Toxic trends

Instagram model Nadinne Bruna sent shockwaves across the world when she revealed that she was left with the sight of a 90-year-old after she underwent a surgery to change her hazel eyes to light grey. Bereft of her modelling assignments, Bruna is depressed and warning people on social media to not be as naive as her.

Another bizarre trend that’s doing the rounds is the designer nipples trend, where people are getting nipple fillers to make their nipples look like model Kendall Jenner’s. Singer Rihanna and model Bella Hadid are also known to show off their ‘perky’ and ‘protruding’ nipples in see-through tops just like Kendall. And now, fans want to do the same. Several Indians, too, are not averse to go under the knife to improve their appearances.

The most shocking transformation however, is of a transgender woman named Eva, who spent thousands of dollars on surgeries to look like a dragon! This makes one wonder why people are so obsessed to look a certain way and why they go to the extent of risking their life when they look perfectly alright in the first place. “When people take such risks to alter their appearances even when they look fine, it is because deep inside, they aren’t happy about how they look. They have body image issues. Some go for such surgeries when they suffer from body dysmorphic disorder, a mental disorder where one can’t stop thinking about their perceived defects or flaws in their appearance,” says psychologist Dr Diana Monteiro.

“Youngsters must have a positive self-image. Also, doctors who perform such surgeries should make sure that their patients are psychologically alright and that they really want to get operated,” she adds.

Actress Adah Sharma agrees that youngsters are pressurised to look ‘perfect’. As someone who has been in the glamour industry for long, she advises, “There’s no fixed template to look perfect. Fads come and go. We shouldn’t fall for them. What’s trendy now won’t be a trend in the next 4-5 months. Don’t get pressurised and go for surgeries. Go with your own idea of beauty.”

Citing her own example, Adah narrates that back when skinny eyebrows were a trend, everyone asked her to get hers shaped that way too. “I listened to people then and did it, but I was silly. Now, I make sure I look nice to myself, no matter what other people say,” she adds.

Social media can be a toxic mirror. With almost every celebrity having a social media presence, the common public follows them and wants to look like them.

“There are so many apps and filters on the Internet that completely alter how a person looks. And when that gives instant gratification, some people want to look like that in reality too. Maybe that’s what happened with the girl who got operated to change her eye colour. There are apps that can change one’s eye colour too. She must have tried to mimic that in real life,” says Dr Sameer Karkhanis, Chief Plastic Surgeon, Centre for Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Dr Sameer adds that it’s impossible to produce such extreme results. He says, “Everyone wants to look like Kim Kardashian or Barbie dolls. They want to change everything, from their bone structure to skin conditions. But such extreme surgeries will harm you. One can look like at the videos that American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) or Interna-tional Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) put up on their websites to see what surgeries are safe and approved.”

Model Alice Rosario says that beauty means being your true self. She adds, “The fashion industry is now trying to encourage models to be who they are. Looking artificial isn’t a trend, but being organic is. Fads change every few weeks, so all we can do is be ourselves and be happy.”