Since I've been couch-ridden these past few days with the stomach flu, I've had nothing better to do than watch soap operas, syndicated TV (my favorite!) and talk shows. And what would vegging out in front of the TV all day be without talk show queen OPRAH?
Oprah and I have always been thisclose. I love her show. I subscribe to her magazine. There is a reason she's the richest woman in the world. And that reason is because she does the most in her unlimited power to make sure that we realize that we are the richest people in the world. Her "Live Your Best Life" segments are exactly that; words of wisdom from everyone around the world who are living their best life. And it teaches us how to do the same, in what is best for us.
Anyhow...
Today's show was about the new obsession and addiction, in some cases, with plastic surgery. A 28 year old woman who has had 26 plastic surgeries. A middle-aged woman dying for liposuction on her thighs and risking her husband and children leaving her if she does. I knew about this new epidemic. It's the bulimia of the new millenium. Eating disorders are suddenly downstaged, with all the light being shone on "Extreme Makeover" and "The Biggest Loser." What happened to looking and being healthy?
Oprah asked the question that was on my mind. (Doesn't she always?) She asked, "Why not just go to the gym?"
The middle aged woman answered "Because gym clothes are embarrassing."
Her husband deserves better than her. He sat there crying as she said he works 3 jobs to pay off all of her medical bills.
I can't help but think about all those starving people around the world. While we are all dying to be beautiful, they are dying to be fed. What's the matter with this picture?
And it's not just women. I caught the Jane Pauley show earlier and saw a bunch of teenage boys addicted to steroids. And where we might are think that they are doing it to enhance their athletic abilities, it's only half the story. Many of them do it to look more appealing to girls.
How messed up is all of this? It's so tainted in every which way. It's just so wrong.
I have insecurities just as much as the next girl. Sure I think I have chubby thighs, bad skin and the beginnings of a gut, but it doesn't paralyze my thinking so much that I don't see that I am beautiful. I'm happy with me, because it's me. I'm happy with the way I look because it is a reflection of my family and where we came from. If I wanted to change something bad enough, like my weight, I would change my eating habits, not shell out tons of money I don't have to get it sucked out, just so I can balloon up again and go under the knife again. Vicious cycle, people.
Break it. Love you.
5 comments:
The ones who make me sick are the doctors who go ahead and cut apart an otherwise healthy human who happens to be, perhaps, mentally ill. As long as the doctors are willing, these people, desperately seeking that magic pill, will continue to search in vain for a cure to what ails them. What ails them is not on the outside and will not be cured by a botox injection.
And in the meantime, they continue to scream "You don't matter" to everyone around them. Self-absorbed doesn't even begin to describe it. Sad statement of the times in which we live.
~~ jennifer
I saw Oprah today. That one lady with the blonde hair didnt even look real. Her face looked so plastic. It's sad really. Apparently she does see a counselor, but it doesn't seem to be helping her one bit.
Wise words from you today.
Lovish!
Connie
good entry, well-said. judi
you know what I do when I want change??
Go to sleep, everything is better when you dream
but...that could be a problem too...
christ I'm a mess.
Hows your world?
Kathleen
If the husband is working three jobs, he is part of the problem. His behavior is called enabling. Instead of plastic surgery he should insist she have therapy. Feeling good about oneself doesn't come from the mirror image. It comes from emotions that need to be identified and dealt with. I'm surprised Oprah didn't tell him that! Nelle
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