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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Actresses - Feel so cross - ruined by plastic surgery

569 replies

Thisisnotreallymyname · 06/02/2021 20:03

Feel so sad - been watching TV and why is it that women ( in the main ) feel the need to absolutely ruin their faces with fillers, Botox, face lifts, to the point where they look deformed, or like they are wearing shiny masks.
Felicity Kendal last night on Graham Norton, Fern Britton on Mastermind, Sally Thomsett on Pointless Celeb........
Do they not see what we see when they look in the mirror ?
I’ve nothing against PSurgery, but my God, please know when to stop !

IABU - they look fine
IANBU -they look awful .

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
VinylDetective · 08/02/2021 16:53

Also, posters have explained at length the difference between being Judi Dench and a jobbing actress up for a part in the latest ITV crime drama. I didn’t realise it had all gone over your head

I didn’t mention Judi Dench. There are other actresses who haven’t messed about with their faces - Lesley Sharp, Lesley Manville, Anita Dobson, Sarah Lancashire.

5128gap · 08/02/2021 16:54

@HerselfIndoors

I think it's disingenuous to suggest that it's hypocritical to care about your appearance at all, just because you think something's gone wrong when women are having extreme cosmetic surgery to the point of not really looking human.

It's like being concerned about the rise in boob and butt jobs and being told "well you wear a bra don't you?"

It's a continuum, but that doesn't mean there's no difference between different points on the continuum. That's the whole point of the phrase "slippery slope". A little can lead to a lot, can lead to so much that it could be really regrettable of affect you very negatively.

People look after, modify and give attention to their appearance - that's true of both sexes and has been throughout human history. Make-up, hairdos, hair removal/rearrangement, all these things are well-established and most importantly reversible. Having your face carved up and injected with stuff is not.

That's not to say it's always "wrong" in some sense - but it's OK to be aware and alert to the phenomenon and discuss why and how it happens, what lies behind it.

And women - and men - do have a choice. No one is being forcibly marched to the surgeon's AFAIK. And their choices affect others. I don't want to attack women for how they look, and I don't think I have, but nor do I want to suggest that women are all weak helpless ninnies in the face of patriarchal demands.

All fair points well made.
Exhausteddog · 08/02/2021 16:56

I just looked up 2 skin clinic near me offering botox and fillers. Prices start from £250 -300.
Which is probably very reasonable for most MNers and yummy mummies near where I live. But what about the 20 somethings who dont have a great disposable income. They might be more tempted by some "at home" treatments I found for £99 that you inject yourself. I'm not convinced that is as risk free as mucking up your make up or plucking your eyes brows too enthusiastically.

AuntieMarysCanary · 08/02/2021 17:00

[Maybe women who don't want to do this can't afford it or are afraid of the procedure] Or maybe they think people shouldn't have to feel ashamed of ageing

@bellascousin You brought in this idea of being ashamed to get older.

You do seem to be trying to backpedal somewhat here.

Just because someone wants to erase a jowl or a nose-mouth crease does not mean they are ashamed of ageing.

Someone else said that hair dye and make up has always been around. Well not exactly....!

So what's your take on teeth whitening and braces? Are you going to use emotive and judgy language you apply to facial surgery as well - ie carved up.

Maybe 'teeth are wrenched out to avoid overcrowding and strong , dangerous chemicals are used to whiten them.'

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by.

AuntieMarysCanary · 08/02/2021 17:01

They might be more tempted by some "at home" treatments I found for £99 that you inject yourself. I'm not convinced that is as risk free as mucking up your make up or plucking your eyes brows too enthusiastically.

I think anyone who is interested in this would know that there have been some terrible outcomes with DIY filling and there is a LOT being done to stop them being available.

bellascousin · 08/02/2021 17:10

@bellascousin You brought in this idea of being ashamed to get older.

You do seem to be trying to backpedal somewhat here.

You actually typed out what I wrote which was that people shouldn't have to feel ashamed of ageing
So it's not backpedaling at all Confused unless you are trying to make out that I somehow think it's shameful to get older which is clearly the opposite of what I think.

bellascousin · 08/02/2021 17:12

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by.

People are allowed to question and discuss how the want comes about

Gingersnaphappy · 08/02/2021 17:24

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by.

The treatment you describe does sound modest, but with respect , I think it's legitimate to question and criticize general trends that some of us consider to be destructive or harmful. It's not about criticizing the women themselves, it's about an aesthetic that insists older women can't be as grey or wrinkly as men, and a viewpoint which leads women to disfigure their own faces, or to make them feel that they have to disguise or feel embarrassed about a natural process - ageing - or that they themselves 'au naturel' are somehow not good enough.

CounsellorTroi · 08/02/2021 17:24

@VinylDetective

Also, posters have explained at length the difference between being Judi Dench and a jobbing actress up for a part in the latest ITV crime drama. I didn’t realise it had all gone over your head

I didn’t mention Judi Dench. There are other actresses who haven’t messed about with their faces - Lesley Sharp, Lesley Manville, Anita Dobson, Sarah Lancashire.

Eileen Atkins too.
Impatiens · 08/02/2021 17:28

Eileen Atkins is so cool. 😎

TatianaBis · 08/02/2021 17:30

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by.

What’s more shocking women distorting their appearance in pursuit of youth and beauty or women commenting on women distorting their faces?

Is this phenomenon supposed to pass without comment?

TatianaBis · 08/02/2021 17:30

And no-one has said they ought not to, but we’re all free to comment on the result.

Five67Eight · 08/02/2021 17:39

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by.

It’s not that simple though, is it? Because the pressure falls on all women to remain youthful and attractive, so of course we’re going to have an opinion on it.

VinylDetective · 08/02/2021 17:39

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by

It’s really shocking that someone is so unwilling to concede this is a feminist issue, to recognise the increasing pressure women are under and to be so unconcerned about our daughters and granddaughters, who are being sucked into desiring unnecessary and sometimes disfiguring procedures.

dontgetmewrong · 08/02/2021 17:42

@MamaNewtNewt

I saw Helen Hunt in a film recently (I SeeYou) and she looked terrible, almost unrecognisable. It was so distracting and she could barely speak as her face was so tight. I feel sad that she felt she needed to do that to her face. I mean this is an Oscar winning actress, she should be able to get jobs without having to have surgery.

Yes Helen Hunt for me is the most shocking.

CounsellorTroi · 08/02/2021 17:45

I'm old enough to remember when cosmetic surgery was something spoilt super rich women with more money than sense did. It's really shocking that it has become so mainstream.

CounsellorTroi · 08/02/2021 17:48

I find Renee Zellwegger the most shocking. She actually looks like two different people in her before and after pictures. And a lot more bland in the after picture.

randomer · 08/02/2021 17:52

Renee has acompletely different face, its so sad. She is part Sami and has or had Sami features.
Sarah lancashire has committed a massive crime in that her face and talent appear to be intact and she has the body of a woman.

VinylDetective · 08/02/2021 17:54

I don’t think it’s helpful to keep naming actresses whose appearance has been adversely affected by cosmetic work, it just reinforces the accusations of spite and bitching.

randomer · 08/02/2021 18:06

Ah well, I guess we are entitled to an opinion.

eddiemairswife · 08/02/2021 18:41

Even Jezebel did her hair and make-up before leaping to her death.

Thewinterofdiscontent · 08/02/2021 19:17

Men have thicker skin so age better. I love the sun but not the associated wrinkles. Botox let’s me get away with it longer.

As for older women looking worse with surgery it’s up to them. Like dodgy box dye hair. I know mine looks rubbish but I still think it looks better than grey with my sallow complexion.

I love the strength of character Alexandra Grant has to buck the trend .But she definitely looks older and she definitely gets flack. Most of us get fed when we become invisible, let alone getting criticism. Women don’t act 50, 60 or 70 these days. I can see why looking your age is disappointing.

AuntieMarysCanary · 08/02/2021 20:17

@VinylDetective

It's actually really shocking that so many women criticise other women for their choices. If someone wants a face lift or 1ml of filler, who are you to say they ought not to? If it's not for you, fine, walk on by

It’s really shocking that someone is so unwilling to concede this is a feminist issue, to recognise the increasing pressure women are under and to be so unconcerned about our daughters and granddaughters, who are being sucked into desiring unnecessary and sometimes disfiguring procedures.

It's nothing to do with feminism.

If a woman wants to look her best for HERSELF that is what she's doing.

Not for men or society.

I fail to understand why so many women insist (and bully) it's something else and try to force women to think it's feminism.

bluebluezoo · 08/02/2021 20:18

And it's not really 'chemicals' - most fillers are made of the same stuff as we have in our faces anyway, and it's also in so many face creams these days. It's completely natural and can be dissolved if someone doesn't like it- the next day

If it was as simple, easy and natural as you say, there wouldn’t be any risks or side effects, would there?

Yet there are. Some pretty nasty ones at that. Including you body recognising the filler as a foreign body..

Fillers and botox really isn't the same as hair and make up. It isn’t without risk.

VinylDetective · 08/02/2021 20:25

It's nothing to do with feminism

I’ve really heard it all now. Have you really managed to engage with this now very long thread and had half the posts sail right over your head? I’m done. I can’t be doing with idiocy.