Cosmetic procedures - morally wrong?

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mistfall

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I’m interested in knowing how other Catholics would decide whether the following cases are morally acceptable or not.

Case 1A a parent get his child braces for teeth that are unsightly but not causing medical problems. Kindness & generosity, or a concession to vanity?

Case 1 B. The parent gets braces for himself for a similar problem. Has it now become vanity and morally questionable?

Case 2 A an adolescent boy has gynomastia (excess fatty tissue in the breasts that causes a feminized appearance. No medical problems but emotional, psychological, and self-esteem problems. ). His parents have plastic surgery done on him to fix this.

Case 2 B the boy’s father has the same problem and has plastic surgery to fix it. Is it now morally wrong? If so, why?

Case 2 C. The boy’s mother has the opposite problem . Too little fatty tissue in the same area gives her an underly-feminine appearance. As above, not a medical concern but a psychological and self-esteem concern. If she had plastic surgery to fix the problem, is it now wrong? If the cases for the males were morally acceptable, and this case is not, why not?
 
Even if it was breast augmentation or a nose job it’s ok in my opinion.
 
Our bodies are temples of the holy spirit. In some countries churches aren’t kept up due to conflict, vandelism, ect… and need to be renovated. Sometimes it could be a structural problem, others it could be cosmetic problem. Going back to us, there is nothing wrong with alining teeth that were born crooked, rebulding facial feature that were damaged in an accident or birth defect, emergency weight removal procedure. What the church does teach against is taking an already okay looking temple and modifying to an extreame. Excess tattoos/piercings; losing weight in an unhealthy mannor via pills and starving; extreame facial reconstruction to an already okay face(i.e Micheal Jackson); ect… God wants us to look nice, but remember that He created us with our own individualaty and we must respect that. People can have extra weight, but that doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. People can have slight turn in the nose, but still look presentable, be short or tall yet still function in society. The only trouble is even today there is still a conflict between what is taboo or slight modification.
 
I recall reading once that animal predators generally avoid eating humans because:
  1. Humans can be dangerous in unexpected ways.
  2. Not a whole lot of sustenance to a human. Lots of bone to muscle and fat, normally.
  3. Human beings smell bad to them, unless we bathe a great deal more than we would be likely to do in a primitive state.
So, are we supposed not to bathe? I guess we tend not to smell too good (and after a hot day of heavy physical activity, I will confess to it readily.) unless we consciously intervene in some manner to correct it. We have worn clothing forever, and for more reasons than just to keep warm. We have combed or brushed our hair; or cut it. We are inclined to wash it. Women style it, tie it up, garnish it with ribbons or clips or whatever. Men wear aftershave. Women wear perfume. We brush our teeth, and not only to prevent cavities. Mary Magdalene put aromatic stuff on Jesus’ feet and hair, and he didn’t prevent it or chide her for it. Rather, he praised her for it. Mary wove for him a seamless garment, likely because it looked good, which she didn’t have to do.

Human beings are given the ability by God to think such things through and to improve our presentation to each other; which we have done since the dawn of time. God has even promised us “glorified bodies” in some manner. I see nothing wrong with any of it.
 
There is nothing whatsoever wrong with having your Teeth straightened out with Braces.
Plastic Surgery used for vanity reasons is a sin.
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery say to repair a persons Face after an accident is not a sin.

Antrim
 
Medical problems? How about psychological problems? How about the fact that the child with bad teeth is going to be teased unmercifully (as I was as a child for having buck teeth)? And resulting lack of self-confidence which will affect them in all sorts of ways for their whole life? Or overlooked in the dating and employment stakes in favour of those with gleaming pearly-whites?

Don’t we do all sorts of other things to give us an advantage in those areas? Get our hair done, wear makeup and nice clothes and shoes, go to good schools and so on

And just because parents are older doesn’t mean the same considerations don’t apply to them - adults can be as cruel and unfairly discriminatory as children, for sure.

I don’t really think any of your examples is a problem, unless perhaps the condition is minor, and the expense and inconvenience outweighs any perceived physical or psychological benefit (which is unlikely - they wouldn’t want to do it if that were the case, no?)
 
Don’t worry it’s all good and fine. Remember Jansenism was declared a heresy;) We are allowed more than to just survive to the next day.
 
As far as the crooked teeth are concerned, it’s very hard to say that there are “no medical issues” associated w/ crooked teeth. The fact is that crooked teeth provide extra ‘nooks and crannies’ for tartar/plaque/bacteria to grow, sometimes in ways that make it impossible to floss (overlapping and touching). Micro-adjustment in chewing due to misalignment of upper and lower teeth might not result in immediate problems, but over time may. Consequently, I do not believe that straightening teeth is ever morally inappropriate.

Gynecomastia, assuming the individual is of otherwise normal weight/proportion, I would not see a moral issue with correcting that (assuming that hormonal causes and other diseases have been eliminated as reason for the situation, as treatment for underlying causes may be a better choice if those causes are present). Similarly, reduction mammaplasty in females is not a moral issue (there may well be a number of medical issues that others are not aware of–I myself will be undergoing this particular surgery in a month’s time and am looking forward to no longer getting numbness in my arms due to nerve compression from bra straps, backaches, and other issues).

Augmentation mammaplasty, on the other hand, is much harder to justify. Amongst other things, this surgery complicates breast cancer detection, and while the majority of women have an individually low risk of developing this cancer, there is always the risk (as well as risks associated with the implants themselves). It’s much harder to make the case that augmentation is not about vanity than it is to make the case that reduction is about medical need not vanity.
 
If a person was disfigured and was causing low self esteem then it would be OK but we don’t normally have cosmetic surgery purely to enhance parts of our body that we dislike. My dad has male breasts that are larger than normal however, my mum had no problem with that and they’re both a bit roly poly so they get along together. It might depend if you’re single or in a happy relationship.
 
This is one of those topics that gets debated a lot. Why? Because the Church does not have any laws that forbid cosmetic procedures, so it becomes a matter of opinion, and people have very different opinions. Without any laws forbidding it, one cannot say that cosmetic procedures are wrong. It would depend on the reasons for having the procedure.

The Church has never said that desiring to be attractive is a sin. However, it can be sinful under certain circumstances. It is certainly not wrong, for example, for a single woman to desire to attract a potential husband, or for a married woman to desire the attraction of her husband. However, it is wrong for woman to try to incite lust in a man.

The bottom line is that we can’t say that a particular cosmetic procedure is wrong for everyone. It all depends upon circumstances and intentions.
 
Our Bodies are Tempels of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we can not mutalate them.

The Church is clear on this.

Breast Augmentation is Mutalation so therefore it is wrong since it is not necessary for health reasons.

Antrim
 
Antrim said:
Our Bodies are Tempels of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we can not mutalate them.

The Church is clear on this.

Breast Augmentation is Mutalation so therefore it is wrong since it is not necessary for health reasons.

Antrim
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I think one of the problems with breast enlargements is it gets away from the natural purpose of the breast and silicon implants can also kill you. I do not believe a woman with implants can breast feed although small breasted women according to the NHS can breastfeed successfully. However, whatever shape or size of breast some women struggle to breastfeed.

We are a breast conscious culture but we are not a womb or even vagina conscious culture.
 
mistfall said:
Case 2 C. The boy’s mother has the opposite problem . Too little fatty tissue in the same area gives her an underly-feminine appearance. As above, not a medical concern but a psychological and self-esteem concern. If she had plastic surgery to fix the problem, is it now wrong? If the cases for the males were morally acceptable, and this case is not, why not?
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The breast was created to nourish the young. To replace its purpose with silicon designed to incite lust in others is wrong for the reason that having the intention of leading others to lust is wrong. It is also wrong to mutilate and frustrate the God given design and function of ones body.
 
Antrim said:
Our Bodies are Tempels of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we can not mutalate them.

The Church is clear on this.

Breast Augmentation is Mutalation so therefore it is wrong since it is not necessary for health reasons.

Antrim
Click to expand...
It’s fine to express your opinions, but you shouldn’t try to present them as official Church teaching. If you think that “the Church is clear on this”, can you provide a citation in which the Church forbids cosmetic surgery and considers it to be “mutilation”?
 
There are all kinds of information on the Catholic Websites on this subject where it is clearly spelt out and explained.

Just look it up.

Antrim
 
In my prudential judgment (I’m aware of no Church teaching on these specific issues) I would likely consider the first four moral and the last one immoral.
Case 2 C. The boy’s mother has the opposite problem . Too little fatty tissue in the same area gives her an underly-feminine appearance. As above, not a medical concern but a psychological and self-esteem concern. If she had plastic surgery to fix the problem, is it now wrong? If the cases for the males were morally acceptable, and this case is not, why not?
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Having small breasts is not “underly-feminine,” and to be honest, I’m pretty insulted at the suggestion.

Breast enhancement surgery doesn’t fix a medical problem; surgery to correct gynomastia does.

My favorite article on the subject of breast enhancement surgery: ncbcenter.org/FrTad_MSOOB_34.asp
 
Breast enlargements are against natural law developed by Thomas Aquinas amongst otherwise as has previously been said, they pervert the natural function of the breast, ie. breastfeeding. Some women may feel under pressure to have breast implants because their boyfriends are reading porn and it’s to help men masturbate. Other women may be destroying their inner femininity and their natural femininity through birth control pills and therefore their femininity is what is on the surface. The state of a woman’s womb is unimportant. Mary is flat-chested and she’s my role model.
 
What about a surgery to reduce excess skin on the abdomen?
Would that be morally wrong?
Why or why not?
(I don’t mean to steal this thread, this question though seems to go along with the others)
 
yellowbicycle said:
What about a surgery to reduce excess skin on the abdomen?
Would that be morally wrong?
Why or why not?
(I don’t mean to steal this thread, this question though seems to go along with the others)
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Are you talking about the condition resulting after massive weight loss? There’s a lot of risk involved in such surgery, but the long term gains in ability to exercise and reduction in massive skin rash/infections may be enough to justify the risk.
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budgie2:
Breast enlargements are against natural law developed by Thomas Aquinas amongst otherwise as has previously been said, they pervert the natural function of the breast, ie. breastfeeding.
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In fairness, a breast reduction will also interfere with the natural function of the breast (which is part of the reason why I waited until now), but will not interfere with breast cancer detection and does, especially for the more extreme cases (I am a G cup right now, hoping to get down to a B, but definitely no more than a C–and although I’m overweight and have lost a lot of weight, I’ve only lost a half inch there) offer significant health benefits.


http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/w3jX5DV/weight.png
 
Melissa said:
Are you talking about the condition resulting after massive weight loss? There’s a lot of risk involved in such surgery, but the long term gains in ability to exercise and reduction in massive skin rash/infections may be enough to justify the risk.
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Yes, that’s what I was talking about.
 
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