Black Looks: Plastic Surgery and the Stigma of Looking White
By Kevin R. Scott, Special to AOL Black Voices
Historically, elective plastic surgery was something reserved for our white counterparts or our own eccentrics like Michael Jackson and Lil’ Kim. And although it’s become a standard and popular practice, African Americans still exhibit reluctance disproportionate to most other populations. “People of color, we’re a little bit behind the times in some things and certainly plastic surgery is one of them” explains Dr. Anthony Griffin, renowned Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, author of ‘Surgery Without Scars, A Worry-Free, Multi-Cultural Guide to Plastic Surgery Today’ and the host of ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover.’
Griffin has found that “the biggest concern people of color have with plastic surgery is that they don’t want to look white. They want to still look like themselves. They want to fit right into their own culture.” This very same concern was shared by Patti LaBelle who admits to having a “nose reduction” over ten years ago. “I was afraid people would be able to look at me and say, ‘Oh yeah, she had a nose job!’ I also wanted to make sure I still had a black nose,” says LaBelle who underwent the surgery at the risk of altering her now Grammy award winning vocals.
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“I was concerned about scarring. I was afraid people would be able to look at me and say, ‘Oh yeah, she had a nose job!’ I also wanted to make sure I still had a black nose. I didn't want to go extreme and have a very small nose. I was also afraid that it would change my voice, but it didn't make it better or worse, it stayed the same.”
Type of Surgery? “A nose reduction.”
Plastic Surgeon? “Dr. Julius Newman. He died about 3 months ago. I called him "Dr. Nose."
Would you do it again? "Of course, in a heartbeat."
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The stigma of ‘looking white’ has been over dramatized by those that go overboard with their enhancements. Griffin refers to these types of patients as “frequent flyers” and admits that celebrities like Michael Jackson have become the poster children of the very thing African Americans fear with regard to plastic surgery, especially when it comes to procedures like rhinoplasty. “His plastic surgeon is a great surgeon, however there must have been a breakdown in the communication,” says Griffin who turns away nearly 1/3 of his patients wanting enhancements that are socially and psychologically inappropriate.
LaBelle’s decision to reduce the size of her nose was driven by her own personal satisfaction and not pressure from industry insiders. “I didn't feel pressure to do it, I just knew I needed to,” she says. “I saw Stephanie Mills, she came to my house for dinner and something looked cute about her and I asked her if she had gotten any work done and she told me she had gotten her nose fixed. I had been thinking about having it done and I knew a lot of television opportunities would be coming up but I was afraid of the pain, but she told me it didn't hurt.”
As pioneers like Dr. Griffin continue to research and specialize in elective plastic surgery for people of color, the negative connotations are slowly dissipating, largely in part to reality shows like ‘Extreme Makeover.’
Popular Elective Plastic Surgery Procedures:
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Tummy Tuck
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“When they can actually see people on television transformed by a surgeon every week, they say ‘oh ok’ and the realization that they still look like themselves or have retained their inherent ethnic features,” explains Dr. Griffin.
The concerns of scarring and the development of keloids for people of color is just as significant as the stigma of ‘looking white.’ Recent advances in research and technology has allowed Dr. Griffin to reduce the occurrence of scarring and the formation of keloids. “Fear of scarring, more than any other single factor, keeps some population of patients from seeking elective plastic surgery” Griffin offers.
With the practice of preconditioning the skin with Retin-A six weeks prior to any surgery, which increases blood supply and controls the production of collagen, introducing a three phased antibiotic administration, the use of an anesthesia with adrenaline, and meticulous incision closure; Griffin has been able to significantly reduce scarring in people of color, making marks in most cases imperceptible.
Griffin is confident that as the new procedures continue to be demonstrated on television and become apparent in A-list celebrities, many of which are his clients, that the number of procedures elected by people of color will continually increase. His practice already has a year long waiting list for procedures such as his two specialties, the Brazilian Butt Lift© and the Six Pack Tummy Tuck©.
Overall, Griffin believes elective plastic surgery will become as commonplace as routine dental work. Although Griffin is credited with helping the paradigm shift, he admits that it’s often a difficult and thankless job with all the glory going to Mother Nature. “I do work on a fair amount of A-List celebrities and they don’t want tell anyone. If you do a good job, nobody thanks you!”
2006-01-23 10:06:17
“I was concerned about scarring. I was afraid people would be able to look at me and say, ‘Oh yeah, she had a nose job!’ I also wanted to make sure I still had a black nose. I didn't want to go extreme and have a very small nose. I was also afraid that it would change my voice, but it didn't make it better or worse, it stayed the same.”
Type of Surgery? “A nose reduction.”
Plastic Surgeon? “Dr. Julius Newman. He died about 3 months ago. I called him "Dr. Nose."
Would you do it again? "Of course, in a heartbeat."
