Make Me Beautiful: A Portrayal of Body Image Socialization in Nip/Tuck
When thinking of the endless popular culture representations of body image to do for this project, the television show Nip/Tuck quickly came to mind. Nip/Tuck follows the lives of two male plastic surgeons, their relationships, and their clients; all of whom strive for society's ideal image of perfection. I have been casually watching this show for a couple of years when my previous roommate introduced it to me. The show has been airing for five years now, but I decided to look at the first season in particular in order to analyze the program's goals.
“Once you stop striving for perfection you might as well be dead.” This statement, taken from the pilot episode, reinforces our culture's obsession with striving for the ideal body image. In this scene, Christian (one of the male surgeons) tells Kimber what the “perfect 10” actually is. Kimber, a female character whose has the aspiration for modeling, at first thinks she is beautiful. Her esteem is shot down, however, when Christian uses her body has a canvas for his superficial art. As he is drawing on her with lipstick, there are many ways that body image is being portrayed. First he comments about her age, saying that she looks 5 years older than what she is, reinforcing society's current fixation on looking younger. Second he comments on her part-irish ethnic background. He focuses on “repairing” her flat and box-shaped nose, which apparently is a deviation from the ideal image. I was perplexed by this contradiction: with America being seen as a melting pot of many ethnicities, there is an apparent infatuation with a flawless snout. Evidently, the perfect nose can be seen through the model Chrissy Turlington through which Christian relates in Kimber's body project. Third, not surprisingly, he centers on her breasts and states that could go up a cup size. Finally, he comments on her stomach saying that she could use liposuction. When viewing the image of this woman, one can see that she is under weight in regards to society's average weight female.
After Christian shows Kimber his final analysis of her body, the expression on her face reveals her shattered self-esteem, as she once was considered the beautiful homecoming queen. When women view this particular scene, many questions may arise when looking at their own body in the mirror. This beautiful, model-like women has all these things wrong with her? What's wrong with my body? How can I look like those ideal women? The images are internalized as women watch and believe that, they too, must obtain this ideal image.
A final finding while watching Nip/Tuck concerns the female anesthesiologist, Liz Cruz, who is portrayed as an ethnic minority. While watching the episodes I was unaware of the specific ethnicity she was playing so I researched the internet to find some more information. I found a website that said that her character was Latin American, which was similar to my previous assumptions due to her representation on the show. She is viewed as an average woman who is both strong-willed and sympathetic. In contrast to Kimber, who is seen as narcissistic, Liz is comfortable with her curves and constantly speaks out again the superficiality of plastic surgery. There is the contradiction in which the viewer instantly likes Liz, who is charismatic, caring, and funny; yet views Kimber as a psychotic, superficial, and naïve white woman.
In conclusion, the show Nip/Tuck attempts to convey the ways in which internal problems cannot be solved through perfecting the exterior body. I am unsure if whether show achieves this goal or not, but I have become aware of the evidence of gender socialization being portrayed. This is accomplished by women comparing themselves to what is seen as the ideal body image and through the ways that different ethnicities are presented.
