Heidi Montag’s New Look
If you’re a fan of The Hills (and yes, even this smart girl admits to indulging in her fair share of MTV-sponsored reality television), then no doubt you’ve heard about Heidi Montag’s unveiling of her “new look,” the result of ten different plastic surgery procedures she had in one day last fall.
From enhancing her breasts to a double D and having a chin reduction, to getting fat injected into her cheeks and lips while having it sucked out of her neck, waist, hips and thighs, Heidi admits to being obsessed with plastic surgery while denying she is addicted to it.
Now, I’ve never once thought of Heidi as some kind of role model for girls, but I can’t help but cringe at the message this 23-year-old is making with her very public transformation. Especially when she says things like:
My main message is that beauty is really within. I have to do things that are going to make me happy at the end of the day, and I’m living in my skin and I look in the mirror and it’s my career, and my life, and I want to take advantage of everything and be the best me in and out in every way. (from her interview on Good Morning America)
I’ll be honest…I’m not a fan of plastic surgery…at all. Why? Because as more and more people undergo the knife in an effort to manufacture a more “beautiful” them, it reinforces this idea that “pretty is better” – that bigger breasts make everything better, fuller lips will make one more kissable, and a perfect nose, chin, and eyebrows are the key to true happiness. And since something like .0001% of the population is actually born with these “desirable” features, something appears to be very wrong with this equation.
I did a little research about teens and plastic surgery and found that, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the number of procedures performed on kids aged 13 to 19 nearly doubled to 244,124 (including about 47,000 nose jobs and 9,000 breast augmentations) from 2002 to 2006. That’s a quarter of a million teens (and realistically, many, many more by now) who felt so bad about themselves because of the way they looked that they were willing to risk their lives to make surgical “improvements.”
What are your thoughts about Heidi’s “main message?” What do you think the effects could be on teens as plastic surgery patients get younger and younger and these procedures become more and more common?
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amanda Said,
January 20, 2010 @ 11:35 am
I think it is sad, pathetic and dangerous to our already Hollywood-infested tween culture. Below is my recent blog on the topic…
From http://www.adviceyoudidnotaskfor.blogspot.com
HEIDI HUH?
Obviously, Heidi Montag doesn’t take advice from anyone. If she did, we would a) happily not know who she is, b)never have to see her face peering out at us from the glossy tabloids and c)not have to witness her sick body abuse self-proclaimed on the cover of this week’s People magazine with the catchy title, “Addicted to Plastic Surgery.”
Have you seen it? Looking more like Donatella Versacci than a 23-years-young startlet, Heidi and her now “DDD” girls proclaim that she recently underwent ten plastic surgeries (ranging from an eyebrow lift to a butt augmentation) in one day. She argues that everyone in Hollywood does it and that she’s simply coming clean. She dreams of becoming a pop star and sites Britney Spears’ sexuality as the reason for Brit’s success and popularity. Here’s the thing, despite Britney’s early-on good looks (don’t tell anyone I said this), the Louisiana Lolita is talented. She may not have strong vocals, but Miss Thing has it and when she wants to, she shows it off with her dance moves that she’s been working on and practicing since babyhood. So sad that it’s come to defending Britney Spears to make a point but Heidi has, in fact, sunk the world of celebrities (even fake ones) that far.
For years now, I’ve pretending to live in a Heidi-less world. Acknowledging her and that ego-fueled husband of hers felt like truly the end of the world–my very own Apocalypse. But this sad, pathetic, creepy magazine cover is simply too much to take passively and quietly so…here’s my advice that Heidi clearly doesn’t want to hear…
Dear Heidi,
You are an embarrassment but were, until now, an avoidable one. As a mother, I can’t disregard you anymore. Because there you (and your porn star-sized beachballs and plumped up lips) are staring out from the grocery store magazine shelf proclaiming how beautiful you feel thanks to all the elected surgery. Kids can read and now they have questions. So I am forced to try and explain your pathos to my children who are being raised to want to do something fulfilling with their lives so they won’t need a barrage of paparrazzi following them to feel important.
I actually do have one compliment for you, that is, if you can lift the heavy quilt of insecurity you clearly suffocate under long enough to take it in. You were a cute girl when you first appeared on The Hills. Your personality and mean streak made you ugly but in silent moments, you were a beautiful L.A. youngling who I’m certain must have seemed enviable to other tweens and teens across the country. You struck gold. You became famous for nothing. But that wasn’t enough. You needed and felt you deserved more. So you set off on a vapid journey seeking celebrity. The problem is when you are a celebrity for no reason, you have all the downfall without actually having the benefit of feeding your artistic passion to justify the madness. You live in a world of sleaziness, back-stabbing, competition and opportunism simply for the sake of hanging with others who live there hopefully as a means to an end.
My advice is, therefore, quite simple. Stop it. Stop the surgeries. Stop playing the role of canoodling, cavorting pseudo-celeb. Stop the madness. There’s still time. You can find meaning in life but you have to say goodbye to Hollywood. It’s destroying you bit by bit–literally. You claim to be using your fame to simply show what goes on in the world of Hollywood beauty. But you are not using your fame. You are hoping to gain fame. That’s a very big difference. America tires easily of no-talent reality stars. You have had an unusually long stay but it’s time to check-out and get your life back or find out what life you are going to lead. Unless you are interested in the world of XXX-rated film, the movie business is not for you. You will never be a successful pop star (by the way, you might want to take note that homely but immensely talented Susan Boyle had the largest ever female debut with her album). The fame game is over. You are now descending into an E! True Hollywood Story that isn’t going to end well.
Seek out help. There are professionals. Go back to your family. They hopefully haven’t given up hope. Get rid of Spencer. He is a train wreck that nobody wants to watch anymore.
Here’s what not to do…do not procreate. First, America can’t handle a Speidi spawn. Secondly, if you think you needed ten surgeries now, I’d hate to see what you’d think about your stretched-out, varicose veined out, mushy post-pregnancy bod.
Heidi, go home!
Ellen Hopkins Said,
January 20, 2010 @ 11:41 am
This is actually one of the things I’m writing about in PERFECT, the book I’m working on now, about the drive for perfection, whatever the costs. And there are costs. “Perfection” is truly an unattainable state because if that’s your whole focus, you will always find something a little bit wrong with yourself. Inner beauty is always projected. That is the perfection we should all strive for. Loving ourselves as we are, and for what we give back.
msLaura Said,
January 20, 2010 @ 11:50 am
Chin reduction? WTF? That is CRAZY.
She looks ordinary now. Totally mediocre average. Her features were prettier before.
dreber Said,
January 21, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
Thanks for sharing this, Amanda…love your blog!
dreber Said,
January 21, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
I love how you say that “inner beauty is always projected.” So true.
gracie Said,
February 10, 2010 @ 3:04 pm
ohmygodess. shes insane! she look like a female michcal jakson. she looked ALOT preeter before. i saw this covered on “the soup” and some one asked what her messages is to teenage girls, her awnser? “i want them to know that the inside is what matters” LOL! i mean, come on, did they take your brain out and put it into your boobs? crazy chick
Melissa Said,
April 13, 2010 @ 6:12 pm
I’m very confused, and I think I’m not the only one. I mean, if her “main message is that beauty is only within,” then why would she need to spend so much money for 10 different plastic surgeries in a single day? It would have been a lot less expensive and likely generated as much press (though likely positive press) and more goodwill if she’d actually taken the time to develop her inner beauty, whether though some type of volunteer work, being a spokesperson for a charity, etc. As it stands, she’s not only a terrible role model to children and young adults, but also is much lesser in the eyes of many adult women.