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South Park updated their profile photo in response to Kristi Noem calling them "sexist" for criticizing her appearance.
(r.50501.chat)
Kristi Noem: “It never ends, but it’s so lazy, to make fun of women and how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that. If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly they can’t. They pick something petty like that."
Originally Posted By u/kenistod At 2025-08-08 03:49:56 PM | Source
To me plastic surgery goes into the same category as tattoos, piercings or any other body mod. It's the sole business of the person getting it. Is tattooing "Mr. Cool ice" all over ones body ill-advised? Not my body, not my say.
The reason I'm kind of passionate about this is because I saw first-hand why the non-famous get plastic surgery. I had a good friend who really suffered under her "witches nose". The reason it got to the point where she got a rhino despite not really having the money for it was an accumulation of societal pressure shaming her for her skin color and families wealth. She felt that she couldn't get a husband (a must have for every woman where I grew up) because she looked too much like a stereotypical farm girl (she wasn't a farm girl, but "looking like one" was bad enough for her) and indeed married very late. Whether that was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not doesn't really matter I believe, the psychological damage she suffered at the hand of an oppressive patriarchal society that shames women for how they look and then shames them even more when they get plastic surgery was severe. Maybe she lacked strength of character or role models, she at the least lacked the wealth to carve out her own path, but these "haha woman even uglier after trying to be prettier" kinds of "jokes" do harm.
For another example look at how this poor woman suffered for an ad she appeared in: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34568674 . And I'm sure you can guess how much shit the "husband" in the ad got.
I would look at why these people put their bodies in harms way, at why their body dysmorphia is so severe that they would do such self harm. Where is their "obsession with what a woman should look like" coming from? Shaming people for how they feel has never worked, the fight must be with the patriarchy and not those trying to survive under it.
To be clear, this is not about Kristi Noel, I dont care for her. My problem is with south park playing a very cheap trope that they played before on Sara Jessica Parker, on Michael Jackson (a racist component has appeared) and on trans people as a whole (the "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" episode).
There is a discussion to be had about public figures like Ms. Noel, Sara Jessica Parker, Donatella Versace or countless other models, actresses and so on reinforcing patriarchal beauty norms through their plastic surgery because they have been presented as role models (and later, objects of ridicule), but this is south park we are talking about. Their "satire" isn't that deep.
Thanks for the reply, I think I understand your sentiment but ultimately I still disagree with you. I agree that those who do plastic surgery can be seen as victims to societal pressures and in that sense deserve empathy rather than ridicule. It's a shortsighted solution, because it's often counterproductive (people often look worse & it increases pressure on others that differ from the 'ideal'), ineffective (people often aren't satisfied afterwards and keep going for more surgery), not without danger (there's a shitload of complications happening) and only a short term solution (no matter how much surgery you do, appearances change). A better solution is acceptance, coming to terms with how you look. This solution is safe, durable, and inspiring to others. People generally perceive 'satisfaction with ones appearance' as attractive (of course this is outside the digital realms of Instagram and such, where people don't actually exist, so this shouldn't matter). But we can hardly blame people for shortsightedness. It's a tragedy, but they're not to blame. But this doesn't mean it's not deserving of criticism. Plastic surgery is a mistake. We all make mistakes. I've been an addict for 6 years of my life. It was my way of coming to terms with my family falling apart. It was a tragedy, but it was also a mistake. That's not to suggest that it would be fair to mock me in public. But I was just a depressed teenager, this woman is a prominent fascist figure. If you want to rule the world, you should be willing to face the ridicule. People will ridicule you for every mistake you ever made. If you're an addict and you want to rule the world, be ready for people pointing towards your addictions. Now is that really unfair? She pretends she has the wisdom to decide about wether fascists ICE gangs should hunt down people in the streets, which she clearly deems the right thing to do. Isn't it fair to question her moral authority by pointing out that she shot her own dog (which might've also been a personal tragedy) and that she lacks the wisdom to refrain from deforming her appearance? May Hitler not be ridiculed for his moustache?
I personally would never go out and insult people for such things, I might criticize them for what I deem mistakes, but I generally respect people as a person, and don't reduce them to one particular trait. But context matters here. Like you said, we're talking about South Park. They're satirists. It's their role in our society to satirize people in positions of power. If they had chosen some unknown innocent nobody, I would completely agree that that's unfair. But not by accident, they've chosen a fascist leader.
I dont think plastic surgery is a mistake in and of itself and should be dismissed as a whole. Is a trans person getting gender affirming surgery a mistake? Why shouldn't similar reasons apply to cis people? I probably would get a hair transplant given the option, why not? It depends on what the surgery is meant to address. If for example it is meant as treatment for a mental illness for which there are better options available, it's a mistake for sure. But this is between a patient and their doctor, not something for society to comment on.
It's the same or at the least very similar stigma to other body modifications. "How will you get a job", "How will this look when you age", "I can't believe you would defile your body like that" etc. I'm fairly certain that people getting plastic surgery know the societal risks fully well since plastic surgery is a very entrenched taboo. Probably moreso than tattoos or piercings nowadays. They definitely know the physical dangers since doctors are obliged to go over them with a patient before operating.
This idea that plastic surgery is something for the vain or mentally ill is based on a stereotype that is not always true. This in turn makes people go into hiding or present themselves as someone they don't want to be, so as not to be associated with "them". It gives power to the people that enforce a normative society.
To be clear, Kristin's not a rebel for getting plastic surgery. On the contrary she is willing to enforce societal norms through great violence, but this is not a distinction south park makes with their plastic surgery jokes. I know this because they made this joke a couple of times now. What was the inherent criticism of Michael Jacksons nose falling off? What behind Kyles dad getting a "dolphinoplasty"? The whole point of that latter episode is to make fun of trans people and those getting plastic surgery. There are plenty of reasons to assume bad faith on Matt and Trey's side and not give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm saddened to see libs flock to these reactionaries just because the fascists happen to catch some strays.
The difference between making fun of Hitlers moustache and Kristin's plastic surgery is that there is no societal class of chaplin moustache wearers that are routinely targeted. Anyone with a chaplin moustache knows fully well what they are doing. But if Hitler had been overweight, making fun of him for being fat would be fatphobic. Making fun of Ernst Röhm for being gay would be homophobic. Kristins plastic surgery is made to be funny in itself, it gets smuggled in with deserving criticism and jokes, but it is not a key element to any of the other barbs targeted her way. That's why it targets everyone getting plastic surgery, is hurtful and that should be reason enough to shun it.