I am sure that this is very scary. The music is freaky and the woman's voice is even creepier! Why the blood? Why is this video directed at little girls? I say...EEEEK!!!

That was weird. I can see the message tho. It's criticizing the notion that we tell little girls that they aren't pretty enough and they must go through artificial treatments to be beautiful rather than loving the way you look. All that in mind, it's still hellishly creepy.

I'm glad they pointed out cosmetic dental surgery. that really made me stop and think about some of my own opinions on the subject.

I'm not a fan of cosmetic surgery, but I do find it interesting that I never think of braces or other kinds of dental related cosmetic work when I think of cosmetic surgery. Braces are a hell of a lot more invasive than just about any other kind of cosmetic surgery I can think of, and it's done to children more often than adults.

IBTP.

Totally creepy! I was especially grossed out by the lipo part.

I don't have a particularly weak stomach, but you might want to put a warning on this for those who do. I found myself feeling a little woozy.

What a rad satire! A modern "Modest Proposal." Do we know who made this?

I only think it's creepy because of how close to home it comes and how often we ignore the fact that plastic surgery involves major SURGERY. Why people feel the need to fix something that ain't broken in the first place...ai. Elective surgery my ass--"elective" as much as a member of the sex class can "consent" under the patriarchy.

Damn, but misogyny is horrific.

Creepy parody. But dead on.

Gross, but for a good reason. I'm glad they talked about cosmetic dentistry too- I was bugged so many times about getting braces that I considered making an upside-down sign to wear that read "no, I'm not interested in braces" so the dentist could read it while he sat near my head to look at my teeth. I often felt like asking them "am I really that hideous? really?"

"I do find it interesting that I never think of braces or other kinds of dental related cosmetic work when I think of cosmetic surgery. Braces are a hell of a lot more invasive than just about any other kind of cosmetic surgery I can think of, and it's done to children more often than adults." (Ariel)

I don't think braces are necessarily more invasive than, say, lipo--but lipo occurs over one session (I think) whereas braces require years of visits. Add to that the fact that most recipients of braces are kids who have no say in the matter, and yes, I can see how orthodontia could be considered one of the most invasive and painful types of cosmetic surgery. What Ariel's comment got me thinking was--when a kid goes to the orthodontist, usually part of the reason for treatment is medical ( "fix the underbite to improve chewing", for example) and part is cosmetic ("fix the underbite to improve looks"). The doctor probably knows where the line between medicine and vanity is, but I doubt the parents do, and the kids certainly don't. So the kids--and their parents--are put through the rigamarole of braces (and headgear--do they still do headgear nowadays?) without being fully informed of how much of the procedures are really, really going to benefit them physically and how much is just fluff. That is scary and unfair. --CC

I forgot about this video! They have a few others as well. Thanks for reminding me.

this video is done by a group called Pleix.

They are also responsible for this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx0UwY5IQMo

If your teeth are really crooked, it can cause a lot of long-term teeth and jaw problems (as you compensate for it by chewing funny).

Bleaching I'm not so sure about.

Having had four molars removed and as a wearer of braces for five years, I can attest that, yes, while my smile is more conventionally "pretty," I also don't bite holes through my cheeks and no longer experience pain due to having too many teeth growing through too small a jaw. Invasive as hell, but I think braces, when actually necessary, are more akin to setting a broken limb than they are to liposuction. They just take much longer.

That said, I also have had a root canal and crown on my left lateral incisor, which was quite a harrowing experience--the way that shows like Extreme Makeover just destroy real teeth only to cap them for quick production-to-tv reasons, when the more gradual route of braces would suffice and save the patient's original teeth, freaks me out to no end. There is nothing compared to having real teeth as opposed to a mouth full of crowns. In that sense, yes, cosmetic dentistry strikes me the same way lipo does.

But braces? That's a stretch...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That is all creepy!

As they say on BoingBoing...unicorn chaser, please!

(Not that I didn't like it, but it gave me the jibblies something fierce.)

That dog jumping techno vid was quite rad, Joyinrevolt. Haha. Too bad some douche in comments picked up on it's parallel to dance music videos depicting women in slow-mo and flicking their wet hair around.

Some of their other work can be found here, too:
http://www.pleix.net/films.html

It's positive in some ways, look at this girl performing complex surgerys at such a young age - we have a regular Doogie Howser on our hands.

And actually, in terms on kids not having a voice in what happens to their bodies due to parental control and decisions, I think circumcision is way more sadistic than braces. Poor baby boys!

Logrus: Word on the dental work. It made me rethink my own braces, and dental work in other parts of the world.

Ok, I think there are definitely cases when braces are medically necessary. But I also think that they're touted and pushed on kids by dentists for purely cosmetic reasons, and because they rake in the dough. I specifically have asked more than one dentist if it was medically necessary for me, and each time been told no. But they still keep asking me. I can chew just fine, thank you very much. I have to smile a very specific way in order for anyone other than a dentist to even notice that my teeth are in an unusual position. But for some reason, dentists keep telling me my life would improve if my teeth were moved a couple millimeters. Thanks, but I'm putting my money into my education.

RE: my comments on Dental work

I certainly didn't mean to imply that all dentistry or all braces were purely cosmetic or that sometimes they were not important for a healthy bite, etc.

But I think we can all agree that a lot of dentistry, and a lot of orthodontia is cosmetic and done to kids, and very painful as well. And I feel equally confident that if someone were to get caps, or even minor straightening (which is still damned invasive) we would not be inclined to think the same way about that as we would lipo or breast augmentation (or pectoral implants in the case of a male).

I really think braces are at least somewhat medically necessary, as my sister had to have 7 teeth pulled and now has braces.
My dentist has recommended me to do invisalign on my bottom row of teeth, to make them "easier to clean," but that is not in the budget right now...and how necessary is it, really? I should ask. They're only slightly crooked and I don't mind how they look.

Extremely disturbing and effective.

This is a take on all the ads that promote toys for little girls to play "grown up woman". I am thinking particularly about that ad you showed on this site with the little girl playing in the huge toy house complete with cooker, washer and cup-cakes. It's about rehearsing to be a woman. These filmclips are aimed at the pressure on girls to grow up conforming to a stereotyped view of female beauty. In reality this includes using play make-up, playing with highly-sexualized dolls (eg Bratz), or the other extreme, baby dolls, and wearing clothing which is a scaled-down version of what young women wear. However they've taken it a step further to include cosmetic surgery. They certainly get their message across, and the shock value is in the reality of what cosmetic surgery involves!

RE: Dental work.

As someone who's undergone an utterly ludicrous amount of dental work from a young age, I can say that orthodontic work can become a slippery slope into cosmetic-land if you aren't careful. You know that whole "road to hell is paved with good intentions thing"? Yeah, that can ring true if you don't keep a keen eye out.

Disclaimer: Personal experience ahead:

In the beginning, there was some pretty serious, functional work that had to be done with me, we're talking teeth all over the place, requiring all sorts of rotations. Add to that a bulldog-style underbite from hell, and well, there you have it. [Imagine that guy from The Goonies.]

So, for the first five years of braces, it was all about basically getting my teeth close to an approximation of normal functioning. And, to their credit, they did a great job. But, then, as I progressed towards my later teenage years, I found the emphasis had slowly started to shift from "function" to "aesthetics". It became less of a matter of correcting rather blatant problems, to attempting to give me a smile that would rival Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts. The second orthodontist who took over my work, actually commented on how they were going to give me a smile that would help me get the ladies. No, I'm not kidding, that was basically what they started telling me. [Personally, I always figured that was what a personality was for, but I guess I'm mistaken.] Anyway, the shift from valid medical and functional concerns to aesthetics drove me bonkers. It ended up with my grudging consent to a LaForte jaw surgery to re-align my upper and lower jaws. They managed to sell me on that one because, granted, I did have an underbite from hell, and there probably were some valid functional reasons for it, but I really had a hard time shaking the feeling that they were really angling a bit of the cosmetics into it. I always promised myself I'd never go the cosmetic route with my surgeries, so their masking of cosmetic with somewhat valid functional surgery irritated me. Quite profoundly. Of course, I was even less impressed with the loss of sensation in half my face which followed as a result, but, well, hell, whatcha gonna do?

In short, I would not recommend that surgery to anyone, unless you have some serious structural/functional issues to be addressed. And by serious I mean "Your face will crumble and melt into a puddle of goo if you don't have this done." I remember discussing it with a friend of mine - a lovely woman - in university, who was thinking of getting it done because she had a bit of an underbite. But it certainly wasn't anything serious, and certainly not worth suffering through a surgery [and side effects] for.

I apologize for the long-winded personal story, but issues of surgery and body image hit close to home with me.

My comment is this: Always be aware, always be informed, and interrogate the hell out of anyone who wants to perform any sort of dental work on you. Just because they're a medical professional, doesn't mean they won't try to sell you on the bigger better deal that you really don't need.
They may have good intentions, but in the end, everyone needs to decide when enough is enough, and when to accept their appearances for what they are.

The lines between functional and cosmetic can become pretty blurry, and while its important to trust your doctors and surgeons, it's also important to always ask questions and to clarify whether a procedure is *really* necessary or not. Remember folks: You're the one signing the consent form to have them drill into your face.

When did doctors become salesmen? Last I heard, it was a doc's job to keep you alive and well, not sell you various procedures, whether you needed them or not.

I suppose part of keeping you "well" includes the psychological aspect and a healthy self-image. In a queer twist of logic, some would try to improve your self-image and confidence by suggesting improvements to your physical appearance, rather than just telling you: "No, really, you're a perfectly decent looking human being with nothing to be concerned about, now run along and play with the other children."

I'm not surprised though, and I second Bunner.

While my orthodontia was necessary and was completed within the bare minimum of procedures, despite the 7 years (plus the prep, i.e., tooth removal, palate widening, etc.) most likely due to financial constraints on my parents (thank you Grandma!), I agree that doctors have, indeed, become salesmen. With the health-care system in the US predicated on free market brouhaha, it's no wonder that they try to push expensive procedures, whether covered by insurance or not. Now, if we had universal health care, or anything resembling the Scandinavian welfare states, doctors would probably only push for procedures and surgeries that are actually necessary, as opposed to thinking, "well, if I get this chick to do jaw reconstruction, even though it's not technically necessary, I'll make x amount of bucks."

I guess being half-Norwegian, I've never understood the US's aversion to socialist programs and taxes--imagine if we had wages that matched our standard of living and were taxed just enough to provide free health-care and tertiary education. What's so bad about that? Honestly, there's no answer to that question that satisfies me. Especially since my father is now being forced to declare bankruptcy and is facing foreclosure on the house he's been trying to sell because he can't work--due to a nerve deterioration condition that is beyond his control. Seriously, I just don't understand our government anymore--what the fuck were Obama and McCain doing having a debate about faith? HELLO FASCISM!

I love how cheerfully those little instructional charts are showing some painful, terrible procedures. Love it in a "very effective at creeping me the fuck out" way, that is.

Oh yeah... that, creepy. I am going to go pass-out now.

Fucking rad vid. :D

i don't know if there's a word to express just how disturbing this video is. but it worked. it's reminicent of the commercials you would see when you were a kid for the easybake oven or similar items. just the idea that commercials like those still exist show us what ad agencies think of little girls. well, kudos to the creator of this film!

i don't know if there's a word to express just how disturbing this video is. but it worked. it's reminiscent of the commercials you would see when you were a kid for the easy bake oven or similar items. just the idea that commercials like those still exist show us what ad agencies think of little girls. well, kudos to the creator of this film!

Hilarious video -- thanks for posting! Whoever made that, very clever.

Re: dental work. Sorry, I disagree. For one thing, the doing it to kids versus choice thing, I have braces right now (invisalign) and if I'd gotten them as a kid (brother and sister both had them; they decided my teeth weren't bad "enough" so I didn't "need" braces -- hey, I could still eat, so that's good enough right?) I would be 5k richer today, and I wouldn't have to be dealing with this bullshit as a professional who's pushing 30.

For another thing, frankly, I don't have a problem with dental work for cosmetic reasons, and I don't think braces are invasive at all (as long as they're done properly, of course, e.g., teeth aren't moved too fast, which can lead to problems (as my brother, unfortunately, has learned this past year)). I'm sorry, but when I see someone with funky-looking teeth (too stained, too crooked, whatever) I'm turned off at the thought of kissing them. And no, that doesn't make me a bad person -- you're talking about what I'm going to be doing with my mouth/tongue/etc. Sorry, I don't think there's anything wrong with not wanting to lick something you find ugly. Sure, there should be lines drawn/some sense of reasonability to the whole thing, but lumping cosmetic braces (mine might qualify? I could chew just fine, didn't have any major problems aside from some TMJ, but my teeth looked like fangs when I smiled and I always hated my smile -- sorry if I'm a superficial person for wanting to like my own smile) in with breast augmentation or lipo is a little absurd. They're worlds apart, for many reasons (not the least of which is that with teeth you're talking about a universal, rather than sexist, standard). I mean, hey, if we have a problem with cosmetic alterations for your mouth, then I guess mints are no good either, eh?

ummm... I know that this is satire, but it still creeps me out.

As far as cosmetic surgery goes, if people want to do it, if it makes them feel better about themself, that's their prerogative. I don't judge on that kind of stuff, though I feel bad that we live in a society where people feel that they can't be confident unless they look a certain way.

The Law Fairy:

"I'd be 5k richer".

So braces were free when you were a kid, or your parents would have had to pay? Not really a convincing argument counselor.

"and I don't think braces are invasive at all"

Well that's been your experience. Numerous people posting in here who have also had braces, have disagreed based on their own experiences. Of course the invasive of a thing is subjective and you're using a form of brace that is on probably of the least invasive variety (Invisilign is the kind you take out when you want to, are not glued in, etc. Right?) compared to traditional railroad track braces. AFAIK they are used almost exclusively in cosmetic dentistry.

You have stated that you're not a bad person for not wanting to lick someone with ugly teeth. No, you're not bad for this at all. You're attracted to or repulsed by the same stuff most of us are. Yet you don't see a similarity between cosmetic work done to improve the looks of teeth to a standard more approved by the general public and cosmetic work done on other parts of the body for the same purpose? Really? I may or may not want to lick someone with stretch marks, or cellulite (or I may have stretch marks or cellulite), does this then make me a "bad person"?

You're rejecting what you perceive to be someone negatively judging an act on your part to improve your appearance because you have been placed (unfairly, it seems, in your opinion) in a group of other people do the same thing in different ways.

My original comment was not negative in regards to dental work, other than the fact that it is often done to kids w/o their input, but to point out that it is not normally judged negatively for someone to do cosmetic work on one part of their body (in this case their teeth) while many of us, myself included, have said or thought negative things when people do cosmetic work to different body parts for the exact same reason (that reason being to look more in line with conventional external beauty).

Logrus, the fairly obvious implication was, yes, that my parents would have paid. The point being that, in my case, it would not have been abuse to give me braces as a child -- far from it, it would have been a benefit to me. This was meant to address the arguments that were being made by some that it's something you shouldn't do to kids. I was offering the perspective of a former kid who would have preferred it. Clear enough?

As for this being my experience, that's all that anyone here has been posting, so I'm not sure of the relevance of your point. Like I said, I was only offering a counterexample to drive home the point that I don't think the observations others have been making ought to be universalized. In fact, I was the one explicitly offering a contrary experience to question the validity of the overgeneralizations being made here.

I never said I don't see any similarity between cosmetic dental work and plastic surgery. But there's also a similarity between breath mints and plastic surgery, as I hinted. So I think the discussion here needs to be shifted from existence of similarity to degree of similarity.

You're rejecting what you perceive to be someone negatively judging an act on your part to improve your appearance because you have been placed (unfairly, it seems, in your opinion) in a group of other people do the same thing in different ways.

Dude, explain your parathetical. You disagree? You think me not wanting a weird, fangy smile is equivalent to getting a boob job?

My original comment was not negative in regards to dental work, other than the fact that it is often done to kids w/o their input

Um, right. Which, again, is why I brought up an example of why you can't universalize this as a "bad" thing for kids. I'm one of the lucky ones; not everyone can afford the same things their parents could. So it's quite possible that people might grow to be GLAD their parents made them get braces, rather than resent it, as you seem to imply they might.

Also, perhaps the problem here is that you judge people for getting cosmetic alterations. I don't. I have a problem with a society that expects women to craft themselves into perfect, perky sex kittens because that's what women are "supposed" to look like. But I don't have an inherent beef with cosmetic improvement in general. There is nothing wrong with trying to make yourself more appealing to someone or another. There IS a problem when women's bodies are fetishized, as they currently are in our plastic surgery-happy society.

Get it? Boob jobs are a feminist issue for reasons that should be obvious. Braces are not. So please don't hint that I'm a bad feminist for making my teeth more attractive.

The Law Fairy:

"I don't think the observations others have been making ought to be universalized."

Your statement "and I don't think braces are invasive at all" was universal. "At all", is semantically loaded to exclude everything but the preceding posit. You might not have meant it that way, but that's how I took it and hence my response. If you meant to say "For me it was not at all invasive." I have to argument, and would completely retract my counter.

compared to all the other first hand accounts of dental work yours just came across as dismissive of all other experiences and not subjective.

"I never said I don't see any similarity between cosmetic dental work and plastic surgery."

"but lumping cosmetic braces...(snip)..in with breast augmentation or lipo is a little absurd."

No, not dissimilar, just absurdly related. Precisely on the same order as augmentation and Altoids. So obvious to me now.

"So I think the discussion here needs to be shifted from existence of similarity to degree of similarity."

Yes, I agree. Cosmetic dentistry (defined easily enough: as any dental work done to improve the appearance but not the physical health or function of the teeth) is not dissimilar to any other form of cosmetic surgery in principle. society has a standard of physical beauty for all aspects of our exterior. Height, weight, shape, smile, eye color. This standard is often based on people who are in fact not real or more rare than unicorns (or often enhanced, themselves).

Perfect teeth in adults are as uncommon as perfect breasts or thighs. People who are not in physical pain from their teeth still alter them for reasons which are obviously cosmetic. Perfectly functional breasts are enlarged (often at a risk of losing function), various parts have fat sucked out of them, plastic is shoved into calves, etc. All for external reasons. The cause is the same, the result is the same, and much of the degree (cost and discomfort) is the same. The only fundamental difference is the part being worked on. Shoot me in the head or stab me in the heart, it's the same result and probably for the same reason. Methodology differs, nothing else.

"Also, perhaps the problem here is that you judge people for getting cosmetic alterations. I don't."

I said I did, my desire to examine why I feel this way was the entire point of my post.

However you're clearly lying if you claim that you do not also. Otherwise why try so vehemently to distance your form of elective cosmetic medical procedure from other forms? You're drawing a clear line between your actions and those of others.

"Get it? Boob jobs are a feminist issue for reasons that should be obvious. Braces are not. So please don't hint that I'm a bad feminist for making my teeth more attractive."

I don't. I've stated that I think I've been a bad logical ethicist for thinking poorly of one group who has modified themselves cosmetically while accepting another group who has done the same thing. I do think you're a bad lawyer for missing this.

I do think you're a bad lawyer for missing this.

Oh noes! A random commenter on teh intarnets thinks he's cleverer than me!!

Excellent riposte. You just did me in counselor. To the quick I say.

Or in terms you might pretend to understand: What a fabulous closing argument.

ok. not only is this BEYOND creepy, but it's also very disturbing.

Logrus commented at August 19, 2008 4:49 PM: "Perfect teeth in adults are as uncommon as perfect breasts or thighs. People who are not in physical pain from their teeth still alter them for reasons which are obviously cosmetic. Perfectly functional breasts are enlarged (often at a risk of losing function), various parts have fat sucked out of them, plastic is shoved into calves, etc. All for external reasons. The cause is the same, the result is the same, and much of the degree (cost and discomfort) is the same. The only fundamental difference is the part being worked on."

Good points. Now I wonder if part of the attitude comes from the same divide some cultures seem to have between the teeth and the rest of the body.

One gets medically necessary treatment for one's breasts or abdomen or legs or whatever from a doctor. One gets medically necessary treatment for one's teeth from a dentist, and probably even thinks of it as "dental" instead of "medical." Dentists are doctors of dental medicine, but how many people remember that dentists are doctors too and that dentistry is a specialty of medicine too?