Cosmetic surgery

“The fact that cosmetic surgery was framed as individual self-realization long before feminism’s second wave helps to explain how it could so easily be reframed that way after that wave crested. In this sense the embrace of cosmetic surgery appears to be consistent with the liberal, individualist strand of feminism that emerged after the suffrage battle and surfaced again in the wake of the battle for the ERA. . . . feminism and individualism remain separate and distinct from each other. Our commitment to honoring women’s voices . . . should not obscure our ability to place these voices in context. Many women have chosen to buy into the celebration of the breast (and up a cup size or two), and to some degree popularized feminism has incorporated this practice. Cosmetic surgery may empower individual women by curing their inferiority complexes or, in less technical terms, making them feel better about themselves” (Haiken, 275-76).