In search of that perfect body

It would appear that once our basic biological needs are met, when hunger, thirst and shelter are no longer a problem, we become obsessed with minor imperfections in our bodies that suddenly demand urgent attention.

Sunday has changed from a holy day to a porn-viewing day

Hair transplants have now become a very acceptable way of covering your pate, an expensive alternative to shaving your head completely.

Crooked children’s teeth are invariably constrained to grow straight. Jutting ears may be pulled back into a more acceptable profile.

Noses can be changed from the aquiline, the proboscis, the stumpy and all the other forms – 14 different types have been identified – and straightened, shortened or made more acceptable.

What would you give a lady who has absolutely everything? Maybe a tuck job to cover the few wrinkles acceptable to those who prefer to age gracefully? Or a Botox treatment?

Our perception of a perfect body increasingly comes from the overwhelming advertising drive that convinces us that unless we perform this or that surgical procedure we become less desirable as a mate to our partner. Millions of dollars are spent every year en-suring that our body is straight, symmetrical, without a blemish.

There are also hidden non-monetary costs involved. Excessive concern about body parts indicates an unhealthy preoccupation. Operative procedures may or may not result in the desired outcome. So-called ‘safe’ operative procedures are not without risk, which become more and more significant with increasing numbers of those prepared to submit themselves to the knife.

It has long been accepted that skin-and-bone-type models have been responsible for perpetuating the wrong body-image particularly among young and impressionable adolescent girls, who will go through any self-deprivation to conform to the accepted standards. The cost in terms of psychological and physical pain is incalculable.

It cannot be denied that one of the most pernicious sources of information in this area is obtained from our new-found pastime of accessing the internet.

A quick Google search would confirm that some 40 million Americans (a third of whom are women) regularly visit porn sites. Sunday, it appears, has changed from being a holy day to a porn-viewing day. Data for Malta are not available, but there is no reason to believe that our mores are fundamentally different from those of any other Western country.

The result is that nudity has been put on a pedestal for all to admire. Any imperfections, real or perceived, are thus highlighted. We have become much more conscious of our bodies’ imperfections, and crave to develop into the porn-star image presented to us, whatever the cost.

According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, over 5,000 US women underwent ‘vaginal rejuvenation’ in one single year, at a cost of $2,000 to $12,000 (€1,534-€9,207). Other procedures to enhance pleasurable sexual activity have become rife in spite of the lack of evidence that they actually provide any benefit.

It has been stated that what happens in the US, where we find such a confounding mixture of excellence, innovation and naivety, will happen in other Western countries 10 years or so later.