Ethical issues on The Swan

[K. Ayato]

Hello. I'm sure some if not all of you have either heard of or seen the show called The Swan. Basically, it's along the same lines of Extreme Makeover, except in the very end, 9 of the many ladies chosen for the program go on to a particular beauty pageant, judged on poise, beauty, and overall, ahem, transformation. That's the part that gets fuzzy. I understand that a lot of the ladies featured on the show have horrible dental problems and may have weight-related problems as well. What I'd like to discuss is whether or not, from a Christian perspective, you think it's right to totally change the appearances of these ladies by liposuction and plastic surgery, and to have counselling sessions by a therapist who uses the world's approaches other than the facts laid out in the Bible. Just to get started, near the very end of Proverbs 31 it says
"Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain..."

[Mangafanatic]

Hmm. . . diffiult. I, personally, grimace at these shows because of the extreme emphasis placed on physical beauty. Furthermore, it's my opinion that these types of shows reinforce the complete false idea that physical beauty is a pre-requisite for a happy life. Watching these series, you'd think that "If I have a slimmer waist, all my problems will magically disapper! Woo hoo!"

On the other hand, there are people who have serious physical issues that may require intervention (plastic sugery, ect): severe burns, extreme weight issues, and so on. For those people, I am glad for the possibility to have back their healthy, normal existance.

But other than that exception, I'm not particularly fond of the "We'll turn you into Barbie, because that's what would make your world perfect" shows that have become such a hit.

[K. Ayato]

You mentioned some very reasonable exceptions. Thanks for bringing them up. :-) I forgot all about them. Aside from those, I don't believe plastic surgery or liposuction is the answer. That's what the world wants them to believe.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

i have seen a little bit of it. I'm glad that their self esteem is boosted up, but I still find it somewhat unethical, with reasons mentioned above

[Yahshua]

Hm I am sure there are ethical issues involve here but as of yet there is not enough data to see what are the issues will be creating by the shows but that is left to be answer by my department in the university. The department of the Sociology to discover the ethical issues involve in these type of shows.

[Ashley]

First off, moved to the TV forum.
Secondly, I hope this thread stays civil.
Thirdly, personally I'm with Osaka on this. On the whole, I don't like the idea of reinforcing all the mental stress we put on ourselves to be physically perfect to be considered beautiful. All throughout the bible, we are told God judges the heart and that inner beauty is far more important. But, that being said, if they ran the show more like the "extreme makeover home edition"--i.e., for those that "deserve it". For example, the home show picks families that have been through a lot of rough times, give to their communities selflessly, suffer financial or physical problems, etc., not just a name in a hat. So if someone desperately needed surgery (even for "cosmetic" reasons, like fixing a hairlip or a severe hematoma) then I could support it. I've seen children horribly disfigured be given a more normal life because of plastic surgery. All in all, I guess there's just a line of judgement to make...inevitably, though, that line will become blurry: i.e. if you made a middle aged obese woman slender, isn't that just as important to her self esteem and lifestyle as the disfigured child? But, that's something everyone will have to decide for themselves, right?

[Debitt]

I was extremely shocked the first time I saw The Swan aired on TV. It's upsetting to see how much our society seems to value plastic beauty over inner beauty. Yes, I'm glad that the women involved had a boost to their self esteems - I'm glad that there was a personal help coach on the show to help them out. But honestly, aside from that, was there anything maybe a new haircut, some light make-up, excercise and diet couldn't fix?

These women were NOT that ugly. Yes, maybe they were overweight, and maybe they didn't wear clothes that complemented their figures, but I really think that knocking their noses off their faces was just too much. Personally, I believe it's one thing to have a physical deformity that actually inhibits your interaction with other people, but it's a completely different story when, chances are, your problems can be fixed by a much healthier means than surgery.

I felt the show, whether it was intentional or unintentional, was sending people the message that if girls don't wear a size 1 and have a big chest, then they're not attractive, which is completely untrue.

^^; I can get kinda ranty about this subject, because it hits a few areas close to home...sorry about that. Anyways, my apologies if I ended up stepping on anyone's toes, as that was not my intention.

[ZiP]

I dislike the show for several reasons:

1 - It's puts so much emphasis on outer beauty,it makes women in particular think that they need to have a slim waste to be liked, or that their problems will go away if they're beautiful, or else it puts mental stress on them so that they think they have be like that.

2 - It's encouraging values like massacaring your skin to be liked.

3 - I can't stand reality shows.

[sleepybluekitty]

I can't say that I know much about the show. From what I have heard here/seen on commercials about the show, it's one of the worst shows on the television. I don't believe it is correct for a person to change their outter appearance with lipposuction, make up and etc. Mainly because of 1 Timothy 2:9-10. It does not specifically mention lipposuction or make up, it does however say that a woman should be clothed with good works. I think for some one to get their self esteem from their looks is a shallow way to look at themselves. They should instead, gain their self-esteem from living a Godly life.

[Stephen]

One more reason I stopped watching tv. Not for moral reasons...but because 99% of it sucks. Only thing I watch on TV now is Football. And the day they start a reality show giving those guys liposuction...well then thats the end for me.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I understand some of the value of plastic surgery - I had a friend who had some tremendous birth defects - his confidence was drastically affected by them, and he was socially ostracized for the most part. He only changed the problems in surgery, and looks quite normal now. In this case, I can see tremendous benefits.

However, there is no ideal. As far as I've seen, people that have plastic surgery cannot help but go back and have more. The reason is that regardless of how wonderful someone may look, there is always something they will see wrong. If they have the means and have changed features just because they aren't ideal in society, they will always find something else that won't be ideal.

Also, who's to say that there is one ideal. Society obviously has the say in this, but if everyone was ideal, would there be any beauty in that ideal? It would be common. Truth is, there isn't an ideal in the real world - it's all in our heads, and the media's hands, and succumbing to the opinion of society would destroy true beauty - beauty that comes from the heart, beauty that is greater on the inside of the pages than on the cover - where the true substance lies. Shows like Swan devalue beauty - true beauty.

[Bobtheduck]

"The Swan" is the current low point in entertainment... I got so mad when I saw the first ads... Horrible...

I think that this horrible insecurity, selfishness, and yearning for immortality are just more examples of how depraved people are... I mean, one of them said she'd divorce her husband and get better if she got pretty... That is so sick... I wish that Fox wasn't the only "conservative" voice in the mainstream media... I won't say what my "conspiracy theory" is...