WOMEN HAVE SURGERY TO ‘PLEASE MEN’
Women in the UK are more likely to have plastic surgery to please their partners, according to Dr Debra Gimlin, a sociology lecturer at Aberdeen University. She said American women were more likely to have the surgery for themselves.
She interviewed 20 American and 40 British women ranging from 23 to 52 years old.
She said: “All my respondents were concerned with their physical attractiveness, but only the British women said that they had undergone cosmetic surgery to suit the desires of a particular man.
“I found that British women who have cosmetic surgery have a greater tendency to blame others for their decision.”
In some cases, Dr Gimlin said, the men made their views abundantly clear through offers to pay for the procedure or snide comments about the woman’s appearance. She said: “One British barmaid told me that her husband’s criticism of her figure prompted her decision to have abdominoplasty.
“She said it wouldn’t have entered her mind otherwise, but after she’d had her second child her husband said ‘I love the wee ones but I wish having them hadn’t ruined your figure’.”
In other cases, Dr Gimlin said she found that British women had cosmetic surgery in the hope of cementing their partnership. She said: “A book keeper explained that she probably wouldn’t have had a breast enhancement if it hadn’t been for her partner.
The British sample consisted of 20 women living in Scotland and 20 in the South West of England. The Americans lived on Long Island, New York. Her findings also suggest British women are more inclined to keep their surgery a secret from family and friends.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said people should not feel pressurised and women should consider what could be a serious surgical procedure carefully.
