
Lately, I’ve been looking around and noticing many women my age looking decidedly ‘refreshed’. It’s becoming lonely being the only woman without a smooth forehead.
I have lines on my forehead and around my eyes that no amount of miracle cream, aloe vera or - as Jennifer Lopez famously said - ‘joy’, can erase.
Though I’m blessed with great health, I’m never told that I look young for my age.
Watch: Mamamia's Renny Beazley asked "The Doll Maker" what she'd do to her face. Here's what she said. Post continues below.
This is an interesting place to be for someone who has never given much thought to the state of my face. I’ve always prioritised experiences over beauty and soaked up my fair share of sunshine.
My face is the result of many adventures, belly laughs and days spent in the sun – so why is it so hard to feel ok about it?
Research has revealed that cosmetic surgery spiked dramatically during the pandemic – a phenomenon largely attributed to the amount of time people (mostly women) were spending staring at their own image on Zoom.
This tells me I’m not the only one feeling the pressure to look better and younger.
I don’t choose to have cosmetic surgery, nor do I judge people who do, but I feel it’s worth examining the cultural beliefs and thought patterns that have led to clinics stationed on every street corner.
Talking about this subject is a slippery slope – something Instagram influencer Janne Robinson discovered after an emotional post she made in 2018 that implored: "Please stop injecting s**t into your face. I am sick of women looking the same."
Robinson’s post went viral and attracted what was, to my mind, an unwarranted level of hate from the mainstream media. What fascinated me about the backlash Robinson received was that it was so unbalanced and overemotional.
I was hoping her post would invite more nuanced conversations that went beyond the question of whether cosmetic surgery was good or evil and tackled the complicated reasons why growing numbers of women are opting for it.
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