If you had not heard of Heidi Montag prior to a recent issue of People magazine, you probably know who she is by now, or at least have seen her face if you've spent anytime in the supermarket check out line. In the January 25 issue of the magazine, Heidi, a costar of MTV's (pseudo) reality TV show The Hills, reveals her obsession with plastic surgery and chronicles her most recent surgical experience in which she had 10 procedures in one day.

Though Heidi said she was "excited for the world to see the new me, and a real me", she may not have been prepared for the backlash she has seen in regards to what many see as her extreme makeover, and the message it sends to women in our society. Since the article was published, Heidi has back-pedaled, saying she's not in fact addicted to plastic surgery, despite her own statement in the article when she said "For the past three years [since her previous plastic surgery in which she had a nose job and breast augmentation] I've thought about what to have done ... I am absolutely beyond obsessed."

 

With aspirations of becoming a pop star, it's no wonder she bases her opinion of herself entirely on her looks, but the motivation behind the decision to have so many procedures done seems to run much deeper that simply trying to succeed in a superficial industry. At the very least, it seems obvious Heidi suffers from a very low self-esteem.  Marni Battista, relationship coach  had this to say: "It is unclear whether or not Heidi loves herself deeply -- we will never know -- however in my work I have found that it is often the women who are most beautiful who love themselves the least. They have become so dependent on external validation that they begin to believe that this is truly their only value. That being beautiful is all they can offer to someone. That said, it ends up being a never-ending cycle of doing whatever is "next" on the list to try to fill the void inside." Heidi herself seems to validate this notion as she explains her feelings of inadequacies based on the former size of her breasts, and the constant comparison of her looks to those of her colleagues on The Hills. Throughout the interview in People, she constantly contradicts herself, on the one hand saying that she needs to meet the high standards of beauty pop stars are held up to, while on the other hand, asserting that "what people think about me at the end of the day doesn't matter".

While many assume the basis for her desires stems from a low self-esteem, many mental health experts take it a step further, suggesting she has Body Dysmorphic order. BDM is defined by the Mayo Clinic  as "a type of chronic mental illness in which you can't stop thinking about a flaw with your appearance — a flaw either that is minor or that you imagine. But to you, your appearance seems so shameful and distressing that you don't want to be seen by anyone. BDM has sometimes been called "imagined ugliness." When you have BDM, you intensely obsess over your appearance and body image, often for many hours a day. You may seek out numerous cosmetic procedures to try to "fix" your perceived flaws but never are satisfied. Body dysmorphic disorder is also known as dysmorphophobia, or the fear of having a deformity."

Dr. Laura Triplett, a social behavioral researcher who studies the social implications of physical appearance at California State University also pointed out that "As is the case with most who suffer from BDD, repairing those perceived flaws only triggered her recognition of more perceived physical defects which promoted her to state that she's "just starting" when it comes to getting plastic surgery." However, Heidi's plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan is quoted by people as saying she does not fall into that category, and goes on to repeat Heidi's proclamation that all the celebrities do the same thing -- they just don't open up about it. 

Whether or not it is true that "everybody's doing it", even others in the field of cosmetic surgery are concerned about the risk Dr. Ryan undertook in performing 10 procedures at once. "Combining multiple procedures may result in problems with the heart, lungs and circulation as well as a greater risk of infection, poor healing and loss of blood or blood clots," said Dr. David Lange, a plastic surgeon with the Peer Group Plastic Surgery Center of New Jersey. He added, "Anesthetic problems are more likely to occur in longer procedures as well such as fluid overload leading to poor ventilation, problems with drugs and hypertension leading to bleeding. When a surgeon is trying to accomplish a laundry list of cosmetic procedures, the attention needed to get an excellent result is sacrificed to the need to accomplish everything in one sitting. It is far better to concentrate on one or two procedures at a time and get an excellent result than to do too much and have a poor result or risk a serious complication."

Beyond Heidi's own mental and physical health, there has been a lot of criticism in regards to the message that she sends out to her fans and the rest of society. Comparing the 'after' pictures to the 'before' pictures leaves many wondering why she didn't see the beauty she already possessed. For women who constantly question their own self worth based on their appearance, it further deepens feelings of inadequacies as our society seemingly becomes more entrenched in the pursuit of perfectionism.

Responding to the question of how Heidi's surgery and the subsequent publicity will affect how women in our society view themselves, Elizabeth "Lily" Hills, author of The Body Love Manual  , observed that "Heidi's plastic surgery obsession is an exacerbated example of what is now a common cultural tradition amongst women, body judgment. We compare our looks to those of other women and forget to see all that is uniquely beautiful about ourselves. Heidi, through her extreme example, is just bringing attention to the epidemic of body rejection that plagues women all over the world. Oddly enough, men are not nearly as critical about women's beauty as women themselves. We have disempowered ourselves as individuals and as a gender by putting the majority of focus on our external appearance over our internal gifts."

Surprisingly, even one of Heidi's co-stars, Lo Bosworth has spoken up on the issue, telling People "I hope that girls don't read the article, look at the decisions that Heidi made, and think that's normal ... I just hope that the girls who look up to us and watch us don't look at what Heidi did as the only way to be successful and beautiful." Of course, the ways in which Heidi defines beauty and success seems only to lead her into continuing down the path she has begun pursuing. I only wish that Heidi could realize what my husband summed up in response to seeing her pictures: "A lot of endearing qualities in people lie in their imperfections. It's what makes them unique and interesting." Now that Heidi looks like a mannequin ready to pose for Playboy (in which she has already appeared, and looks forward to appearing in again with her new body), she sees an "upgraded" version of herself -- a new person. What I see is a very sad young woman who needs not to cut into her skin, but instead into the depths of her being to discover the beauty that lies underneath.

For what Heidi has to say about her numerous procedures, check out: www.huffingtonpost.com

 

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Michelle Cantrell
A full-time mother of two daughters, Michelle decided a few years ago to combine her passion for writing with her mission to promote self-acceptance among women and girls. The result is her Web site, VenusVision.com, where she provides info and inspiration to combat many of the negative media messages that exploit women's insecurities. When she's not blogging, Michelle travels, reads, and enjoys good food and wine. Michelle will be one of our featured moms in the Spring Issue of I Am Modern Magazine.