Nip Tuck

I was reading one of the free commuter papers we have here in London today and noticed this piece about a protest group which has been set up on facebook in response to the latest poster campaign from the Harley Medical Group; a cosmetic surgery clinic who regularly advertise on the London underground and buses. Their posters are usually comprised of 'before' shots depicting what, to any human female, should register as perfectly normal breasts, stomachs and thighs (although they're always shot in terrible light and stripped of any colour saturation so that the flaws are magnified and made to appear grey and lumpy); and 'after' shots where we see the previously disembodied, undesirable body parts now tightened, lifted and in context on their delighted and, as is inferred by the poster, now socially elevated owner.

The latest poster from the Harley Medical Group features one of their satisfied customers, Clare Thornton, who had a breast augmentation to take her from a 34B to a 34DD. On the poster she evangelises that 'Cosmetic surgery was the best decision she's made', which may be true. But was it not also the most personal decision she's ever made? The most intimate? There is something in the poster's sloganeering discourse on the subject of the alteration to the parts of Thornton's body, so inextricably linked to her femininity and identity, which for me, as a viewer and a woman, invokes a feeling of discomfort.

The facebook group named 'Somewhat Strident But Who Cares' features photos taken of the defaced posters by group members as they travel around London. In some cases the photographers are themselves the defacers, often they are simply recording the efforts of others. "Everyone is beautiful already" is scrawled in red over the poster in one picture - an affirming philosophy but slightly less helpfully is a sticker placed over Thornton's breasts bearing the words 'Sexist Shit'. SSBWC have developed their own slogans which are available for download. One such slogan says, "By women who hate women, for women who hate themeselves, YOU ARE NORMAL. This is not". It's unclear in the reporting exactly what the 'this' is referring to. Presumably cosmetic surgery, hopefully not Thornton herself.

Thornton has said that she finds the attacks rude and upsetting and that she is happy with the procedure she undertook and proud of the results. She seems to have become the unintended victim of a group incensed by the wider issue of the manipulation and influence over women's relationships with their bodies that is exercised by companies such as the Harley Medical Group. But is Thornton really merely collateral damage in this debate? The slogan "By women who hate women, for women who hate themselves" is internecine, and as an argument, ad hominem.

Thornton, as the poster girl for the Harley Medical Group, has become the face of all that SSBWC finds abhorrent about cosmetic surgery, and by association, she is therefore abhorrent and a target. It is her image which is being defaced and attacked in response to incitement by SSBWC. To attack the posters is to attack Thornton's right to make an informed choice about her body and her right to speak about it. That she felt she even had to make a choice and take a decision of this type in regards to her body is a wider issue that requires examination of our media, cultural and social expectations and punishment/reward systems for certain types of behaviours; all of which cannot and will not even begin to be addressed by vandalism on public transport.

If you are opposed to cosmetic surgery, the most effective way to dissent is to not have cosmetic surgery. In an ideal world, women would be comfortable with their bodies no matter their shape or size. However, in the world we live in some women feel unhappy enough about their bodies that they willingly subject themselves to surgical procedures to correct their perceived flaws. The good news is that in the world we live in, women have autonomy over their bodies and what they do with them and they are uncensored when it comes to speaking about it.

What do you think?

http://somewhatstrident.com/