3 months after lipo? No working out? I figure if I had to do that I'd gain so much weight it would be pointless!

To your question: I have no moral issue with cosmetic surgery. It just seems like lipo would be counterproductive, and the 3 months of not working out would be depressing. (I get depressed when I'm injured and sitting on my ass, which is basically what lipo recover would be like.)

Ev said...

That was very bold. I have only seen that twice, in the nearly two years that I've known you and now you post it publically. It seems that you are going through some soul searching and, though uncomfortable, it may be a very good thing. I love you with or without the lipo, Max. It's your call. I don't agree with it but if it's what you want, I'll be there for you.

Anonymous said...

Max,

I wear 120 dollar pants when I could get pants for 20. I shave my head because I don't like how I look with hair. I wouldn't mind being a bit taller. Does it make me shallow that I care about how I look? I hope that everyone involved in this discussion would agree that we all give a shit, to varying degrees, about how we look. I guess what the participants here do disagree about then is that you're supposed to be shallow becuase you're taking a shortcut? Please don't spend two seconds worrying about those that can't comprehend that others may have different genetic proclivities than themselves.

And I would advise against spending too much time trying to explain it to them either. I've been asked for more than a dozen years "what if you don't want your ears to look like that when you're 65?" I try to explain to these folks that they would never pose the same question to someone with braces, because straight teeth are so accepted as a positive in our culture that most people can't even fathom that straight teeth are primarily for cosmetic reasons, and are therefore the same as tattoos, piercings, lipo or fake tits. Usually it doesn't work...people still don't get it.

In short, fuck the haters. It's your time, money, and body, do whatever you want to with them.

Ev said...

James: HEAR, HEAR. Great response! BTW-I only recently realized that you have tattooed armpits. I have never seen that before!
My comments about lipo or no lipo weren't commentary on vanity but rather health concerns. The safety of the procedure and ramifications are my concerns. I don't really have enough information but of course, there are the horror stories.

MBL100 said...

James, your response is spot-on. You get it and I am privileged to know you.

Rebecca said...

If the love handles were there even at 10% BF, they're not ever going away on their own - so you can completely discount the whole "lazy" idea. Then it's about body image, and what you want that to be.

If having them gone will make you happy, and you're comfortable with whatever the medical risks/recovery requirements might be - I have no clue what they might be - I'd say go for it. Certainly get the consultation.

The only concern/question I would have if i were in your shoes is - will they stay gone? Or will genetics have its way and put them back? A question for the consultation, anyway.

Catra said...

3 months and no exercise I don't think so.
I had lipo and a boob job and I was only down for 21 days. On the 22nd day I ran 40 miles. It was the breast job that kept me from running not the lipo.

It did take longer for me to start lifting but was crossfitting 30 days later.
I did a 50 mile race 35 days later.
The section where I had lipo hips was a little numb for a couple months that's it. It does to several months to see the final results.

Funny I got a lot of hate emails when I changed my body. Not sure why. I never hide anything, I always want people to know just in case it can help someone else to decide they want to haver cosmetic surgery .
Have a beautiful night.
Catra
http://trailgirl.blogspot.com

Chad Lott said...

Max-

Everyone I know that has gotten lipo has been happy with the results. The caveat here is that none of them were fitness professionals (or even that active).

In the film Legally Blonde, the exercise celebrity woman accused of murdering her husband would not reveal her bullet proof alibi (she was having lipo done at the time of her husband's death) because she thought revealing it would ruin her career as an aerobics video maker. So, there is a certain stigma to consider.

Catra- I like your style.