Reality TV Has Gone Too Far

By Shannon Gawel
Events Coordinator at SBI Health Education

OK, I put up with the shows about too many children, too many wives and too many tans. And I don’t mean that I sit through entire episodes. I mean I put up with the fact they exist. So, when I found out there was going to be a show on E! where brides-to-be were going to compete for plastic surgery for their big day, my stomach just sank.

There have been shows about plastic surgery before. In 2004, The Swan took “ugly” women with low self-esteem and gave them a coach, a therapist, cosmetic surgeons and a dentist. After a three month transformation, the panel would rate their achievement and see if they were worthy to move on and compete in “The Swan Pageant.” All of the people on the panel were legitimate experts, the surgeons were board certified, and the therapist had written several self-help books. And the main difference: the women didn’t have a “wish-list” of what surgeries they wanted.

On the aptly named Bridalplasty, premiering Nov. 28, the women will compete each week in challenges such as writing vows and honeymoon planning. The winner gets one procedure from their list. For example, if they won two weeks in a row, they’d get two procedures in two weeks. Besides making America look extremely shallow, it also has some ethical issues. Under the American Society of Plastic Surgeons code of ethics, "We're technically prohibited from giving procedures away as a prize for a contest. It totally undermines the doctor-patient relationship," says Dr. Gayle Gordillo, associate professor plastic surgery at Ohio State University. "The ethical and social implications of this [show] are frightening" (abcnews.go.com.)

Of course, every bride wants to look beautiful on their wedding day. That’s why it’s OK for them to splurge on getting a manicure, getting their hair and make-up done professionally-because it’s their special day. But, in contrast to this new show, who’s going to tell them they’re already beautiful without these things and more? This show might actually be playing into a serious psychiatric condition called Body Dysmorphic Disorder, where there is an unrealistic goal for the ideal image, and people that have this are fixated on supposed flaws.

I can only hope this show bombs after a few episodes. I don’t want to watch women put themselves through all that pain to be a pre-conceived idea of beauty based on a ridiculous societal standard.

If you need a better wedding show to watch, catch David Tutera on My Fair Wedding on WE TV. He makes every bride feel like a princess for the right reasons.

Remember, if (s)he asked you to marry them, they love you for who you are! You should too. There’s no one else out there like you, and if they want you to change how you look, they don’t deserve you.

Sources: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/bridalplasty-compete-nose-jobs-implants-dream-wedding/story?id=11663378&page=2 And www.wikepedia.org