Dolls-and-All

Having spent many years tuning my ears, I am now accustomed to "surprise" the conversations of others. In a restaurant busy, I hosted a group of twenty-somethings climbing discussing the merits of breast augmentation. When one man asked why we could do that, his girlfriend replied in a somewhat incredulous whisper: "But … we do it for you!"

Even more surprised she was when her "beautiful" stated categorically that a pair of plastic hammers "was not something he wanted. This was not the first time I heard (or heard), the men say they would have preferred a real flesh to cuddle the lipo-sucked, choked & Man-made back versions churned out by surgeons.

Asking women Many of what they believe men want and you will often hear variations of Barbie doll. But Sam Keen – author of "Fire in the Belly" – asserts that men listed the following qualities in women as the most likely to turn them on: intelligence, sense of humor, appeal physical, independence, reliability, sense of adventure, good values, self confidence, sex appeal and kindness. When asked what quality they were likely to compromise the physical appearance was the first to go – albeit reluctantly. So, if perfection Physics is not the priority of a man, then why so many women obsessed with image neuroses?

One of the stories Marketing greatest success ever written is the ability of the cosmetic industry to bounce back after the damage caused to it by feminism. During recent decades, the sector has gradually convinced millions of women as aesthetic perfection has nothing to do with men is something that all women have self-respect do to themselves. And the knife once feared is now a part only normal maintenance.

Even if women know that media images have been retouched to hide zits, wrinkles and cellulite, how Many still use this picture-perfect image to compare their own "imperfections" cons? Today, plastic surgeons not to operate as an ambulance waiting hunters Accident show, now they have queues of applicants wanting to fix the disaster the most unfortunate of all, not be born with an airbrushed look.

Realistically television shows like "Extreme Makeover" are about as interesting as watching some poor bugger having his appendix removed. But the appeal is that these emissions do not dwell on the blood and gore or weeks of agony it takes to heal a facelift or chemical burn. Instead, they are usually the miracle promise you also can be miraculously transformed … after an hour or two.

I remember the days of cheap-and-cheerful face creams and call me old fashioned, but money, no matter how much we spend on anti-aging miracle potions, no cream can change the life experience etched in our faces. Only those who have coughed up for the expensive anti-aging snake oil must be convinced that each layer makes them look younger years but for the rest of us, the results are quite obvious. I am always reminded that Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop) said about people who buy the promise of anti-wrinkle creams, it's just God's way of testing that is stupid!

And then there's a little absurd that Botox injections. Botox does not reduce wrinkles, it paralyzes the facial muscles. Proceeds from the deadly bacteria that makes botulism the most lethal poisoning food, the British Medical Journal warns that "treatment" could affect the brain, nervous system and muscles. But obviously Botox blunts hearing also because now you can get treatment at a cocktail party where your shots are served from a glass of champagne and canapés.

It seems like a strange co-incidence that just as women have regained their right to speak, so that paralyze the most expressive of their bodies, their faces.

This is no longer just about women, however. Since the marketing got it on – the fact that men are equally vulnerable, macho jocks have been bombarded with marketing image. Many remarkably quickly swapped their crusty old industrial strength soap for a more moisturizing Metrosexual Lather.

So the obvious question is: How long will we allow the all-powerful consumer marketing genius in the sky to genetically mutate millions of previously rational men and women as a bull (sh * t) receiver on one end and a non-stop cash machine on the other?

Stephanie Vermeulen runs seminars on Applied Emotional Intelligence and Women’s Issues in business and public forums as well as being an inspiring speaker, writer and personal coach. Her books, ‘Kill the Princess: Why Women Still Aren’t Free from the Quest for a Fairytale Life’ (USA edition) / ‘Stitched-up: Who Fashions Women’s Lives?’ (SA edition) & ‘EQ: Emotional Intelligence for Everyone’ are available from leading bookstores and online from Amazon.com and Kalahari.net. She can be contacted via her website http://www.eqsa.co.za

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