Overview

Beauty is a social construct. Our society inflicts a minute number of physical ideals on a great variety of people, classes, and subcultures. Both sexes indulge in fitness, makeup, hair care, plastic surgery, wrinkle removal-to modify, "improve" their heads, faces, and bodies for erotic, social, and moral acceptance. As the average household income has increased, Americans have started altering their bodies, creating a thriving cosmetics surgery and weight loss industries.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show a striking increase in cosmetic surgery in the United States, with total reported procedures by board-certified plastic surgeons growing from 367,000 in 1992 to 900,000 in 1998 and 1.1 million 2000. Current numbers may represent only half of the total, as many ASPS-recognized practitioners are simply too busy to engage in reporting to the organization. Revenues from the surgeries have grown at a steady clip from $4.4 billion in 1997 to $5 billion in 1998 and $5.8 billion in 1999.

Similarly Americans spend billions each year on weight loss products and diet programs. More than 80% of these consumers are women. Surveys have indicated that more than half of Americans are trying to lose weight at any given time. Consumers spend more than $40 billion each year on diet books, diet food, diet programs and other weight loss programs.