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A veteran in the field meditates on how aesthetic medicine evolved away from a quest for an ideal sameness.
We are no strangers to change in the gay community. Gay men are at the forefront of change and trend setters in many different industries. In the ‘70s, we pioneered what became the fitness industry. Fitness and body culture became an increasingly important part of our lives and it soon transferred to straight men to where the term “metrosexual” was coined.
In the last decade, there has been a natural progression in looking and feeling our best with available products and services. We are eating healthier, exercising more often and we desire to age gracefully. Many of us who have implemented a more balanced lifestyle are feeling better and want the way we look to reflect how we feel. “Prevention” and “happiness” have become buzzwords.
When we move away from material possessions, we focus on things that really matter. We focus on experiences, love, happiness and feeling our best. Some of us seek to bring these gifts to the people we treasure in our lives. Our spouses, family and friends are who make our lives enriched and full of life. They are the people that we love, and we want them to have joy. We know that we can more effectively love others when we learn first to love ourselves, our flaws and our own imperfections, but we also know that true happiness often happens when self-change takes place.
Cosmetic procedures have generally been stigmatized as people wanting to look different, change themselves, or to achieve an “ideal,” yet generic, image. However, aesthetic medicine is no longer confined to surgery, radical changes or grand transformations. Both technology and social changes have started to value the experience of an individual and the unique qualities of each person so that we feel great, age gracefully and still have that “je ne sais quoi” that makes us who we are. But if we are being honest, it can do much more than give us kissable lips, better abs and beautiful skin. It can give us confidence, and a healthier and more positive lifestyle. We look better, we feel better and most importantly we love ourselves so we can love better.
For those of us old enough to recall our first computer or cell phone, I’d like to present the following analogy: We can always wait until there is a new model with more features, or we can get the best model that is out there today and live our life to the fullest. Prevention tends to be much easier than waiting until correction is needed, and today these procedures can be affordable. We no longer have to wait until things are bad. “Everyone will notice, but no one can tell,” will truly become our mantra. We only ever have the present moment to be grateful for the people in our lives and everything we have. We need to embrace change and live the best version of our life today. omniaestheticmd.com
—Dr. Joseph A. Eviatar, MD, FACS
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Last modified: October 7, 2019
