Cult of the body beautiful: at what cost?

Our modern society’s obsession with physical perfection has given rise to a plethora of new cosmetic procedures and a growing demand for interventions related to the illusory quest for the perfect body. In a series of surveys answered in 1973 by readers of Psychology Today, 25% of women and 15% of men reported dissatisfaction with their bodies; by 1997, these figures had risen to 56% and 43%, respectively. The chief difference between the sexes was that men wanted a more muscular physique while women wanted to be more slender. According to the InfoAdex investment index, advertising related to beauty products and services occupied third place in terms of total billing volume in 2008, accounting for over 500 million Euros. This advertising, to which we are constantly subjected, displays sculpted, unreal bodies portrayed as a synonym for success, happiness, and even health. This sociocultural pressure, transmitted and fueled by the media and the advertising industry, is teaching the public that benefits derive from having the right image and the ‘‘perfect body.’’ And what is worse, people are blindly struggling to emulate the prototype to win the approval of their peers. In response to this situation, the new Spanish law on audiovisual media (Ley Audiovisual, B.O.E. 1-04-2010) includes the following provisions: ‘‘at the time of day when the law imposes restrictions for the protection of minors,