Lamenting the normalisation of Botox

My January piece for Discordia, Lamenting the normalisation of Botox, was written in frustration after I noted that positive stories on Botox were increasing in incidence in the mainstream media.
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Lamenting the normalisation of Botox

January 2013

Of late, I’ve noticed that Botox has become heavily embedded into the cultural consciousness. So much so, that mention of it in print and online publications is not only prolific, but very often casual in tone.

Articles about Botox are stunningly prevalent, with beauty editors fawning over its apparent age-reversing properties, and even health publications devoting many inches of copy to extolling its “miracle” effects. The web is brimming with personal experience stories on blogs and big title women’s magazines, lauding the substance’s apparent benefits for restoring youth.

Worryingly, it appears to me that the use of Botox for “age management” has become normalised. Evidently, there is now little stigma attached to admitting that you have had it done. But, frighteningly, there is a stigma attached to ageing - particularly for women - and a sinister stigma associated with not “managing” it.

I recently came across a short round-up of 2012’s notable beauty trends in SMH. Although the title, “A year of beauty: best and worst of 2012”, promised a fairly mundane piece of writing, I was absolutely struck by one of its paragraphs:

“More women are acknowledging that they have had Botox treatment outside sitcom world, albeit strictly to one another. But, it's a start when you consider that any woman over 30 worth her hard-earned disposable income has had it done” (my emphasis).

The paragraph sits incongruously in a section of the list labelled “Sisterhood”. Here, the “sisterhood” refers to a peculiar concept – the apparent solidarity signified by women’s admission to each other of having Botox done. I have to confess that when I think of the term sisterhood, and what it represents for me, cosmetic surgery revelations don’t immediately spring to mind.

Happily, the author was lambasted for her statement in the comments section. The responses reflected many of my own thoughts – I am over 30 and am not considering Botox, I have more pressing things to spend my “hard-earned” income on, and I don’t view Botox as a necessity, as the article seems to imply it is.

At its core, the comment is simultaneously ageist and elitist. There is the disturbing inference that Botox is not negotiable for women over 30 (that magic age where we are subjected to age-related fear-mongering, and told we’ll be rendered invisible to the male gaze unless we take measures to restore our youth).

It also smacks of privilege: we are told that Botox is the domain of an exclusive bunch.  Although it is clear that Botox isn’t a cheap habit to maintain, the author’s implication is an unsettling one indeed. Apparently, those women on the more comfortable side of the economic spectrum are obliged to get it done, and those without a disposable income to play with are presumably not “worth” it.

Botox is relentlessly touted as a miracle “cure” for wrinkles, one of the physical signs of ageing. Rather than simply a natural consequence of life, ageing is increasingly being presented as a medical affliction which needs to be managed. The popular discourse currently surrounding women and ageing suggests that we need to be vigilant and pull out all stops to slow the process down.

I almost couldn’t conceal my shock when I recently overheard part of a conversation in a shopping centre. One young woman (mid to late 20s, at a guess) announced to her friend, “Well, as soon as I get some Botox injected into this face, I’ll be happy”.

The comment was quite disturbing in its nonchalance. But her comment undoubtedly echoes thousands that occur each day between women, who feel constant pressure to look like their youthful former selves.

I am concerned about the insidious nature with which Botox has infiltrated the cultural consciousness. I’ve noticed that articles frequently emphasise the apparent benefits of the injections, while side effects or potential risks are often sidelined. A nuanced social and cultural analysis of the issue is even rarer – at least in the mainstream media.

Don’t get me wrong: I do not begrudge individual women who have made a decision to have Botox. Rather, I resent the culture which positions Botox as a necessity for women of a certain age, and where - correspondingly - the notion of “choice” is distorted.

I can understand why women opt to have Botox. I am definitely not immune to the pressures to maintain a youthful aesthetic: it permeates our society in many forms and can be difficult to elude. It is likely that to an extent, aside from these immense external pressures, humans have a natural fear of ageing and looking older. But my issue is with a system which sanctions and profits from this fear.