I get this blog is totally off topic for a plastic surgeon, but I have kids who read comics and graphic novels. I saw this blog post about how to make women superheroes less sexual and objectified, and more powerful and individual. The result of what she does is to create what I would consider a real woman. She is fit, beautiful, and powerful, yet proportional and realistic. I loved how she analyzed the changes.
I know many people have a knee jerk reaction to plastic surgery where you feel we are all out to change women’s bodies. We are not. I thought the two pictures in the article gave a nod to the two sides of plastic surgery–I champion the De-Objectified version.
Kudos to you Renae De Liz. The link to here article is HERE. Click on it to see the pictures. But some of the things she focused on which I really appreciated as a plastic surgeon:
- Change the mouth. In comics the eyes are lidded and the mouth is pouty. What is better? As Renae states, “Personality and uniqueness first. Promote thought in the eyes. What is she thinking of?” My thoughts as a plastic surgeon? The trend to the overfilled lips, sometimes almost comically so, is crazy. Let’s not normalize it.
- The round circular breasts which stick out to highlight sex appeal is not realistic for a hero. What is better? “Athletes need major support like a sports bra. And not all heroes have DDs.” My thoughts as a plastic surgeon? When you are really active, bigger breasts are not always better. Read my blog on A to DD, Supersize me? for things to consider. I do tons of breast reductions in my practice. Large breasts are hard to handle and not a great idea if you are a superhero (or a runner).
- Have real arms. If she is strong give her muscles.
- Hands should have strength.
- Don’t twist her so she looks like she is posing. Make it functional.
So why did I write this blog? It’s because we are bombarded daily by images of what we should be as a woman. Photoshopping, artistic depictions, and sadly some plastic surgery send distorted messages of what women should look like. I loved how this graphic artist took a comic and reimagined it into a more realistic, natural, strong woman.
It makes me think of my profession, and how I approach it differently than some of my colleagues. I like natural, real, strong women. Many of the surgeries I do have real benefits. A tummy tuck? It has a cosmetic benefit, true, but it also tightens the abdominal muscles. It gives women back their core strength, improves posture, statistically significantly helps with low back pain and urinary incontinence, and many times I am fixing a hernia as well. A breast lift or breast reduction? It makes the breasts smaller, rounder, and lifted, but it also helps with neck pain, shoulder pain, hunching, and poor posture. Studies have shown your ability to exercise improves when breasts are smaller. When I counsel women on surgery, I think I look at it a little differently. I ask you to think about things like future pregnancies, breastfeeding, your activity level, the pros and cons of a surgery. My goal? A strong woman who is confident and feels good about herself. She has the best look of a superhero ever.