The thing about societal pressure and male gaze is not that it's necessarily on a conscious level.
It's the images which are presented as attractive, desirable, hygienic etc that we are all bombarded with constantly. We're not necessarily conscious that we're absorbing them and being influenced by the standards.
Women my age grew up with slim, beautiful women promoting products. "heroin chic" was a thing during the Kate Moss era - a revolting term, but there you go. There were no chubby, unattractive women - I remember the shock everywhere when Sophie Dahl started to model at the "horrific" size of 16. So many comments about how disgusting she was - it was unbelievably controversial.
And as we're discussing body hair....I remember the shock at Julia Roberts attending an event with unshaved armpits. Widespread disgust. And women who don't shave/wax today in the entertainment industry are still regarded with suspicion as some controversial, edgy figure....it's still an unacceptable beauty standard for the main.
Newspaper headlines, advertising, TV shows, films, and now social media too - we are bombarded with images of what society deems to be attractive constantly.
Now, there may be some elements that you consciously reject. For example, there's been a huge rise in women getting rid of all their pubic hair. Very often women insist it's because they "feel cleaner" or various other reasons. I mean, there's the possibility that may be a contributing factor but it's funny how the elimination of pubic hair coincides with the pornification of our society, and the increase in the popularity of bald pubic regions in porn. There's a strong correlation but many women won't realise how they've been influenced. But not every woman gets rid of her pubic hair. Same with leg hair, and underarm hair.
There's no judgement in it because we're all influenced to a greater or lesser extent, uncomfortable although that idea is. And many of these societal messages are deeply misogynistic - we're surrounded by them all of the time, it's hardly surprising that we internalise them without realising.
And yes, the majority of men will tell you that they prefer the natural look ie/no surgery. But the women that get the attention/dates are the women who look the way society deems attractive (obviously these are sweeping generalisations, there are always exceptions). Look at the type of women who men prefer in porn - they're certainly not natural.
I think the other issue is photo filters. It's allowed the media and celebrities to present fictional images as fact. Everyone believes that stars are wandering around with pore-less, smooth skin and not a single wrinkle or bulge in sight. It's such utter bollocks and I object so strongly to filters. It's created unrealistic expectations and I think that's helped drive the demand for Botox, fillers, and surgery.
Even the latest trend - dare I mention weight loss injections?! Genuine, useful medical intervention for anyone with significant weight to lose. But like all medications, they carry some risks - and yet what's happening? Women admitting to lying/manipulating the information they give to doctors online so they can be prescribed these wonder drugs - just because they want to shift the last stone or two and know that medically they wouldn't be given the jabs, even privately. Maybe they'll be fine, but maybe they won't. I hope they are. But it's silly and naive.
I blame society, which is still driven by men, I blame the celebrities pushing lies, but I'm afraid I do also blame the individuals too. We are all capable of thinking things through, and the information about risks is readily available. If you choose to do things to your body, there's always the chance of unpleasant side effects which sometimes can be extremely serious.
It's very, very sad and I feel desperately sorry for her children and family.