A more beautiful life? TV show gets Chinese talking about plastic surgery
As more people go under the knife in the country, discussion of ‘complete vs natural beauty’ fuels debate on social media
A discussion about plastic surgery on a popular Chinese variety show has fuelled debate on social media over the booming demand for procedures on the mainland.
With the theme of “complete beauty vs natural beauty”, the Can’t Say show invited Wu Xiaochen, a woman who has been having cosmetic surgery for 15 years, to talk about the issue with Wang Nuonu, who has not had any, news website Sohu reported.
More people are going under the knife in China as incomes rise and Western influences grow. The country accounted for 13 per cent of cosmetic surgery worldwide in 2016, making it the third biggest for number of procedures, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
It said the number of cosmetic surgery procedures had grown from 2.7 million in 2009 to 4.8 million in 2013. This year, that figure is expected to reach 10.2 million.
On social media, debate has been raging over the craze since the variety show aired two weeks ago, with some accusing those who have surgery of being superficial, false and their faces “plastic”, The Beijing News reported on Wednesday.