Major medical advancements in treatments that extend life, coupled
with the unparalleled growth of our aging population, result in great
challenges and opportunities for changing the culture of dying in
America. Presently, more older adults are alive than at any other time
in our society’s history. The continued growth of the elderly
population, along with their increasing need for health care as death
approaches, presents one of the largest public health challenges in
history The question arises, then, as to why our society continues to
focus on youth and beauty, as opposed to giving more attention to
how we address aging, disease, and death. Continuous improvements
in medical technology fuel the temptation to ignore these issues that
can be difficult and painful to think about and address. Additionally,
the possibility for technological rescue from death supports denial
and creates a defiant attitude about death and dying (Whittington,
2011). As we discussed in class last week, vast improvements in
medical treatments and technology have created “blind faith” in
medical care, with many patients believing there is a pill, treatment, or
surgery that can fix almost any issue they encounter. Additionally,
these enhancements in medical technology can obscure humanistic
compassion for people who are dying and those who love them.
a a a Furthermore, modern western society has become obsessed
with achievement, youth, and beauty, which are perceived to be
interrelated. Youth has become valued and privileged above age and
life experience, with beauty serving as the apparent new indicator of
social worth. This contrasts with cultures where age is revered, and
elders are deferred to with respect. Historically, individuals have
often undergone extreme discomfort and risk to conform to culturally
prescribed modes of beauty including binding of the feet, ritual
tattooing, and body scarification, so this is not a new notion.
However, the magnitude of shifting values in regards to youth and
beauty has been exponentially magnified in American culture over
the course of the past 20 years. A contributing factor to the 21st
Century obsession with beauty and perfection has been the
significant development over the past two decades of the ways in
which the body (particularly female) has been presented by the mass
media and portrayed in advertising, especially on social media
platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The media is a
significant force in convincing women, especially, that they are
inadequate unless they package and present themselves in certain
culturally sanctioned ways. This has promoted increasingly impossible
standards of beauty, which have progressively become more
unrealistic and unattainable. Over the past 20 years, an increased
demand for cosmetic surgery has coincided with Americans’ evolving
attitudes regarding youth and beauty. According to the American
Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 8.7 million people underwent
cosmetic surgery in 2003, an increase of 33% from the year before,
and a massive increase of 1698% since 1992 (Honigman & Castle,
2006). Between the increased faith in medical treatments and
technology serving as saviors to help us avoid death, as well as the
monumental societal pressures to look young and beautiful that have
been amplified by social media, the majority of the American
population’s attention has been focused on superficial elements of
youth and beauty, as opposed to facing the crisis of aging populations
coupled with increased healthcare costs.
Thank you,
Nadene
References:
1. Honigman R, Castle DJ. Aging and cosmetic enhancement. Clin
Interv Aging. 2006;1(2):115-119. doi:10.2147/ciia.2006.1.2.115
2. Whittington, F. (2011). Denying and Defying Death: The
Culture of Dying in 21st Century America. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/51/4/571/599
597.
