Fashion is at work in cosmetic surgery as well as everywhere else. The latest thing, according to the ASPS, is the buttock implant and there is even a website devoted to promoting its benefits produced by Thomas Harris, a surgeon from South Carolina: betterbuttocks.com. So far the number of operations is small, with only a reported 614 buttock implants carried out in 2002 in comparison with the 250,000 breast implants executed in the same year, but it's another good example of where celebrity has led the way.
The trend has been triggered by the spectacular success of singer Jennifer Lopez, aided and abetted by Kylie Minogue and tennis star Serena Williams. All three of these global stars have shapely bottoms and rather than trying to minimize or flatten them to conform to the Caucasian ideal of body shape, they have decided to glorify them. In so doing they have crystallized the idea in the Hispanic and African American communities that their own genetic disposition towards a 'big butt' can be something to be proud of. Given that the Hispanic population in the USA has become the single largest ethnic group, this has been a pretty smart move from a commercial point of view.
Consumers are increasingly willing to part with sums of money in order to acquire characteristics reminiscent of their idols. Dr Richard Fleming, a leading Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, spends about 40% of his practice hours working on celebrities and he reports that Nicole Kidman's nose is one of the body parts most requested by his clients. This sort of request has been made to him so many times that Fleming has taken to compiling an annual list of the favourites. In 2003 the year's most asked for eyes belong to Heather Graham. Halle Berry's are the cheekbones most aspired to. Denise Richards possesses the most kissable lips and the most requested jaw line is that of Cate Blanchett, while Britney Spears possesses the top body shape. As in so many other things men are following the female lead and now half of Fleming's clients are male.
They usually end up looking for Edward Burns' nose, Johnny Depp's jaw line and Will Smith's physique. The irony of all this is that the star whose body part is the reference point may not herself have acquired it at birth but as the result of a cosmetic procedure of her own, perhaps inspired by a movie star of the previous generation! Thus these idealized body shapes are evolving through a process of celebrity-driven R&D, which is increasingly distant from an individual's genetic inheritance.
Celebrities are giving us ideas on how to dress, what to say, what to do, what to eat, what to buy, how to have sex and with whom, where to live, what to drive and where to go on holiday. Increasingly, they are telling us how to modify our appearance, not just by means of cosmetics, clothing and other accessories, but by use of medical treatments and cosmetic surgery.
The fact that such a significant number of people are actually going through with this, often using celebrity features as a reference point for their surgeon is indicative of the powerful influence that stars can have. If people are prepared to have a scalpel put through their flesh on the inspiration of celebrity, it's hardly surprising that they might buy a soft drink or a packet of crisps that has been endorsed by a star.
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07192010
1. Gilbert Andreson alias Broncho Billy and early Hollywood
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