Solange Magnano, 38-year old mother of twins, dies after elective cosmetic surgery
Argentinian beauty queen and supermodel Solange Magnano died Sunday, November 29, of a pulmonary embolism resulting from complications during gluteoplasty, or cosmetic buttocks enhancement surgery. She was so loved in her country that her memorial service was broadcast on Argentine television. Solange leaves behind a husband without a wife and 8-year-old twin daughters without a mother, all in the name of beauty.
So what’s so bad about beauty? Southern Belles know all too well the importance placed on physical beauty – we’re painted and squeezed and tweezed into it from an early age. After all, the South is the birthplace of the American debutante stereotype. Feeling beautiful feels good, and that is something to celebrate. But the modern definition of physical beauty has become one of starved Barbie doll girls obsessed with youth and fake plastic perfection. And now that we have the technology to cut our bodies into this unrealistic expectation, we are at risk of losing more than just our self respect. Sol, as she was known to her friends and family, was a savvy, successful business woman (she owned her own modeling agency) in the prime of her life who would appear flawless to most of us. But her desire to firm up her already great looking derrière to meet these extreme pop standards cost her life.
Should we blame the plastic surgery industry? No. Cosmetic surgery itself is not the bad guy. A woman who survives the ravages of breast cancer can feel normal again with breast reconstruction. Women who have been disfigured by the brutal practice of female circumcision can be helped with vaginal reconstruction. And even us non-supermodel belles can get a nip or tuck here or there. But we all must understand the risks and weigh the benefits. It’s not as simple as buying a new shade of lipstick to go with the new tailored jacket you bought on an impulse because you’d had a bad day. Ask yourself the question “Why do I want to look like this and for whom?” If the answer is “I want to look like the women in magazines/on television/in Hollywood because I’ll get more attention from more men/I’ll keep the man I’ve got/I’ll be happier for no reason that I can put into words…I just will.” than perhaps you should reconsider. Living by someone else’s definition of beauty instead of your own is an unfulfilling, unhappy and possibly fatal way to live.
And if it’s tough for grown women to separate the external voices in our heads from our own definition of self-worth, it’s impossible for young girls. Add to that the fact that marketers are selling sex to younger and younger kids each year and you have a well-trained, plastic beauty-obsessed consumer generation up and coming. Gamer boys would rather spend more time with Tomb Raiders’ Lara Croft and Final Fantasy’s Tifa than with real, live girls. Have you ever really looked at a Bratz doll without expecting her to say “Do you wanna party with me tonight?” What are we teaching little girls when we put them through their paces in the Little Miss Whatever beauty pageants? As a former beauty queen herself, Tinamarie Bernard flatly states that she won’t allow her daughter to participate in that plastic-obsessed beauty contest world because of the risk. And I won’t allow my daughter to own a Bratz doll for the same reason.
We are women – not plastic dolls with a pulse – and our daughters and sons are not for sale. If only Solange had been able to hear this one, beautiful truth over the din of outside voices screaming “You’re not pretty enough!”
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
We’re women, not plastic dolls with a pulse. It’s time to quiet the voices screaming “You’re not pretty enough!” http://tinyurl.com/yeksqob
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
So many things can be fixed with a few months in the gym instead of surgery, and the health benefits of the gym are so much better than plastic surgery. We’re just too lazy these days.
A beautiful woman can be as the Judas kiss when she is revealed to be substantively vacuous. Her trust in the duplicity of the mirror instead of a faithful heart and a cultivated mind soon sees her lonely. Let us teach our Southern daughters to be authentic and intellectually curious so that their mirrors will reveal them befriended.
Love your blog!
Thank you, T. M. No words have been more truly spoken, especially with regard to our daughters.
Good show, A-L. I’ve bookmarked you and will try to keep up some with you as you post. You’ll have to forgive me if it takes a minute to get into navigating the pages better, though.
Topical, thought-provoking observations from the world around us, us being southerners, would that be a good summation?
Gary
Thanks, G! I’m definitely hoping to give insight into being a Southerner in today’s world, but also to help others see the South as more than the stereotypes portrayed in Hollywood and on television. I believe that the raw, honest beauty of the South is a best kept secret that deserves to shared. I’d love to hear any ideas you have for articles that you would like to see toward that “cause”. You can also sign up to receive new posts in your email when they’re published…just click the link “Sign up for the Rogue Belle News” at the top right.
I don’t mind reading at all, or offering my two cents worth, where I feel qualified (which might not be often). And I don’t mind signing up at all, either (done deal, actually). You’ll just have to put this literary eye of yours to use for me, with some critique here and there, should I ever begin posting much again. =)
I am a woman of the South, “born and bred” as they say. Its old rhythms permeate my psyche and the words of its old songs fall easily on my ears. But I long for new tunes with progressive rhythms. Yep, I want songs which reach the heart and soul of the new South. Many of us ladies, grandmother types you know, have spent our lives as rogues blazing new trails and creating new opportunities for our Southern children. We married men so secure in their manhood that they took our hands and hearts as partners. We valued our sons enough to show them what women could do by being achievers inside and outside the home. We insisted that our daughters be more than passive, agreeable ornaments because we knew that active participation in life would be much more fulfilling for them and their men. Thank goodness women and men are different! But women and men are equally gifted. So can we put away the old vapid, vacuous, “whatever you say dear”, “woman behind the throne”, and divisive mentality so we can create a new song of the South? Can we create a vigorous, intelligent, capable, equal, honest, forthright and respectful song of the South? What do you say rogues, are you with me?