placed on the small percentage of women who fit
within these narrow parameters of American beauty—
and even images of those women were often air-
brushed and otherwise altered to remove perceived
imperfections. The resulting images placed increas-
ing pressure on the remaining members of the pop-
ulation to make themselves fit the standard, using
such available technologies as uncomfortable fash-
ions, disguising makeup, diets, or painfully invasive
plastic surgery.
Cosmetic surgery became increasingly popular
during the 1980’s, and the options for facial and
bodily transformation expanded exponentially, with
increasingly complicated interventions being per-
formed successfully. During the decade, more women
than men underwent the procedures, with some in-
dividuals radically remaking their appearance to
correspond more exactly to culturally supported
ideals of beauty.
Popular personages also played a role in promot-
ing cosmetic surgery for the masses. During the
1980’s, readers of gossip and fashion tabloids, tar-
geted predominantly to a female readership, learned
about the plastic surgeries of Hollywood stars, aspir-
ing models, and performance artists. It was a man,
Michael Jackson, who was the most famous example
of extreme plastic surgery during the decade. It
is also informative that Jackson’s surgeries, while
part of a trend toward surgical minimization of non-
Caucasian ethnic traits, were presented as “caution-
ary tales,” rather than an example for other men to
emulate.
Cultural icons including Jackson normalized
plastic surgery, with the result that many women be-
lieved that they could also participate in the glamor-
ization of America. In contrast, some 1980’s role
models, such as Barbra Streisand, refused to change
their appearance. Streisand received positive and
negative press about her decision to retain her promi-
nent nose. Streisand proved herself to be unusually
strong in withstanding the mainstream American
preoccupation with standardizing female beauty,
however, as many other actresses did submit to the
knife, the needle, and the breast implant.
Breast Implants The implanting or injection of
materials designed to enhance women’s breast size
was a procedure first developed in the 1950’s, of-
ten by “surgeons” with questionable credentials. In
the following decades, various factors, including
substandard operations—often performed by unli-
censed providers—and poor quality implant materi-
als combined with women’s culturally induced desire
for large breasts to culminate in medical disaster for
many individuals. The results included hard lumps,
decreased sensation, pain, and gangrene, sometimes
necessitating implant removal and even breast am-
putation, among other harmful outcomes. By the
1980’s, various types of bust enlargement proce-
dures had been performed on large numbers of
American women, both by legitimate medical prac-
titioners and by individuals with limited surgical
qualifications, but there had been little public ques-
tioning of the need for these procedures or consid-
eration of their impact on women’s health.
The lack of concern about unnecessary surgical
intervention on women’s bodies can be understood
only in the context of American beliefs about beauty
and sexual attractiveness that often focused on the
size of women’s breasts. Magazines such asPlayboy
became incredibly successful and generated huge
economic returns based on their images of female
attributes. Well-endowed women also featured in
1980’s television dramas, such asDallasandDynasty,
popular films, and music videos. Amid the pro-
implant hyperbole, however, there were also some
hints of concern from the medical establishment
and from observers of popular culture. For exam-
ple, in 1978, an article appeared inMs.reporting on
complications experienced by thirty women with
breast implants. During the 1980’s, debate contin-
ued, with critiques becoming increasingly vocal after
scientific study showed the development of cancer
in rats exposed to silicone gel (a main ingredient in
silicone breast implants). However, it was not until
late 1991 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
tion (FDA) began public hearings to examine the
safety of breast implant procedures.
Impact Plastic surgery during the 1980’s provided
women with a socially approved mechanism for im-
proving their physical attributes, including breast
size, to fit within American standards of beauty. This
emphasis on self-improvement also meant that cos-
metic procedures received less scientific scrutiny, re-
sulting in medical harm to an unknown number of
women.
Further Reading
Banner, Lois W.American Beauty.New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1983. Historical study of the trend toward760 Plastic surgery The Eighties in America