Foreskin & Butt Injections

So I have had the flu for the past few days, so all that I have been able to do is lay on my futon and watch television. I ended up watching "Love You, Mean It!" which is a late-night talk show with Whitney Cummings as the host. Last night she was talking about this brand of skincare products that Oprah endorses called SkinMedica. SkinMedica has a secret ingredient in its anti-aging moisturizer that Oprah revealed on her show--FORESKIN! Namely foreskin cells that are taken and are used to generate more cells to put into the moisturizer. Whitney had a bottle of the moisturizer and put some into her hands which she them promptly declared smelled disgusting. She wouldn't even put it on her face! Then, Whitney went into a big spiel about "Why do women feel the need to look younger than they are? So much so that they will put cream with foreskin in it on their face!" I think that there is definitely something to what she is saying! Why are women encouraged to look as young as possible, but you never hear about anything like that for men?! According to the media, all women "want to look fresh, young, and radiant!" I do not think that is necessarily true. I think that the male gaze wants us to look that way. Men want to be with young looking women...but why is that? I would guess that younger women may be easier to get with? Young women (25 and younger) don't look older and mature and smart. Maybe they are appealing because society views young women as impressionable, thus men can get with one easier! Also, I think that young women are viewed as sexually appealing. They are tight and toned and thin and beautiful, and the male gaze really admires that. I think that women are willing to go to great lengths to achieve this image of being young.

Going along with this I also watched an episode of Ricki Lake (which I think is a dumb show, but I have the flu, and am bored), and Ricki was talking to a woman who had gotten illegal butt injections. The woman said that she was a dancer and that in her profession it was a big deal to have a nice looking butt. She wanted to get some injections done on hers so she went on the illegal route in order to do it! She would go and visit this woman (who is not a doctor nor knows anything about plastic surgery) in a hotel room, who would then inject her butt 120 times with silicone. This dancer said that after getting the injections done several times, her butt became infected (which I was not surprised about at all). She was on the show talking to Ricki about it because she wrote a book about her experience and wants to educate young women about plastic surgery. She said that she would see mothers bringing their 17 year old daughters to the hotel to get them butt injections as well.

I just want to know why women feel the need to have procedures like this done?! Why does the media constantly tell us that our natural bodies are not good enough, and that if we do not do certain things (wear make up, get surgery, use moisturizer) that no man will want to be with us. I think that the male gaze constantly pushes on us to be better than our natural bodies. It is like our natural bodies are viewed as disgusting and unwanted, rather than celebrated and cherished. I agree that it is hard at times to love your body, and even though I feel very confident in mine, the media and ads still get to me. The male gaze is all around us, all of the time. It is pushing us to be this perfect model of a human being--something that is completely unreachable. And yet, as women, everyday we are striving for this ideal and going to great (and very dangerous) lengths to reach it.