I've caught an episode or two of Extreme Makeover and I've seen adds for The Swan. Extreme Makeover (and, I take it, The Swan) is a show that follows a person's transformation from mostly unattractive - at best, average - to mostly attractive through a series of cosmetic surgeries to be unveiled at the end to loved ones who 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the results and tell them that they're beautiful.
Most of these people are married, and so obviously someone loved them enough to promise eternal devotion regardless of what they looked like in their natural package. It's not a dating game, it's a longed-for metamorphosis into the person someone has always desired to be. Maybe they just hate their teeth, or their nose, or their pouchy tummy. But they end up getting the whole kit-n-kaboodle. Everyone gets chin implants, whether they realized they needed one or not, and procedures to make their skin glow. Eyebrows are lifted, breasts are enhanced, and butts are reshaped. It's a whole new you.
Almost universally among the people I consider to be balanced, reasonable people, this entire premise is considered offensive and repugnant. It's buying into society's concept of what is acceptable, or not. Nobody should be told they're not good enough because of what they look like. People who do this kind of thing are vain and shallow, or giving into other people who are vain or shallow. And so on and so forth.
But I'm of two minds about this, although I've never particularly been morally offended at the concept of cosmetic surgery. While I think, yes - no one should feel they are not good enough based on how they look, I also think that believing someone isn't going to base ANY self-worth on how they look is completely unrealistic. I don't know if this is such a bad thing. It's what makes us shower in the morning and not allow our teeth to rot out of our heads. And it's what causes us to dress appropriately for each occasion, looking as attractive as we can in each circumstance. It's actually considerate to other people to look the best we can, because they're the ones that have to look at us. So, when we hate our package - and some of us may have adequate reason to do so - why is it so repugnant to want to do what we can to change this situation?
You know the adage, "I've been rich and I've been poor, and rich is better?" I've been particularly attractive, and I've looked like I fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. And then fell on an ugly guy at the bottom. And then ate him. Let me tell you, particularly attractive is vastly superior. I'm the best looking I've been in my entire life right now and I've never had a more balanced self-esteem. I don't feel conspicuous, I don't think if someone doesn't like me it's because they're just too put-off by my looks. Granted, I was pretty insecure. And, granted again, I could be accurately called pretty vain at this time in my life. But I don't think an equally accurate term would be 'shallow'. I don't pursue physical beauty at the cost of learning, improving my character or at the risk of my spirituality. I do it in conjunction with all of these things, and I feel like I'm finally becoming a well-rounded person.
Now, let's say that someone is stifled by their sense of self-worth due to their looks. It's like there's this gnormous wall built in their brains that they just can't get around, and on that wall is an equally gnormous mural of what they consider to be their big ugly self. Beyond the wall is self-improvement of all sorts, but this wall is seemingly impenetrable. Ideally, we as people should bite and scratch and beat at these mental walls until we break them down with our own bare hands. But what if the person is just weary of this fight. What if they could choose to simply have the mural on the wall altered making it a little more manageable, a little less overwhelming to face? Are they really cheating themselves of well-earned psychic muscles, giving into the shallow image the world and its media has fed them and taking the ethically cheap way out?
I can't say that I think they are.
So, my question is: For those of you who do find this sort of thing offensive, without going with an automatic gut reaction to it, why do you find it so repugnant? This question isn't meant to come across as a challenge, but simply a desire to understand.
And, special bonus round question, am I insane in the membrane for not automatically getting it?
Posts: 7600 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Basically, it bothers me because the idea of doing that sort of thing to my body bothers me. I like bodies the way they are; I don't have any tattoos or piercings and I don't particularly want any.
I think that if you want to feel good about how you look the best way to do it is to get into shape, not to have the fat sucked out of you by a glorified vacuum cleaner. Faces... well... I dunno. It's a gray area. There are things I don't like about my face, but I don't see myself getting plastic surgery to change it.
I'm not sure I can explain it. Sorry. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Maybe it's becasue the women really aren't that ugly. It's like they are making their self esteem worse saying, you are so hideously unattractive we've got to: And then they show them in their underear and draw lines on them saying, lift this, tuck this, enlarge this, decrease the size of this. Much like you'd do to a car or something. Take this door off, change these hubcaps, get new headlights... It's dehumanizing.
I don't understand the use of breast implants in the first place, putting silicone sacks under one's skin. And for what? Breasts the size of basketballs? All the nipping and tucking in the world can't fix a person's self image...
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I am an anti-fan of breast implants. Fake boobs feel different and not nearly as pleasant as the genuine article. Fake ones may be perkier but real ones are more fun.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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I think that Ralphie's got a valid point. If this is the only thing that can help these people's self esteems, I think that they're entitled to do what they wish. However, I am against it being televised. What business is it of others?
But then again, it's these people's personal choices. So I really have nothing to say to that. But I don't think that having plastic surgery is the best way to cure your self-esteem problems. I mean, I have self-esteem problems, but even if I had the money, I wouldn't have anything done to myself. It's something that people can ideally work out for themselves.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote: For those of you who do find this sort of thing offensive, without going with an automatic gut reaction to it, why do you find it so repugnant?
I can't say that I find it offensive, rather than just incredibly sad. There are about six billion people on the planet, and probably like three of them are extremely happy with how they look. A thousand of them have the cash to keep "fixing" themselves even though they'll never be happy with it, and the rest of them just sit and sulk.
I do believe the people who have had the makeover and say that it makes them much happier than they were, but I don't think they'll ever be completely happy (with their looks). There is something in them that makes them value looks so highly that they are willing to become sides of beef before a camera to try and "fix" it. Therefore, I'm betting that they will constantly be finding flaws in how they look, even after the surgery is complete.
I have several hang-ups on some of my worst features. But I've decided that it's better to become confident in myself because that affects so many other areas, and will make me genuinely happier with myself, rather than do a "quick fix" to my body to make it look better, while never really attacking the root of the problem. The problem will likely crop up somewhere else in my life, and then I would have to find a way to fix THAT too.
Now, if someone really feels that they are so unattractive that they are terrified to look in a mirror, then that might be different. There is a different standard for a person who may have terrible burns or a missing nose or something.
However, if a person is just miserable, but they are basically okay looking, then I think they need to find a tactic besides plastic surgery. That doesn't solve the real problem.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote: And then they show them in their underear and draw lines on them saying, lift this, tuck this, enlarge this, decrease the size of this. Much like you'd do to a car or something. Take this door off, change these hubcaps, get new headlights... It's dehumanizing.
I can understand that.
I guess for me there's a nebulous but important line between viewing my body as merely a vehicle for my brain and an integral part of who I am as a whole. I still haven't solidified how I feel on this issue.
quote: Now, if someone really feels that they are so unattractive that they are terrified to look in a mirror, then that might be different. There is a different standard for a person who may have terrible burns or a missing nose or something.
It all depends on what you mean by that. My roommate is a very very attractive young woman, but because of her battles with eating disorders, she is afraid to look at herself in the mirror. It's treading a very fine line, the idea makes me uncomfortable, personally.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Ryuko- I think I addressed that in the "looks basically okay" paragraph. I was trying to make an obvious distinction between people with real physical problems, and people with sad mental hang-ups.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Interesting post, Ralphie. I really don't find plastic surgery offensive for people who really need it to improve their quality of life. For example, I knew this wonam who had a jaw (there is a medical term for it) that protruded drastically. She was really unattractive because of it and very unhappy. She had surgery to correct it and afterward she was very attractive and her self-esteem improved. This was a good thing for her.
But the the TV shows that you referred ARE repugnant. They are cashing on those women who are looking for that "15 minutes of fame," and further promote the shallow view that looks and big boobs are woman's only important assets.
Posts: 1221 | Registered: Aug 2001
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If they tie their happiness to surgery, why not offer them a way to do it for free? Is there that big of a difference between these shows and Trading Spaces? (Getting worked up about your home is more vain, I'd argue, since it's nowhere near as necessary as maintainance to one's body.) Honestly, even drawing a moral distinction betweeen belly tucks and gym workouts rests on shaky ground.
Make no mistake, I'm in the latter category. My heart thanks me, and my exterior will show it better than mere surgery (still no OR procedure for muscle growth). But to claim that the "hard sweat" provides ethical weight to my way would rely on Puritan ways of thinking that are thankfully (finally ) on their way out. Work will set you free in Poland, perhaps, but I'm more inclined to think that music or cuddling or something is better suited. If pizza and laziness yet [sort of] good looks are all important to someone, I feel glad that they've chosen to subsidize my hospital bills.
Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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I grew up in suburban NJ in a very preppy/yuppie town. The guys all tried to look like they rowed crew. The women all tried to look like Christie Brinkley. They looked boring... and the woman who didn't look at all like Christie Brinkley but tried anyway just looked even worse.
I was glad to get to college and be in an environment where folks dressed liked they wanted to. When people could express their own style more, and not try to squeeze into a narrow social definition of style, they were much more interesting and beautiful.
Plastic surgery makes me think of the Dr. Seuss story "The Sneetches." What's considered to be beautiful changes way too often in society -- Marilyn Monroe was a sex symbol in the '50s, but if she was around today there'd be snide media comments about how fat she was... Even if national plastic surgery care suddenly became the right of every American, rich people would figure out desirable operations to have that no one else could. If everyone had stars upon thars, then rich Sneetches would pay to get the stars removed from their bellies, so that they'd be the best Sneetches on the beaches...
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote: Plastic surgery makes me think of the Dr. Seuss story "The Sneetches." What's considered to be beautiful changes way too often in society -- Marilyn Monroe was a sex symbol in the '50s, but if she was around today there'd be snide media comments about how fat she was... Even if national plastic surgery care suddenly became the right of every American, rich people would figure out desirable operations to have that no one else could. If everyone had stars upon thars, then rich Sneetches would pay to get the stars removed from their bellies, so that they'd be the best Sneetches on the beaches...
I'm not talking about making Barbies. I'm talking about no longer vanishing into the oblivion of the painfully plain and entirely forgettable.
btw - I really appreciate you guys taking the time to post. Even if I'm zeroing in on things I may initially disagree with, I'm taking in everything you're saying and weighing it in my mind.
posted
Not a big fan of plastic surgery, but I won't balk at the idea of maybe a skin graff here and there. I know it's not the same, but ah well.
Breast implants.......Hmmmm. I don't particularly care for them. However, I do know a lot of women that have them. One of them (I found this out not too long ago) is a pretty, almost plain, woman. I thought hers were natural. They were proportional to her body. They weren't huge, but ........they were........nice (couldn't find a way to end this sentence). I've known her for a while too. If that is what she wanted and is happy with them, then I am happy for her.
What do ya think about the muscle implants for guys? Bleh.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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Personally, I find it much more acceptable to get plastic surgery than to spend hundreds of dollars on clothes. At the very least, neither one is more offensive than the other.
It's not shallow to take pride in your appearance. It's part of being human and a social creature. As Ralphie said, we all do it. We all take time to make ourselves look presentable before we step out the door. At the very least, we do it on 'special' occasions. So, what's the big deal about plastic surgery?
A lot of posters think televising this somehow reinforces the idea that ugly people are bad. However, this takes us back to the previous observation that everyone does something at some point to make themselves look good and that people are social creatures. Beauty, the appearance of what is beautiful, is a social construct. When anyone makes themselves look good, they are working within social standards of beauty of some sort. If this is so, are these shows simply not extensions of this basic principle?
Let's consider the converse idea, that we should ignore what everyone else is doing or thinks about us and just 'be ourselves'. Couldn't this be said to be incredibly selfish? Doesn't this ignore the idea that perhaps it is good to work within a society and fit in? That society very much encourages this? That the rewards of doing so aren't just vainglorious pride, but a good mate, a better job and, therefore, more opportunities for you and your children? I think the answer is yes, and with the stakes so high, wouldn't a person have to be crazy not to take the opportunity to help grease their skids through society by making themselves hew as close as possible to social standards of beauty?
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The people I've known who had plastic surgery were all 1) very beautiful people 2) very insecure people 3) I could tell no difference before and after, except sometimes they look sort of weird afterward. Like not quite alive anymore. Like that tissue isn't really real or something. Not sure how to describe it. Mostly I've seen zero difference. No doubt to them it seems major, but to others perhaps not.
I've seen boob jobs, nose jobs, facelifts, posterior lifts, and liposuction.
The worst things about surgery to correct the affects of aging is that you're still old when you're done. You still are stiff when you get up from sitting a long time, and have to hold fine print far enough away to read it, or go get your glasses. You still are old. There's no way you're going to have your old 18 1/2" waist again, Miss Scarlett, you done had a baby.
The skin has lost its flexibility, and so tucking a bit of it away doesn't really fix anything. It's still less pliable and stretchy, and it will just sag again in a short space of years. You have to get it done again and again, in other words.
Doing yoga and pilates and hard aerobic exercise are much better anti-aging schemes, since they actually work from the inside out. They make a real difference in the underlying mechanics of the machine.
Ralphie, you are breathtakingly beautiful, and you are insecure. You will not be more beautiful or less insecure after getting plastic surgery. And we can't love you any more than we already do.
All that said, if people really want it and think it will make them happy, then it's fine by me. I will even pretend to see a difference. But you won't catch me under that knife, no way!
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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I'm more insecure than I am beautiful, Anne Kate. Fear not, though. I'm not contemplating cosmetic surgery. Well, except laser surgery. I've lost my contact for the last time.
edit: Basically, this particular post is to definitively state that I'm not looking for some sort of justification for plastic surgery. I'm not contemplating it. This thread is not deeply personal, unless I actually do have an epiphany and find a clearer connection between the mind-body-soul mystery. Then it's really personal.
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new condo or lasik, that is the conundrum. To live in superior beauty or to be able to see it in it's natural glory without the aid of flimsy lenses?
seems to have worked for most of the folks I know.
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I have a good friend who gets a lot of teasing (only among close associates, mind you) for the fact that she had a breast reduction. For her, it was something that made her feel beautiful and I have no problem with that. For people who undergo moderate surgeries, I have no complaint.
On the other hand, I think something that our racially diverse society should be ashamed for promoting is a universal standard of beauty. Think about it - even famous actresses of minority races; Halle Berry, Lucy Liu - have European facial structures and slim, girlish builds. We would call people bigots for calling dark skin ugly, but we have no problem running full page ads depicting "Swan" contestants as ugly because of their pale Celtic complexions, their broad, flat Native American faces, or their full Polynesian figures. Women are expected to work hard for their appearances, and for some naturally hairy, pale, chubby, frizzy-haired girls, there's not a lot that can reasonably be done to transform them into Jennifer Aniston.
I occasionally have problems with the way I look - I think I got a rather odd mismatched assortment of genes from my mixed heritage - but I'm not going to waste thousands of dollars fixing myself to someone else's standards. If diet, exercise, and a little more time with the tweezers than expected isn't enough to make me a swan, I'm signing up for a different audience.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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quote:If diet, exercise, and a little more time with the tweezers than expected isn't enough to make me a swan, I'm signing up for a different audience.
Wise words which I hope you don't mind me quoting in the future...
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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That was brill. I wish you would expand. Just theoretical. I think it's funny that often times the ideals that are sold to us aren't even bought that well. This still strikes me as odd. How a image or ideal that isn't representative, or even successfully pursued all that often can still maintain the center in our frame of "want"?
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Weeelll, I've always claimed to have the perfect Renaissance figure. I think I'd far rather an operable time-machine than plastic surgery and make-overs.
This could be a childhood hangover from my grandmother's reaction to my pierced ears. Her thought was that God made our bodies just so, and there should be no tinkering with them. If He wanted an extra set of holes in my ears, He would have put them there. That being said, she also purported that "cleanliness is next to Godliness" and that folks should treat their bodies as temples. And while God took us as we were (after all, He made us), we were to -particularly on Sundays - dress nicely and give the hair a few extra brushes and make sure the hands and behind the ears were perfectly clean.
Her one vanity was her silky smooth skin. Oil of Olay. But NEVER any make-up. And she was perfect and beautiful in every way to us kids.
Soooo - I guess, Ralphie, that for one reason or another, I think these sorts of make-overs are kind-of trite and silly. For someone with obvious disfigurement (burn victims, etc.) I would whole-heartedly support THEIR desire to have things chnaged.
But probably my biggest shudder at the whole idea is the idea of Michael Jackson's metamorphosis. Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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If God wanted clothes, he would have put them there. Not so far a stretch from body-piercing to simple garments, I wouldn't think? Maybe a step down the ladder of the biblical extreme to the civilized?
Posts: 3061 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I actually have a list of elective surgeries I want to have done when I can afford them. None of them is on the order of implants or lipo, and none of them is really intended to change my appearance so much as let me be lazy.
I don't understand breast implants. It wasn't that hard to find a man that liked my little boobies. And I'm pretty sure larger ones would just get in my way. I don't begrudge them to anyone who wants them, though, so long as they aren't getting them from Discount Knockers.
I haven't seen any of the reality shows to judge. I do watch What Not To Wear. From the ads, it always looks shallow, but they really don't try to make everyone into a cover model. They focus on how appearance affects their interactions and who they are and where they are in life. It's interesting to watch how many different kinds of wardrobes they put together for people with different lives. Sure, every woman gets pointy shoes and every man gets a leather jacket, but each person gets to become a better dressed them rather than a standard trendy cutout. Watching it is slowly changing the way I dress, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
If the emphasis of the surgery shows is to use the process to become more comfortable with who you already are, I can't see them as a bad thing. However, the advertising doesn't lead me to think that at all. I'm waiting for Fox to combine reality shows and make Buttertroll Island, where average looking women are trying to win the affection of a gorgeous man and in the finale they have to choose between marrying him and getting a total body makeover.
Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I was planning on covering these shows for a column, and now most of the stuff I was going to say (or, rather, joke about) has already been done. Feh.
Sure, force me to get more creative, I see how you all are...
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Women are expected to work hard for their appearances, and for some naturally hairy, pale, chubby, frizzy-haired girls, there's not a lot that can reasonably be done to transform them into Jennifer Aniston.
She's the perfect example of someone who became famous for looking perfect after plastic sugery. Leperchaun can't launch your career, rhinosplasty can.
quote:So, my question is: For those of you who do find this sort of thing offensive, without going with an automatic gut reaction to it, why do you find it so repugnant? This question isn't meant to come across as a challenge, but simply a desire to understand.
Hmmm. That's a tricky question, and your points about murals and such are well-placed. Physical appearance is a huge part of self-esteem, and anyone who says it ain't is (to quote the film) selling something. I think I find it offensive not necessarily because I'm offended that someone would do it. The more I think about it, the more I reach the same conclusion you did: I can't blame `em.
I think the reason it offends me is, ultimately, I'm angry that self-esteem and assigned value in society is so frequently dependant (or at least connected) to physical appearance. And not just physical appearance as it relates to unhealthy conditions, such as obesity, bad teeth, anorexia, uncleaniliness, etc., but to whether or not someone's face is ordinary, their eyes are right, their hair isn't styled correctly, they don't wear the right clothes, etc.
I think it offends me because there are many people who are hurt by these kinds of things, even some that are made miserable by such things. I think it angers me because though the practical aspect of me recognizes that's just the way it is, the idealist is upset by it.
Did I answer your question? I can't even remember now, heh:)
Of course, my reaction to a specific surgery or whatever, would be subjective. It'd depend on how attractive or ugly I thought the person was, how silly or reasonable the surgery was, etc.
But as for the television shows? I'm disgusted with them, because I think they serve no purpose other to aggravate the things above I mentioned that make me angry.
Edit: re: Reality television. Celia, frankly I'm wondering if Stephen King had some kind of time machine when he wrote Running Man. If you've never read it, it includes 'reality television' beyond the title of the book, but also things like "See which man can make it across the crocodile pit without being devoured" and "see which fat guy has a heart attack first on the treadmill".
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I did like the one episode where the lady really had some major dental problems, and in part of her make-over they totally re-did her teeth, etc. It really made a huge difference - -having a nice smile.
Maybe I just liked it because I wish someone could do that for me -- I have really bad teeth, but the cost of having everything fixed that needs to be fixed for me to have a decent smile is way out of my price range. I can't even afford to get my kids braces, so I'm not about to spend money on myself on dental work.
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You know what... the google ads that go with hatrack threads are now providing me with an endless source of amusement. (See bottom of this page for example.)
The thing is, that I suspect most jatraqueros would be much more careful and give warnings to the links out of respect to our hosts compared to what just pops up from google.
I've got to bump a gay-marriage thread and see what it advertises there!
posted
Oh, and I think you can put away your Cypress Hill records The number of people having different views says you ain't insane in the membrane (for this reason, anyway )
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I have no problem with plastic surgery. I think that the drive toward ornamentation is a pretty natural part of being human, and that plastic surgery is a natural enough outgrowth of that. If I had a weak chin, I wouldn't think twice about getting a chin implant, for example.
Happily for me, I like how I look, and have always enjoyed the occasional oddity in my appearance. I like my attached earlobes, for example, and I think that my unusually small teeth look really cool (in addition, I love the fact that there is plenty of room in my mouth for all the wisdom teeth my jaw could possibly decide to sprout). I *don't* like the shape I've gotten into recently, and I don't think twice about going to the gym to change that.
I do think that in 50 years or so people are going to look back in horror on the primitiveness of current cosmetic surgery practices. I envision people saying "My god, they'd actually have themselves cut open, and have bags of silicon stuffed into their chests? They'd actually jam a tube into their abdomens and vacuum out their fat, and then squirt it into their cheeks? Thank god we can just drink this little vial/get this shot/apply this patch and grow whatever changes we want".
Here's a question--if you could buy potions that, when imbibed, caused you to, say, sprout decorative but non-fuctional wings, or grow horns, or a pelt of really cool looking fur, or scales, or spines, or a tail, or a chiton exoskeleton, or whatever, and then counter potions that would reverse the changes when you were done with them, and you knew that there were no serious side effects to the potions, would you take them? I would. I would *love* that!
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote: I do think that in 50 years or so people are going to look back in horror on the primitiveness of current cosmetic surgery practices.
I agree, and I think this is going to have very interesting effects on society. We're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Weren't given a good genetic hand? Change yourself. Want to be black? Change your skin color. White? Ditto.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Yeah Storm, I think that you and I are on exactly the same page with regard to this stuff. I was planning on mentioning that in my last post, but forgot to do so.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I think in a very fundamental way, it's going to totally kill the artificial boundaries (objectification, for those that want to phrase it that way ) that society has setup in regards to what it means to be black, or white, or male, or female.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:if you could buy potions that, when imbibed, caused you to, say, sprout decorative but non-fuctional wings, or grow horns, or a pelt of really cool looking fur, or scales, or spines, or a tail, or a chiton exoskeleton, or whatever, and then counter potions that would reverse the changes when you were done with them, and you knew that there were no serious side effects to the potions, would you take them?
No. I never would. Maybe I would have as a kid, but not now.
edit: As I think about it more, I think that as a teen I would have thought it was cool, but I never would have done it.
What about functional changes--eyes that could see better in the dark, or under water, or could see infra-red or ultraviolet? A functional prehensile tail? Hollow bones and functional wings? Gills?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Noem, I'd only take it if they were functional wings. Decorative ones would just get in the way, and make wearing a shirt difficult. By the way, did you read coil's book when he posted it here?
Rak, I think it's more likely that some execs read running man and thought, huh, that would be good TV. Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
It's hard to *really* know what you would do in a situation that I believe could never happen. And, following the rules of logic, if those things will never happen, then anything I say would be true. I could say that if those things were available, I would turn into liquid metal and kill Sarah Connor.
But, to answer your question... part of it comes from my belief that my body is a temple, and should be treated with respect. Another part comes from my feelings that worrying too much about your physical appearance is just a silly thing to do. It's something to do when you are a teenager and don't have anything useful to do with your existence.
Many of you disagree, and that's fine. That's just how it is for me.
So as a result I would never get any piercings, nor a tatoo. I don't think that coloring hair is wrong, but I would probably never do it nor encourage it.
But then you asked about functional changes? Possibly. I would like to have laser surgery on my eyes when I have a few thousand dollars floating around. Gills -- I'ts hard for me to believe that having gills wouldn't come with some drawback, and I'd have to examine it. Wings -- no thanks. As fun as I think it would be to be able to fly, the size of wings required to lift my body would be huge. Those wings would make it so that I couldn't sit in a normal chair nor drive a normal chair. It would make too much of life difficult. Fully functional prehensile tail? Now you have found something to tempt me! *THAT* would be awesome. But in the end, I think I'd rather dream of having one than actually get one.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
) on their way out. Work will set you free in Poland, perhaps, but I'm more inclined to think that music or cuddling or something is better suited. If pizza and laziness yet [sort of] good looks are all important to someone, I feel glad that they've chosen to subsidize my hospital bills.
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
