Ethnic Nose Job Surgery

One of the big trends in Cosmetic Surgery at the moment is cosmetic surgery aimed towards various ethnicities.

In recognition of the fact that people from different ethnic backgrounds have different physical characteristics, a whole niche is springing up around this area. The main areas within cosmetic surgery where people are aiming to look different from their natural ethnic background are in skin whitening, eye surgery, and most popular of all, rhinoplasty. The "ethnic nose job" is becoming increasingly popular, particularly amongst black and Asian people.

I must confess that this idea of the ethnic nose job does make me feel a little uneasy. Why is it that so many African-Americans should feel that their nose is too wide to be attractive? Why should an Asian woman feel that her nose ought to be more Caucasian? Is there really any need for this kind of nose-reshaping surgery, when the patient actually looks completely normal?

There is a sense, for me, that the cosmetic surgery industry must take a portion of the blame for this. We have encouraged people to feel that anything that they don't like about their appearance can, and maybe even should, be changed.

But I do think that the media must shoulder more of the blame. The media decides what is, and isn't (currently) beautiful, and people do unfortunately follow. That an industry has sprung up to fill a need is just capitalism.

Cosmetic surgeons do, however, have a responsibility to advise patients about whether surgery is necessary or advisable. But somehow I suspect that it will be minority of surgeons who would advise that an ethnic nose job may be totally unnecessary.

I would say that people from a particular ethnic background ought to be able to judge their appearance on the basis of what is normal within their particular racial background, if indeed they must judge themselves at all. It is certainly much healthier to accept one's appearance as it is.

Still, it looks as though the ethnic nose job is here to stay, and if you are going to be altering your ethnic appearance, I guess it is better to do so with rhinoplasty than it is with something more extreme, such as the craze for leg-lengthening surgery that is catching on in South East Asia, an idea that, frankly, appalls me!