JUST last week, a Florida plastic surgeon announced the release of My Beautiful Mommy, a picture book due out April 28 that tries to calm the fears of children with parents getting tummy tucks, breast enhancement procedures and nose jobs.

'Model' mannequin courtesy of: Paula's Skins and More, Shop 47, Sovereign Centre, St Andrew. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

Dr Michael Salzhauer said the book - released at a time when thousands of American women are having procedures done yearly - explains mommy's recuperation, changing look and desire for plastic surgery; and illustrations show a crook-nosed mom with loose tummy skin under her half shirt picking up her young daughter early from school one day and taking her to a strapping and handsome 'Dr Michael'.

Mom explains she's going to have operations on her nose and tummy and may have to take it easy for a week or so.

The girl asks: "Why are you going to look different?"

Mom responds: "Not just different, my dear, prettier!"

'Fixing the flaws' stirs an ongoing debate in these countries where body modificaton is the norm - and where extremes exist like that of Jocelyn Wildenstein, the so-called cat lady who had dozens of surgeries to transform herself into a catlike creature; the Barbie twins, self explanatory; and to a lesser extent the thousands of teenage girls and women who go in to 'fix' perceived imperfections.

Nearer home, while plastic surgery has caught on here mainly only among those with the money to spare, other women with less disposable cash choose less expensive 'enhancements' to fix imperfections, an industry that shows no signs of weakening.

From cutlets for the breasts and contacts for the eyes to hair for the hairless and bleach for the too-dark, the enhancements have left many to ponder the "what you see is not what you get" theory, and be extra careful about who they choose to date.

Locally, men have dubbed those who employ less permanent methods of image modifications 'fake women' - the kind you have to be extra careful about, because they change dramatically when they strip off all the enhancements.

The true image is hidden behind wigs, fake eyelashes, nails, thick make-up, extra padded bras, girdles and even coloured contact lenses.
"What you see is not what you get," Vaughn, a St Catherine resident said. "Is like a breach of contract or false advertising. When you meet them (females) everything is in order and you anticipate it will remain like that, but after all the trappings come off you can't believe what you are left with!" he said strongly.

"I'm not saying women must not look good, but let the man know that what you see is not necessarily what you get and let us decide if we want to continue pursuing you after that," he added.

Another man tells of his experience with a young girl who later became his companion. He said that after dating her for a while, he playfully pulled her shirt out of her pants and to his surprise a 'sac' came tumbling out in the form of her stomach. All along she had used tight clothes to hold it in. He said he felt betrayed and very disappointed but was too far gone in the relationship to turn back. On top of that he really liked her personality, but, he said, to this day he still feels betrayed.

And these men's fears are justified, as the appearance could change, as Milton realised, in as little as one trip to the bathroom.

"Imagine you carry home this nice browning her skin clean and spotless and her hair well groomed, then she tells you she want to use the bathroom, when the person walk back in the room, blow wow! yuh wonder where your girl gone, cause is a living alien walk out back!" Walker laughed. "She just back off her wig and wash her face."

Even women like 28-year-old Claudette Martin believes others of her kind do sometimes go overboard in their attempt to 'look good'.

"I agree that some women will go over board. But if you do it in moderation, it shouldn't matter, you should put yourself together but people should still know that it is you!" Martin, who was seen in Spanish Town in a neck length Jherri weave, long fake manicured nails and make-up said.

"I live with my man so he knows me with or without wig or make-up. But I don't overdo it like some people. If I take off my wig I still look the same way, just different hairstyle," she reasoned.

But Martin, a pre-school teacher, added that she has walked past friends at dancehall because she didn't recognise them in their camouflage.
"Some woman just look different still, I mean totally different! Something I always wonder about is if the man get 'two for the price of one' - one to pose with and the other to stay home," she laughed.

Some experts will quote the need to be like the white woman; the carry over from slavery; the desire to blend into a culture where whites rule, thus building the desire for long straight hair and things like bleaching of the skin.

Executive director of the Bureau of Women's Affairs, Faith Webster said the desire in women to add to their appearance has two sides to it. One is born out the need to look good and build self-esteem and the other is a psychological issue.

"Generally women want to look and feel good about themselves. It's the whole thing about beauty and nothing is wrong in itself if the woman wants to build her self-esteem and image in wanting to look and feel good about herself," Webster said.

She points to the wearing of ornaments as stemming from ancient days where the Egyptian women would adorn themselves to enhance beauty.
But, she noted, a line has to be drawn between wanting to look good and wanting to be someone else.

"When women feel the need to change to the point of becoming fake or a different person, it could be as a result of not being willing to accept themselves as who they are," Webster said.

She explained that the extension of the hair could simply be for the sake of ease and convenience. But overdoing it with the false lashes, bleaching of the skin and heavy make-up may be as a result of not wanting to accept self and wanting to be someone else. This now crosses over into a self-esteem issue.

Other reasons she points to for crossing over the line are: commercialisation, advancement of technology, globalisation and men themselves.

"Commercialisation and how women are portrayed in the media plays a big role. When you look at a music video you will see women with long flowing hair, lashes etc, and then women watching them want to look like that. Then there is the advancement of technology. The ads are seen with a woman with spotless skin and you do not even realise that that is not real but that the technology makes it look that way."

Said she: "Globalisation too plays a part as to why women want to look like that. Men seem to gravitate towards these types of women. If they were not gravitating towards these types of women, women wouldn't have the need to want to change their image. Often times they do it to be noticed by the men. The bleaching sydrome started when the men started talking about 'browning', so the women in turn wanted to be brown."

She added: We need to separate the issues, nothing is wrong with the woman wanting to look good and building her self-esteem but it is the imbalance and the overdoing it to the point that it becomes fake to the point of changing their whole image that is a problem."

But she noted, "inner beauty is the greatest beauty of all. Yes you want to look good but at the end of the day you should also have the fruits of the spirit such as kindness, gentleness, meekness."

Information on Dr Michael Salzhauer's book from the Associated Press.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World