×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

More baby boomers are having cosmetic surgery

FOUR generations coexist in today's workplace, each with a different set of perception glasses through which they see the world, colleagues, their work and themselves.

And generational differences aside, each individual has a different set of needs, a different set of motivations.

There is, however, some commonality: everybody wants to be at their best, to feel good, to look good and to perform well.

The Wall Street Journal reports that more Baby Boomers are having cosmetic surgery than ever before.

A recent wire service story reported that image scanners are now looking into individuals' original appearance before cosmetic surgery to validate identification. This technology never would have been conceived were it not for the numbers of people who are changing their appearance.

When we change the way we look it almost automatically changes the way others react to us. One would do well to adopt the approach of "mine not to reason why", to paraphrase Alfred Lord Tennyson.

That requires setting some parameters.

"Plastic surgery takes on a polarising effect like religion or politics. People have very strong opinions about it," commented Mary Lee Peters, a board-certified Seattle-based plastic surgeon. Indeed they do.

Haven't we all been privy to comments about people we claim "have had work done? There is no getting around it and no denying it. It is foolish to pretend that comfort in one's body doesn't matter. The people most likely to deny it are mostly uncomfortable with their own appearance," continued Peters.

"Men are more reluctant to come up with reasons why they want to turn to cosmetic surgery.

"My observation is that men do it when either their economic status or their power structure is threatened."

With all due respect to Peters, my own experience is that, irrespective of gender, our dissatisfaction with our appearance ultimately impacts our perceptions of power structure and economic status. - Reuters

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.