# Why is there such a stigma against changing your body through plastic surgery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 9, 2018, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563 "2018-07-09T12:12:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563/21 "2018-07-13T16:55:40Z")
I can’t remember the name of the effect, but people tend to feel uncomfortable seeing something that looks real-ish-but-not-quite. (Like in a movie where the CGI looks almost perfect but is just-noticeably imperfect.) I wonder whether that ever applies to plastic surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563/22 "2018-07-13T17:00:39Z")
The uncanny valley. And yes, specially in the first stages of post-treatment recovery, when people can look pretty strange. Note that the treatment doesn’t have to be surgical: my mother was once asked by the Clares of the local convent if she knew what had befallen a common acquaintance “she looks so stiff! Did somebody die? Wouldn’t we have heard?” “uh, well, I believe that’s actually the intended effect of Botox. It gets better after a while.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563.md?page=1)