When Change is Scary

I also agree that cosmetic surgery and sport enhancements are very closely related. As I am writing this, I am watching a special on E TV about celebrity cosmetic surgery. Some of the people on here have seriously changed their identities as people. They turned their natural beauty into something constructed. Heidi Montag for example go ten surgeries in one day! And now her mother can't even look at her the same. The thing about cosmetic surgery is the beauty to one person, is viewed quite different to another person and many times the wants of the patient aren't completly satisfying to the end result. Cosmetic surgery can be used in very healthy, helpful ways like in reconstructive surgery or for cleft pallats etc. But getting a boob job, a nose job, eyebrows raised, lipo suction, and butt implants in one day is very extreme. But whatever the case, if these people end up happy and satisfied, then who's to tell them they are wrong. If they think they look better than they did before, why should they be condemed for having control of their own bodies. Just as girls put on makeup and color their hair, they are changing the way they look to make themselves happier, by looking good for other people. Cosmestic surgery is just a more permanent, expesive approach, some might argue.

Sport Enhancements fall into the same category of changing ones self to be better for themselves and for others. Athletes want to set records, win, be the best in the eyes of their fans. Taking steriods or bettering your eyes so that you can see a ball better is just a way of playing the game outside of the game. Why should a model be able to reconsrtuct her body to make it 'perfect,' giving her more job opportunities, money, fame, and so on, but a golfer can't get lazer eye surgery so that he can make his game better? Who shoudl draw the line in these cases? When does an additive turn into cheating? Why are vitamins and protein shakes okay but steroids are not? As in Descartes eyes, if the mind and body are really separate, why do so many people need to change their body, or outward appearance, to feel that they can be successfull. Why does the media feed people false imaging, that still leads to thoughts of imperfection of their own bodies. Why does an athlete think they will only play their best, if they take supplements instead of naturally gaining muscle. Are these answers found in science, or in our culture, or in both? Perhaps society finds that changing physical characteristics is the easy way out; Change in any other aspect (attitudes, beliefs, behaviors) that's the stuff everyone likes to avoid, because it's scary and hard.