Nineteen-year-old Maria from London is now saving money. She is raising 11,000 pounds (650,000 UAH) so that a British private clinic can transform her heavy 32H into a comfortable B. Her motivation is clear: constant back pain, strap marks and physical discomfort. It is a medical necessity that reduces the quality of life.
But next to Maria in the queue to the plastic surgeon are completely different women. And they are the ones who form the same “quiet revolution” that glossy magazines are now writing about so enthusiastically, based on the latest reports of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). Last year, breast reduction and implant removal surgeries overtook augmentations for the first time.
BAAPS President Nora Nugent was quick to explain this statistic with very noble motives: according to her, modern women are massively choosing a more active lifestyle and want to comfortably wear tight-fitting sportswear — the so-called athleisure style.
But if you take off the rose-colored glasses, you'll see a brilliant PR strategy. Athleisure isn't about marathons or Olympic records. It's Lululemon leggings and crop tops, worn to drink matcha, walk the dog, or work in a coworking space. It's just a new trend.
And herein lies the greatest cynicism of modern cosmetic surgery: women are told that they are going under the scalpel “for themselves and for sport,” when in reality they are simply adapting their bodies to the patterns of clothing manufacturers.
The beauty industry has brilliantly adapted to the new realities. A modern, feminist-minded woman can no longer be sold silicone under the slogan “do it so men like it” – it has become a bad language. Therefore, the industry has changed its vocabulary.
Now surgery is sold under the guise of “functionality” and “self-care.” The market is making money off women twice: ten years ago, surgeons were convincing them to put in huge implants, and now the same clinics are removing them for crazy money.
This medical rebranding coincided perfectly with another trend—the craze for weight loss drugs like Ozempic. On rapidly losing bodies, old implants began to look bulky and give away their artificial origin.
If it were purely about sports and comfort, women would ask for a simple, maximally functional reduction. Instead, surgeons are getting requests for “ballet breasts” and the specific aesthetic of “Le Droop” – an imitation of natural breasts with a slight, carefully calibrated sagging.
Women pay $10,000 and go through months of rehabilitation just to buy themselves a “new naturalness” that will look better on Instagram in the same sports top.
Women have not freed themselves from the pressure of beauty standards. We are witnessing the return of the toxic era of “heroin chic” of the 90s, adapted for modernity. Society still dictates to women how they should look. And the scariest thing is that today this dictate has learned to perfectly disguise itself under the words “proportionality”, “comfort” and “health”.
Share
Subscribe to UkrMedia on Telegram.
⚡ Readers' Pulse
Is breast reduction today a real liberation for women or just a new trap of the beauty industry?
1 person has already voted. Join the discussion.
🏃♀️ Freedom and comfort 🎭 Dictatorship of new standards 🧐 I have my own opinion
☝️ First choose your position
✏️ Write a comment
📊 Mind map
🏃♀️ Freedom and comfort 0% 🎭 Dictatorship of new standards 100% 🧐 I have my own opinion 0% 💡
The discussion is just beginning. Be the first to comment!
Comments
New ones first ↕
There are no comments yet. Be the first!