"If you were to describe me without anyone being able to see me, they would think I am a monster (Guardian video + article), that I am not fuckable. But if they see me, that could perhaps change." While French artist ORLAN's work spans decades and mediums (FR, may be NSFW), she is perhaps best known for her 1990s performance series "The Reincarnation of Saint-ORLAN" wherein ORLAN filmed herself receiving seven different plastic surgeries (NSFW) while entirely conscious. [more inside]
posted by nonmerci on Jul 6, 2009 - 26 comments

How Plastic Surgery Can Give An Older Woman The Face Of A Baby:

She looked a little like … Madonna? Strange, I know, since Madonna and my friend have little in common, at least physically. But when I saw the Big Ciccone on the cover of Vanity Fair a couple of months later, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities: the Mount Rushmore cheekbones, the angular jawline, the smoothed forehead, the plumped skin, the heartlike shape of the face. Their faces didn’t seem pulled tight in that typical face-lift way; they seemed pushed out. Looking at Madonna, I kept thinking of the British expression for reconditioning a saddle: having it "restuffed." Perhaps that’s where she got the idea to have some work done. After the hunt, Madge dismounted her trusty steed and thought, My saddle needs restuffing. And, by George, so does my face!

[more inside]
posted by beaucoupkevin on Aug 6, 2008 - 47 comments

[SO VERY NSFW] Fake or Not? The site will show you ten pictures of boobies, a pair at a time. You must determine whether or not they are augmented. Wes Cherry, creator of Solitaire for Windows, aptly cites it as one of his three favorite websites. [via memepool]
posted by not_on_display on Jul 10, 2008 - 104 comments

My Beautiful Mommy is a children's book for children whose mothers suddenly come home from the doctor with giant hooters, or significant amounts of fat suddenly missing. A bold new market in childrens publishing awaits.
posted by jonson on Apr 18, 2008 - 66 comments

Miss Bimbo invites users to become the "coolest, richest most famous bimbo in the whole world". Unsurprisingly, the site, which encourages girls as young as seven to give virtual dolls breast implants and put them on crash diets, has been widely condemned by parents and children's activists. [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on Mar 25, 2008 - 23 comments

Is it "Viagra for women," or merely a placebo for women who want more orgasms? The G-shot, a little collagen injected into a sensitive place, is gaining more attention. It's not just weary working moms looking for a recharge. When a 19-year-old coed decides it's the answer to stop faking orgasms, how much longer before it's as ubiquitous as the little blue pill?
posted by sacre_bleu on Oct 30, 2007 - 205 comments

Be a Music Faun Yourself. A sign of the popularity of this operation is that in big cities so-called Faun-Clubs are founded one after another, where entrance is only allowed with pointed ears. The reverberating success of this new look is supported by more and more celebrities with pointed ears, amongst whom we can find not only musicians, but, for example, models, as well. via
posted by squalor on Oct 25, 2007 - 33 comments

Make Me Heal is an online community serving the needs of America's vast cosmetic surgery audience, with tips & tricks on what works best to heal scarring, etc, including an encyclopedia of terms. To promote their vision of "Celebrating Natural Beauty With Enhancement" they're hosting the first ever Plastic Surgery Beauty Enhancement Awards, with categories like Best Breast Augmentation (NSFW) and Best Male Liposuction." Contestants must submit before, during & after shots of the procedure, and site visitors can vote on their favorites.
posted by jonson on Jul 2, 2007 - 26 comments

The gals at Jezebel.com recently completed a short series about vaginal plastic surgery, called Pimp My Vag.
posted by serazin on Jun 13, 2007 - 53 comments

"The latest 'must-have' in the world of plastic surgery is the 'designer vagina'. As if we didn't have enough to worry about (bikini-line waxes, highlights, Botox injections), it seems we're now meant to be worrying about our vaginas not being pretty enough. Labia-envy is apparently rife, if you believe the ads in many women’s magazines. And like those who head for the hairdresser clutching pictures of Jennifer Aniston, many women are now taking copies of Playboy to their plastic surgeons, saying: 'I want one like that'." Price list here. Sort of previously discussed here. [First link SFW; others questionable.]
posted by mudpuppie on Jun 3, 2005 - 100 comments

Miss Plastic Surgery There is now a beauty contest in China where those who have had augmentation can compete for a prize. Will the losers end up on the Internet(s)? This is more main stream with TV shows around the profession (Nip / Tuck). PLay the Nip/Tuck game. No worries, reality TV is here for us so we can then we can compete to be cut up.
posted by fluffycreature on Oct 14, 2004 - 0 comments

Making over Mona.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Jun 15, 2004 - 5 comments

"First Wives Club" author Olivia Goldsmith dies. How? Plastic surgery.
posted by adrober on Jan 17, 2004 - 20 comments

The can't-look-away / train wreck site o' the day: Awful Plastic Surgery -- a chronicle of celebrity plastic surgery
posted by NortonDC on Oct 15, 2003 - 23 comments

Starts with an "S" and ends with "ne" and is used to fill breast implants... That's right, silicone is trying to make a comeback as the "it" choice for filling up those implants instead of saline. What's that? They're unsafe? There's a company out there that would like nothing better than to change your mind.
posted by jeddings on Oct 13, 2003 - 14 comments

" I discovered that by severing a nerve behind the knee, the muscle would atrophy." Plastic surgery is booming in Asia, including some very painful procedures (such as the aforementioned trick to achieve "Western-style" legs.)
posted by Oriole Adams on Aug 13, 2003 - 25 comments

Butt implants For the woman who asks "do these jeans make my ass look skinny?" As disconcerting as retouching in silicon can be, retouching with silicone is moreso. Or if you're nostalgic for old-fashioned airbrushing, but want something more direct, you can just airbrush yourself.
posted by adamrice on Aug 10, 2003 - 21 comments

Fitness experts say that you need to work out and eat right in order to have a shapely, firm, and impressive derriere. But who has time for that? Just get buttocks implants instead!
posted by Stumpy McGee on Jun 5, 2003 - 0 comments

Gasp! The mask comes off.
posted by Espoo2 on Nov 15, 2002 - 77 comments

The strange history of Michael Jackson's face. Kind of like the Anna Nicole show -- unbelievably frightening, yet you can't look away. Anyone catch the VH1 special the other day where they electronically blurred his cheeks? wonder why... (Link courtesy of Slate.com's "In Other Websites" featue.)
posted by Vidiot on Aug 15, 2002 - 32 comments

Butt Implants. Well, who doesn't want to be J Lo?
posted by lbergstr on Mar 29, 2002 - 21 comments

Beauty and the Labor Market "Plastic surgery has become one of those things--like reading the tabloids and watching The Home Shopping Network--that Americans like doing and love ridiculing others for doing. Depending on whose numbers you believe, more than seven million of us went under the knife last year"...I had no idea... "In cold, hard economic terms, being attractive helps you get ahead." ...Now I get it, now I understand.
posted by Voyageman on Mar 26, 2002 - 10 comments

I think I may have just found the most explicit example of crass American commercialism. At eroticbid.com, you can purchase a porn star's actual labia. No, I'm not joking, and no, this isn't a rotten link.
posted by Spanktacular on Oct 4, 2001 - 17 comments

He no longer resembles a human. Saw the video premiere last night on MTV (download if you can stomach it). At first jocko's face is concealed, but then the result of years of mutilation is revealed. I've always wondered what an earthling would grow up to look like on a planet with slightly different climate and gravity, and er, well, you'll see. I understand Brando getting involved, but Michael Madsen and Chris Tucker must really need the cash. The...horror.... The... horror...
posted by sharksandwich on Oct 3, 2001 - 55 comments

Separated at birth? Michael Jackson and Lon Chaney. (Good heavens! Michael, what have you done to yourself?)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Mar 5, 2001 - 17 comments

How deflating..... I am aphalled at the statements of the girl and her mother that if someone has low esteem then breast implants are the way to improve both self image and success! As if breast size is the only factor in social standing and prosperity. *sigh* Obviously television, societal rhetoric and socialization of body image opinion has truly sunk to new lows.
posted by bkdelong on Jan 4, 2001 - 19 comments

That's $229.5 million per... Who says silicone is harmful? I'm tempted now to go get some myself.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Sep 28, 2000 - 4 comments

Amtrak is running one of the most bizarre promotions ever. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of billboards along the freeways saying "Do you have a face that can stop a train?" Below that was this URL: winafacelift.com. How a train company and facelifts go together, I don't know. It's almost as if they want their slogan to be "when you're too ugly for plane travel, take a train."
posted by mathowie on May 14, 2000 - 3 comments