Last April, on one of the French public television channels, a documentary highlighted a societal trend : the emerging issue of young people willing to change their bodies with aesthetic surgery. A debate was following it, during which the journalist, Jacques Cardoze, interviewed three experts : Jean-François Amadieu, sociologist, Caline Majdalani, psychologist, and Gaëlle Prudencio, blogger and influencer.
Jacques Cardoze (journalist) : « La société du paraître » (The Society of Appearence) is the title of the book by Jean-François Amadieu, professor at the Sorbonne, and sociologist. Professor, you have worked for a long time on this question of beauty, how does it impact us? Is beauty everywhere in our society ?
Jean-François Amadieu : Of course, it is not just about to please your friends or to look good on the social media. To seduce is important to find a job, or in politics, and in all the areas of our social life …
Jacques Cardoze (journalist): Caline Majdalani, you are clinical psychologist at the Center of Anxiety and Mood Disorders. There are psychological consequences… ? And, Gaëlle Prudencio, you created the « French curves » movement, to accept yourself as you are. How do you react to this documentary ?
Gaëlle Prudencio : Especially in relation to young people: learning to accept yourself is a path that you are supposed to undertake early and to succeed at in order to enjoy your life. When you start, at such a young age, the processes of changing your appearance, what will it be in a few years?
Jacques Cardoze (journalist) : This influence of social networks is decisive. Does it impose some form of beauty in some way?
Gaëlle Prudencio : Not necessarily, it all depends on the people you follow. That’s really what’s important about the people who follow us on social media. Because, we choose to follow this or that person, and the message that this person is going to convey. So, obviously, if we decide that it is such and such a body that we want to look like, we will follow such a person.
Jean-François Amadieu : Unfortunately, the most important influencers, the most followed are precisely those – they are generally women – who will ultimately show more or less the same physique: Kim Kardashian, Kelly Jenner … By exacerbating, we will accentuate features that are hyper sexualized and very feminine but exaggerated: full lips, very narrow nose, large buttocks, breasts etc. So there is a whole set which involves cosmetic surgery. And unfortunately, it is they who have more influence. And you are right: there are other influencers, there are other possible images. Unfortunately, these are the ones that are broadcast around the world.
Jacques Cardoze (journalist): We are helpless facing this: the Instagramers do what they want and those who follow them are influenced.