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by Mark Umbach
Gay men, and
especially gay men in California, seem to be the most health conscious
people I've ever laid eyes on. Walk into any 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox
or LA Fitness in almost any part of Los Angeles at any time of day and
you’ll almost certainly find that a high percentage of the gym
population shares at least very important similar interest as you.
I
cannot speak from experience, but I’m sure that gay men all across the
country place an equal importance on looking good. And that is why it’s
not necessarily surprising to find that a recent report released by the
American Society of Plastic Surgery finds that from 2002 through 2007,
the number of men getting plastic surgery has increased 16%.
No
matter what the problem, men across the country and beyond the
boundaries of sexual orientation seem to be looking for a quick way to
look better. The rise of the “metrosexual” in the early 2000s saw an
uptick in the number of men having botox injected into their faces
while cellulite is removed from their waistlines.
Of
the 1.1 million plastic surgeries performed on men in 2007, the most
popular alterations are performed on the jaw and on that pesky spare
tire. According to the study, that 1.1 million figure could potentially
be even higher because many men apply the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
policy to their procedures.
Currently
men account for about 9 to 10 percent of all cosmetic surgeries being
performed. And while no data exists on the sexual orientation of these
men, according to the website NYPlasticSurg.com, doctors say that post of their male subjects are gay men looking for the athletic physique.
There
is a constant debate as to whether or not plastic surgery is the easy
way out. And as a writer for a fitness-oriented site, this may be
blasphemy to some, but, frankly, I don’t see anything easy about taking
a knife to your stomach and or face. That’s just me (I’m totally Ali Larter’s Brooke Windham in Legally Blonde,
“I was getting lipo!”). I think that if surgery is going to provide a
shot of self-esteem and make a person feel better, why not go for it.
Sometimes
people can work out day after day, night after night and still not lose
that last 5 lbs.; the pizza and beer just tastes too good. Seriously,
though, I’ve seen too many surgeries on the Discovery Channel to
consider having surgery myself. At the same time, I don’t see what’s
wrong with trying to look and feel better in your every day life.
On
the flip side of the debate, there are people who think adding some
silicone or sucking out some fat deposits qualifies as the easy way
out. And while I don’t think they are the easy way out, I just don’t
want to have someone cutting into me and stuffing foreign objects into
me. Not only that, but more than likely your insurance will only cover
liposuction if it is used toward gynecomastia, better known as enlarged
male breasts; not exactly the pecs most men are going for.
Additionally,
plastic surgery also carries a risk for infection, and quite a large
price tag. Lipo alone starts at about $2,000. One of the scariest, and
grossest in my opinion, side effects comes from silicone implants, the
most popular of which are in the pecs, calves and buttock. If not done
properly, and some surgeons won’t do it at all, the implants can move
or even rupture. Besides all that, the silicon implants tend to not
look natural and feel hard, not the best for cuddling.
In
spite of it all, the fact remains that people going under the knife
feel better about themselves and their place in the world after having
plastic surgery. A recent Reuters report showed that, despite the
downturn in the American economy, the number of appointments made for
simple procedures were on the rise. Granted these were lower-risk
procedures such as botox shots, but men and women alike were feeling
that looking better give them a better shot at landing a job.
If you can stand the nips and tucks, and it makes you feel better, I say go for it!
