Princeton Plastics

A beautiful Californian girl, who was constantly complimented on her sun-kissed looks and blonde hair, had trouble facing the mirror. Since middle school, Cathy* had overheard numerous comments from her male peers about her beauty — and about her noticeably unshapely nose. As she moved into high school and competition to be gorgeous became fierce, she started to think about plastic surgery as a real option. Finally, spring break of her senior year, partially in order to shed an unflattering nickname and to boost her own confidence, Cathy underwent a quick and easy plastic surgery procedure. When Cathy started at Princeton in the fall, she had no regrets about her nose job and was eager to start a new life with people who had no idea what the old Cathy looked like.

In a world of self-indulgent quests for perfection — "Dr. 90210," hair dye, eating disorders — where does the Orange bubble fit in? Plastic surgery, the ultimate physical transformation, has manifested itself deep under the skin of the University. Though a taboo and sensitive topic, this drastic form of self-alteration is here among us.

High schooland college-aged students are among the largest consumer groups for plastic surgery, as insecurities caused by middle-school trauma cause many image-conscious twenty-year-olds to pursue surgery. Because of the additional proliferation of airbrushed models and the pressure among college students to be physically beautiful, the plastic surgery trend has affected many American campuses. At several larger schools where surgery is common, students have been open to discussing their operations and rarely had qualms sharing their full names. At Princeton, however, far fewer students are eager to own up to their physical alterations. We want to live the lifestyle dream of Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie ads: happy, beautiful, athletic, slim — and all natural. Our perfection should be practically effortless.

Surgery manifests itself differently on our campus than on others, and several issues are specific to our community. Why is the discussion of plastic surgery so extraordinarily taboo here? What causes people to hide their surgeries at Princeton?

"I think it's ridiculous that there is a certain level of stress or expectation created by students who attend Princeton simply because they attend Princeton," Chris Arp '08 said about the growing campus trend. "The kind of competitive drive that got many people in here does not just extinguish itself once kids gain acceptance."

A number of Princeton students experienced high-intensity environments in high school, created by familial, academic and social pressures. Once they enroll, though, they are confronted by a new wave of social pressures. "There is a certain expectation of girls here, a ridiculous version of the kind of pressure applied to women in the world," Arp explained. We watch the world around us react violently to perfection in the media, and Princeton absorbs the result. Perhaps some girls feel that they are held to unfair standards and need to respond by altering themselves physically. Do girls undergo plastic surgery for male attention? Do they do it to impress other girls? Or do Princeton girls go under the knife for themselves and their own happiness?

Many plastic surgery patients are simply unhappy with a single aspect of their appearance. The stereotypical young patient obsesses over a particular feature — a too-prominent nose or flabby thighs. They cry over this body part to their mothers, examine it for hours in front of the bathroom mirror and hide it in any way they can. Then, with the discovery of plastic surgery, this teenager realizes that his or her childhood complaints can be quelled.

As self-alteration becomes more common and widely accepted, though, college-aged students are pursuing surgery for a wide range of reasons. Suddenly, longtime hatred of a body part is no longer necessary — surgery is both less dangerous and less drastic than in the past. JoJo* '07, who had a nose job last year, described different reasons behind surgery.

"I think a candidate for [plastic surgery] needs to realize it will not completely change their appearance and isn't to be done if they are seriously insecure about how they look. It should be, in a sense, an added bonus because they need to have confidence in themselves so that it doesn't get out of hand," JoJo said.

There is an exploding national trend of plastic surgery among college students; according to Dr. Rod Rohrich, former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, plastic surgery procedures among college patients have increased 30 to 40 percent over the last three to four years. Surgery is becoming more accessible — costs are falling relative to society's increasing affluence, and society is taking the bait. Nose jobs and breast augmentations, on average, cost around $6,000 each. Consumers seem to be regarding plastic surgery as if it were just another tooth-cleaning session at the dentist or blonde highlights at Frederic Fekkai.

An assistant to a prestigious New York City plastic surgeon, who asked to remain anonymous, commented on the burgeoning national trend. "The patients keep getting younger and younger," she said, "and the parents always pay." This surgeon makes sure to background check each patient before operation. "If the client sees a shrink," his assistant said, "the doctor contacts them to approve the surgery, and to confirm that the patient isn't overdoing it." The most highly sought-after surgeries by college-age women are liposuction, rhinoplasties (nose jobs) and breast implants. While it is very hard to gauge which procedure is most popular at Princeton due to the taboo nature of the subject, nose jobs seem to be the most popular option.

According to Miranda Hitti, WebMD on Medicinenet.com, "Cosmetic surgery skyrocketed 299 percent from 1997 to 2003. Medical advances, greater public acceptance of cosmetic surgery and the media probably all contributed to that."

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Plastic surgery was originally designed for fifty-something women upset by the impact of age. Now, it has adapted itself to the college market. There are many, however, who still believe that surgery is inappropriate for young people. "You are still trying to figure out who you are in college," Leah* '06 said. "If you change yourself permanently on a whim, you may regret it later." Surgery at a young age may lead to serious misgivings or a lifetime of self-scrutiny.

There are still many procedures that are geared towards older age groups — like chin implants and liposuction — but college students are slowly beginning to experiment. In the past, it was mainly middle-aged women who worried about their breasts sagging toward their bellybuttons, or the handfuls of cellulite that accumulate on their thighs. Now, 20-year-old girls are comparing themselves to each other and to women they see on T.V. and thinking 'why can't I look like that?'

"Just think about how your surgery will look when you're older," Leah said. "Nice stretched face and perky young boobs, Grandma."

This preoccupation with one's body image can turn into a dangerous obsession, indicative of deeper psychological issues.

"One of my friends, who is practically anorexically skinny, came back one year with a full set of C-cup boobs and still a barely-there waistline. She never told anyone, and we never talked about it, really. But it was obvious, everyone knows and everyone's talked about it," Andrea* '07 said. "But her surgery didn't magically fix her self-esteem and she still looks sickly."

The desire to keep surgical enhancements a secret — no matter how minor or major the surgery — leads many college students to schedule plastic surgery sessions before they enroll or over vacation. "Everyone crams their surgery into holidays, even long weekends," commented the New York doctor's receptionist. "They want to look naturally transformed when they reintegrate into their communities."

While walking around with a bandaged nose may have been acceptable in the movie "Clueless," Princeton patients tend to be more mysterious about their recent surgeries. According to JoJo, she underwent nasal reconstruction the spring before she came to Princeton. JoJo had her surgery away from home so she could recuperate in a hotel room and not have to worry about running into acquaintances.

"I told only two of my best friends, but the second I came home everyone knew. Its obvious, you can't get around that," she said.

One sophomore from New York commented, "At my high school, many girls thought it was cool to wear their bandages around after their nose jobs." While some students at Princeton may talk openly about their procedures, I doubt many would be confident enough to display their surgeries like war wounds.

What about the opposite sex? Though every male surgery-patient I approached refused to comment on their own procedures, many were eager to share their views on women's surgery. The majority of guys I questioned on the subject turned the discussion immediately to breast enlargements.

While not all guys are permanently interested in fake boobs, some expressed the wish to experience silicon breasts at least once, "just for fun." On the other hand, Mike Stephens '05 pointed out that "a girl who is comfortable with herself is so much more attractive than a girl who has the need to fix her insecurities."

Another male junior, Arthur* '06, said, "It's just so obvious, it's kind of disgusting. I prefer natural."

The diversity of male reactions suggests that breast augmentation, though seen as universally appealing, has a mélange of shortcomings. One sophomore lacrosse player commented, "[If girls want breast surgery], then I don't blame them for getting it done, but I'm not a really a boob guy." Everyone will always have different views on plastic surgery, and a truly self-conscious person could suffer emotionally when their cure-all solution fails to live up to pre-op expectations.

Aside from academic pressures at Princeton, the party scene provides additional social hurdles that a person worried about their appearance may find challenging to traverse. "Eating club culture is so exaggerated from normal life," said a freshman from Berkeley, Ca. It is perhaps this pressure from the Street that causes students to pursue surgery after they enroll.

"The eating club culture can be hard if you're not a Giselle or Mischa Barton. I see girls in my club just eat salads and vegetables. It's weird to get second portions, you're outside the norm," Laura* '05 said. "And themed nights encourage girls to wear as little as possible and show off their bodies. But it's not just the Street, this consciousness stretches across the campus."

Those who succumb to these generally unspoken pressures may eventually start docking calories off their normal daily intake, layer on the makeup or obsess over clothes, but for those willing to make a more dramatic change, plastic surgery is tempting. As someone who has been there, JoJo has some cautionary advice.

"A person who is getting it should already be confidant in themselves," JoJo said. "This is to tweak [your appearance], not to become a new person."

Plastic surgery is still seen largely as a sign of insecurity, imperfection or superficiality. In recent years, however, especially among college students, plastic surgery has become much more widely accepted and no longer carries such a strong social stigma. According to a recent survey in "Current Magazine," "8.7 percent of college students and college graduates disapprove of cosmetic surgery, while 38.6 percent actually approve of it for themselves and others." Many college campuses affected by plastic surgery are beginning to realize that the topic need not be so clandestine; several students are stepping forward to discuss their surgeries and the social issues that have kept them quiet for so long. In the words of JoJo, "I was worried that people would look at me in disgust, but if you are confident in yourself, why should anyone else care?"

* Name has been changed at subject's request.