The Premiere Site For Celebrity Plastic Surgery By A Real Plastic Surgeon

I'm a Michigan-based Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has been featured on Dr. 90210. The info here is my opinion alone and should not be taken as fact or as medical advice. I've not treated any of the celebrities presented here.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Julianne Moore : Plastic Surgery = Chinese Foot Binding?


According to actress Julianne Moore, she likens plastic surgery to Chinese Foot Binding. According to People.com she states:

"The analogy I use is ancient Chinese feet-binding," Moore reveals in the December issue of the U.K.'s Tatler. "At what point did they decide that small feet were more beautiful? People started making them smaller and smaller until they were stumps and not beautiful at all."

So will the 47-year-old actress refuse to go under the knife – ever? She may be idealistic, but Moore won't go that far. She admits, "Never say never."

I think the Chinese foot binding analogy goes a bit far. Much of plastic surgery is meant to restore the body to a previous state or remove excess skin that can become both a cosmetic and functional problem, such as tummy tucks and thigh lifts. The aim of good plastic surgery is a natural rejuvenation, not abnormal deformation like in Chinese foot binding. Maybe Julianne should stop being a moral compass and get back to acting...

Photo credit: pictzz.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.
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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

She was probably referring to things like abnormally large breast implants and such. Most plastic surgery is not like that, though.

Anonymous said...

natural good looks and good aging genes seem to make it alot easier to dismiss plastic surgery.

Anonymous said...

I think you are being unfair toward Julianne. I think she has a very valid point. Not everybody wants to be carved up to suit some idealized vision of what beauty is (hence the comparison to food binding). If you want plastic surgery fine. However people aren't allowed to get older in this society anymore. What's wrong with accepting people for who they are? We make fun of people as they get older and constantly say what's wrong with them - why don't they get a little plastic surgery done 'cause they'll look better. Why aren't people allowed to age naturally? Why do they become persona non grata after 40 because they look like they're 40? As I said, I'm not against plastic surgery but I'm also in favour of those who don't feel a need to do things such as botox or lift their faces or get implants. I applaud those who buck the Hollywood norm and are just themselves - wrinkles and all. Not all of them (or us) want to look like the cookie cutter housewives of Orange County.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you are being a little overly sensitive. She had a point-the big breasts, tiny noses, inflated lips and porn star private parts that are popular with many plastic surgery victims are JUST LIKE foot binding. They are ugly and are being done because the look is somehow popular-NOT to remove excess skin or give an older person a more youthful appearance.

Anonymous said...

you've been very grouchy recently in your posts. Are you ok?

Dr. Tony Youn said...

Hmmm. Maybe I've been working too much.

Anonymous said...

From what I've seen lately, plastic surgery, implants, injections and fillers HAVE caused people, mostly women, to look grotesque and disfigured - much like foot binding did. And yet the women that have to puffy lips, scared looking eyes and giant cheek implants think they look beautiful... I don't get it.

Anonymous said...

Foot binding is nothing like plastic surgery. This good doctor is absolutely correct. Also, with foot binding things like class and reputation come into play. Foot binding was for wealthier families who could afford to NOT have their daughters working and could afford to have servants who helped the girl teeter totter around. Foot binding was done because MEN found it sexually arousing and was almost a 'requirement' in order to marry up and into a good family. And most importantly WOMEN HATED HAVING THEIR FEET BOUND. How is this in any way similar to plastic surgery?

No one forces anyone to get plastic surgery to conform to society. People of ALL socioeconomic levels get plastic surgery. And lastly, while ALL women who had their feet bound were handicapped and scarred for their entire lives, plastic surgery for a lot of people is reasonable (sane people do not go in expecting to get triple Ds and morphing from human to cat).

Feet binding = plastic surgery? Please, the two anons..your arguments don't hold any water.

"Maybe you are being a little overly sensitive. She had a point-the big breasts, tiny noses, inflated lips and porn star private parts that are popular with many plastic surgery victims are JUST LIKE foot binding. They are ugly and are being done because the look is somehow popular-NOT to remove excess skin or give an older person a more youthful appearance."

No (not overly sensitive), and different people get different plastic surgery all over the world. So while you COULD generalize feet binding (handicapped, ugly, painful, debilitating) the same isn't true for plastic surgery, because not everyone gets the same stuff done.

claire said...

Actually, foot binding was practiced by families of lower class as well. Foot binding was not entirely crippling either. "Golden Lotus" is a good documentary on the subject. Also, some girls bound their own feet because this was the only way they could get married. Plastic surgery is actually strikingly similar to foot binding in that both are based in socially constructed ideas of beauty and men's scrutiny of women's bodies. Both practices alter women's bodies in medically unnecessary and dangerous ways for purely social reasons.