Women in search of perfection and achieving a non-existent standard of beauty through plastic surgery

Abstract

Objective: The study explores the characteristics of women who, in their pursuit of a "non-existent standard of feminine beauty", manage their appearance and body through plastic surgery. The research reveals the internal conflict of beauty perceptions, the gap between the real and ideal self-image, which is manifested in the opposition between imposed external beauty standards and internal dissatisfaction with one’s own appearance.

Method: The study involved 106 women aged 18–42, divided into two groups: experimental (who decided to undergo plastic surgery) and control (who had no desire to alter their appearance through surgery). The Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI), Life Satisfaction Index (LSI) test, Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory (MSI), and Dembo-Rubinstein "Self-Esteem" method were used.

Results: Women who choose plastic surgery exhibit a defensive reaction, a rigid ego image, unconscious emotional reactions, and a tendency to control emotions from the outside, characterised by vindictiveness and an alienated attitude towards their appearance. The lack of feeling that their inner world is of interest to others leads these women to concentrate on improving their outer appearance, depressive manifestations mediated by compensatory attachments to feelings of unacknowledged and incomprehension, and the desire to be the "mistress of one’s own life".

Conclusions: Women’s desire to achieve a non-existent standard of feminine beauty serves as an illusory solution to problems of inner dissatisfaction, reflecting the deep contradiction between the real and ideal self-image, which requires special attention in psychological practice.