Body Image & Botox

2 Pages 572 Words

Standards of Beauty

Western society has an intense obsession with body image. Western society demands that individuals preserve a thin figure, disguise the aging process, and advertise their economic success in their wardrobe. Such pressures draw attention away from one’s physical reality, and places emphasis on their social reality.
Mike Weiss, a writer for The San Francisco Chronicle investigated the increasing demand for Botox in the cosmetic industry. Botox is the same toxin that is found in food poison. When injected into the skin, the toxin paralyzes muscle function by blocking chemical messages sent from nerve cells. The paralyzed muscles reduce the appearance of fine lines. In a society where standards of body image are so critical, such toxins offer individuals great promise. Weiss wrote “ It is a distinctively American irony that now, just when fear of biological warfare is at its scariest, the same microbe that U.S. Army researchers developed to cause botulism is a popular cosmetic” .
The article explained that Dr. Alan Scott, “[decades earlier] had turned a deadly poison into a miracle drug for obscure but devastating eye diseases”. In 2002, before it was even approved by the FDA, Botox was expected to sell about $400 million worth to the cosmetic industry. Weiss quotes the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, “in 2001 toxic injections had the highest frequency of cosmetic treatment. About 1.6 million people received Botox treatments”.
In 2001, western society recruited approximately 1.6 million individuals to attempt body mutilation. Society has completely distorted the mind from one’s body. Some individuals prioritize the preservation of beauty with toxic injections, over the preservation of their natural developing processes.
“Hollywood especially is gaga over Botox”, Weiss exclaimed. He continued “The New York Times recently reported that some Hollywood dir...