Can I be a feminist and get plastic surgery?

Confident Woman at Work Believes in Female Empowerment through Plastic Surgery as a Feminist

Let’s get real: as a woman, you run the world. Yet you give a lot of yourself in order to make things happen, and there often comes a time when you need to give yourself a little something! For a whopping 2 million of us each year, self-care comes in the form of plastic surgery (and if you include non-surgical aesthetic procedures such as Botox, that number is closer to 12 million).

At Granite Bay Cosmetic Surgery, we think that the choice to get plastic surgery can absolutely be a feminist one. It’s your body, and you have every right to choose what it looks like, free from judgement! Whether you need more convincing, or you want some talking points to use the next time you hear someone make an unenlightened comment, here are some key reasons why feminists can support a woman’s choice to have plastic surgery.

Being a feminist means embracing each woman’s definition of beauty.

We women get to choose what we want to look like. Period. While there may have been a prototypical look associated with feminists back in the day, today we appreciate each and every woman as awesome individual representations of what it is to be female. Today’s feminist may feel most powerful in makeup and high heels—or wearing a pair of cargo shorts and steel-toe boots. No judgment!

Realizing your personal vision for your appearance is truly a fundamental right, and you can also choose how you want to get there. Often, plastic surgery is the most expeditious way for a person to feel comfortable in their appearance and claim a feeling of true confidence.

Realizing your personal vision for your appearance is truly a fundamental right, and you can also choose how you want to get there.

To ensure you get what you want out of plastic surgery, rather than results that look imposed on you, the most critical step is finding the right surgeon. That’s why, here at GBCS, we believe our first step is to listen. We are a cookie cutter-free zone! We believe in empowering you to look the way you feel, and whatever your definition of beauty may be, we respect that. From completely natural-looking surgical results, to injectable “tweakments,” to plumping enhancements, our aim is to offer you safe, effective treatments and procedures that increase your confidence, however you define “gorgeous.”

Women are getting plastic surgery for themselves—not men.

We have all felt frustration over unrealistic standards of beauty desired by men, and it’s clear that over- or under-sized physical features are not every woman’s ideal shape. As a result, many women feel at one time or another that loving their body the way it is naturally is a healthy way to protest these unrealistic “standards” of beauty.

But in our experience, men’s ideas of beauty are not the reasons most of our patients come to us: our patients simply want their looks to match how they feel inside. We see women walk into our office for their follow-up visits with renewed confidence almost daily, so to us, it is self-evident that most cosmetic surgery is about making a positive, self-driven change.

For many women, taking control of their body is an empowering choice.

Changing our hair, choosing a tattoo, and other means of making decisions about our bodies can be empowering. More often than not, a decision to undergo a cosmetic procedure with a qualified, experienced plastic surgeon gives women a feeling of empowerment; you had an idea to do something about a concern that bothered you, and seeing that come to fruition just feels good.

More women than you think are getting plastic surgery.

Being a feminist is about addressing realities facing women, and the reality is that millions of women have cosmetic enhancements every year. Continuing to shame or find fault with women who have had work done—like trying to “out” celebrities by guessing what procedure they had—only serves to make those who have had cosmetic enhancements feel that they need to hide it. We believe women should be safe to discuss their cosmetic procedures openly if they choose to—or not, if that’s what they prefer.

“Natural” isn’t always better.

While natural is definitely better when it comes to the food you eat, to imply that a natural appearance is always “better” simply ignores the life-changing importance that cosmetic procedures can have in patients’ lives—no matter where the procedure falls on the spectrum from medically necessary to purely cosmetic (many procedures fall in a gray area).

Whether patients are reversing the uncomfortable effects of stretched skin after multiple pregnancies, undergoing a breast reconstruction procedure after cancer, or finally getting a nose reshaping they’ve wanted for years, a cosmetic procedure that helps you look the way you feel is never something women should be made to feel ashamed of for being “unnatural.”

Our plastic surgery team is here for you in Granite Bay

Looking for an understanding provider who is on your team? Female board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Christa Clark and the surgical team at Granite Bay Cosmetic Surgery are here to help you feel like your most confident, gorgeous self with treatments for the face, breast, and body. When you’re ready, you can schedule a one-on-one consultation online or call (916) 242-2662.

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