# Women: Would YOU Take This Risk? \[Sorta cheap but dangerous plastic surgery\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522 "2008-04-16T00:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/1 "2008-04-16T00:40:16Z")
Suppose a new kind of aesthitic surgery came about-that for $10,000 could give you a body like Giselle Bundchen’s? The only catch: the surgery is dangerous-there is a 25% chance that the surgery could leave you seriously injured. Would you take the chance? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/2 "2008-04-16T01:09:16Z")
No, not even if you paid me $10,000 to undergo the procedure. 1. I don’t want her body. I would like to be taller and thinner, but that doesn’t mean I want to be 5’11" and have twigs for limbs. I want to improve _my_ body, not a copy of someone else’s 2. I don’t want a better body via surgery. I would rather work for a nicer body, and then learn to accept what I have. I think that’s psychologically healthier than surgery. 3. A 25 percent risk of injury for elective surgery is unacceptable. 4. I would not pay $10,000 for cosmetic surgery, especially not when the alternative is more or less free, and in the process I acquire better habits, stronger willpower, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bibby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@Bibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibby)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/3 "2008-04-16T01:10:48Z")
/rant/ Oh I really, really hope the vast majority of respondents vote no. But then again, this is the good ol’ US of A, where: – women are taught to hate their bodies – women are valued more for their looks than for their character and/or accomplishments – women don’t even know what a “normal” body looks like any more Bibby ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/4 "2008-04-16T01:11:08Z")
Nah. Mine’s already pretty fierce. I may only be a 5’2 twig, but that’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/5 "2008-04-16T01:15:22Z")
Nope. Not even if the surgery was free and had a 100% sucess rate. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/6 "2008-04-16T01:21:00Z")
Nah - I’m pretty happy with myself. But then I learned a long time ago, deep in the depths of puberty, that I was never going to be really hot anyways so I may as well get over it and enjoy myself while I’m here. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/7 "2008-04-16T01:37:41Z")
To be perfectly honest, it would depend on certain things. Like, does it have to be Giselle’s body, or can I decide on what I think would be the ideal body? And what, exactly, do you mean by there being a 25% chance of serious injury? Am I going to be scarred? Lose an arm? Be bedridden for half a year? I’m fairly happy with my body, but I’m not going to lie - there are certain things about it that I would fix if I had the money and knew there was absolutely no risk. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/8 "2008-04-16T01:43:26Z")
No. I don’t even want to get a tummy tuck, which goodness knows would make me look better. I’d rather do sit-ups. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/9 "2008-04-16T01:48:53Z")
I don’t have the money, so I’d have to answer no. As for if you’d pay me to do it, or pay for me to have it done, then, I have just two questions: will I be granted her metabolism to \*keep \*my body that way, or my own ridiculously efficient one that can gain weight eating celery and lettuce? Second, what sort of “seriously injured” are we talking about here? If it can be maintained with no effort and it’s not risking something that will keep me from being a decent mom to my kids (ie, won’t leave me a vegetable or unable to work), then yeah, I’d take the risk. Hell, I’d do it to have a body like **HazelNutCoffee** ’s - even though she’s not entirely happy with it. Do I have a heaping helping of that self-loathing? Oh yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/10 "2008-04-16T02:46:06Z")
I had to think about it, but no. I certainly wouldn’t mind taking a couple inches off my waist and butt, but I don’t want a model-type body. I like having boobs and hips. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/11 "2008-04-16T02:53:05Z")
Ralph, this is a poll, not a debate. It belongs in **IMHO** , not **GD**. Off it goes. [/Modding] ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/12 "2008-04-16T02:58:35Z")
No. I have a bunch of medical issues, but other than that I’m happy with this body. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/13 "2008-04-16T03:01:21Z")
Is Gisele’s really the gold standard? Really? Anyway, no thanks. Mine’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/14 "2008-04-16T03:04:29Z")
No. Even without the additional 25% risk of injury, surgery’s a dangerous proposition that I try to avoid. The thought of undergoing major surgery for cosmetic reasons is just not appealing. That and while I want to get substantially slimmer than I am, I want MY slim body, not someone else’s. In the words of my husband just tonight, “You’re going to be a really sexy fireplug.”\* And I wouldn’t have it any other way. \*He already thinks I’m really sexy, I’m the one who’s working toward a fitter body. However, we were discussing that at my fittest, I’ll never be a twig. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/15 "2008-04-16T03:13:16Z")
[QUOTE=hazelnutcoffee] To be perfectly honest, it would depend on certain things. Like, does it have to be Giselle’s body, or can I decide on what I think would be the ideal body? And what, exactly, do you mean by there being a 25% chance of serious injury? Am I going to be scarred? Lose an arm? Be bedridden for half a year? I’m fairly happy with my body, but I’m not going to lie - there are certain things about it that I would fix if I had the money and knew there was absolutely no risk. [/QUOTE] This and the metabolism thing. And I definitely do not want to be 5’11". ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/16 "2008-04-16T03:44:51Z")
Funnily enough, it’s pretty well known (at least in fashion circles) that Gisele herself has had plastic surgery. And as for ‘metabolism’… ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/17 "2008-04-16T04:01:01Z")
I don’t know who Gisele is, but that doesn’t actually matter much to my answer. No. I’m really not pleased with my body in many ways, but every moment I get happier with it. And I begin to work harder at keeping it nice and being happy with it. There are moments when I wish I were taller, and I get very frustrated sometimes when I see comments about how women who are my combination of height and weight are “fat”, but then I’ve never in my life been told I’m fat and my doctor did a double take when he saw my weight on the chart because he didn’t believe it. I am who I am, and while at 16 I might have jumped at such a chance, at almost 30 would turn it down, even if you did pay for it or pay me for it. I don’t want to look in the mirror and see a stranger. I’m not always content with me, but I always am me - and that’s enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spacegirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Spacegirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spacegirl)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/18 "2008-04-16T04:52:32Z")
The only thing I would want from her is her tan. How lovely that would be. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/19 "2008-04-16T11:59:59Z")
Nope. When I was her age I had a body like that. And that I don’t any longer is earned. (And having a body like that is not all puppies and roses - lots of unwelcome attention, lots of jerks, lots of not getting taken seriously - I’m really much better off being middle age and looking it). ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Haniver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jenny\_Haniver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Haniver)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522/20 "2008-04-16T14:01:03Z")
I wouldn’t go for it because as soon as getting a body like that became “easy” enough for large numbers of women to get it, it wouldn’t be considered desirable anymore. That’s how fashion works. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-would-you-take-this-risk-sorta-cheap-but-dangerous-plastic-surgery/445522.md?page=2)