Iggy Azalea opened up last week about her decision to go under the knife, telling Seventeen magazine’s young readers, “[I]t’s no easy feat to change yourself.”
“I’m not denying it,” the Australian rapper said of her recent nose job. “Denying it is lame. I don’t think you should be ashamed if you made a change to yourself, which is why I’ve spoken about the changes I’ve made, like with my breasts.” She added:
“Your perception of yourself can change a lot over time, so I think it’s important to wait and make sure it’s the right choice. Plastic surgery is an emotional journey. It’s no easy feat to live with your flaws and accept yourself—and it’s no easy feat to change yourself. Either way you look at it, it’s a tough journey. There are things that I didn’t like about myself that I changed through surgery. There are other things I dislike but I’ve learned to accept. It’s important to remember you can’t change everything. You can never be perfect.”
Some might disagree with the Aussie’s underlying message—or her decision to get work done in the first place—but it’s hard to berate Iggy’s honesty. Especially when compared to Gisele Bundchen.
The former Victoria’s Secret supermodel took the opposite approach to addressing her recent plastic surgery procedure, wearing a full-body burka in July during the holy month of Ramadan to hide her “secret boob job,” according to The New York Post.
Don’t Pretend, Ladies
What’s wrong with this picture? A lot. For starters, Gisele picked the wrong place to wear a burka. France is one of the few countries in the world that outlaws garments—including the burka, which ironically stands for modesty—that conceal the face in public.
But, more importantly, there’s the issue of pretending to be Muslim when you’re not. Like Iggy proclaimed, there’s nothing to be “ashamed” about getting plastic surgery. What is shameful, however, is disrespecting an entire religion along the way.
When Rachel Dolezal pretended to be African-American, the world called her out. The idea of using something so sensitive and historically complicated such as race to further her own self-interest didn’t settle well. But when the highest-paid supermodel in the world pretends to be Muslim for a day so she can get plastic surgery in secret, no one cares. Where’s the outcry?
Use Your Platform to Spark Needed Discussion
Perhaps it’s due to the reasoning behind Gisele’s decision to go under the knife: “[S]he was concerned that her breasts had sagged after having two children,” The Post reported. Her concern is something many moms can relate to—and no one wants to talk about. Pregnancy affects women from the inside out, often times in ways that seem shallow to bring to the public square.
Instead of using her platform to have a real discussion about the issue, Gisele took the easy way out, furthering a false narrative that pregnancy can’t get past her supergenes. At least now, because of her burka stunt, we can all sleep better knowing the magazine covers are a lie.
From Iggy Azalea nose job to Caitlin Jenner’s gender change and Angelina Jolie’s preventive double mastectomy, there are plenty of examples of celebrities using their platform to help society better understand the adversity involved in changing the way you look, no matter the reasoning behind it. By flaunting their own imperfections, these celebrities help the rest of us feel a little more perfect. If Gisele had been brave enough to do the same, new moms struggling with the reality of saggy breasts might have found comfort knowing they’re not alone.
Instead, the queen of the beauty and fashion industry chose to use someone else’s religion to dupe us into believing that it’s possible to look that perfect. So while we praise those like Iggy for being honest about changing the way they look, we also should deflate those like Gisele, who hide their plastic surgery procedures behind their own arrogance.
Luckily, it sounds like her husband, Tom Brady, is already on the job.
