So glad I'm happy with how I look!!!

Case Study: More Men Taking to the Knife
by Mark Umbach

Gay men, and especially gay men in California, seem to be the most health conscious people I've ever laid eyes on. Walk into any 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox or LA Fitness in almost any part of Los Angeles at any time of day and you’ll almost certainly find that a high percentage of the gym population shares at least very important similar interest as you.

I cannot speak from experience, but I’m sure that gay men all across the country place an equal importance on looking good. And that is why it’s not necessarily surprising to find that a recent report released by the American Society of Plastic Surgery finds that from 2002 through 2007, the number of men getting plastic surgery has increased 16%.

No matter what the problem, men across the country and beyond the boundaries of sexual orientation seem to be looking for a quick way to look better. The rise of the “metrosexual” in the early 2000s saw an uptick in the number of men having botox injected into their faces while cellulite is removed from their waistlines.

Of the 1.1 million plastic surgeries performed on men in 2007, the most popular alterations are performed on the jaw and on that pesky spare tire. According to the study, that 1.1 million figure could potentially be even higher because many men apply the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy to their procedures.

Currently men account for about 9 to 10 percent of all cosmetic surgeries being performed. And while no data exists on the sexual orientation of these men, according to the website NYPlasticSurg.com, doctors say that post of their male subjects are gay men looking for the athletic physique.

There is a constant debate as to whether or not plastic surgery is the easy way out. And as a writer for a fitness-oriented site, this may be blasphemy to some, but, frankly, I don’t see anything easy about taking a knife to your stomach and or face. That’s just me (I’m totally Ali Larter’s Brooke Windham in Legally Blonde, “I was getting lipo!”). I think that if surgery is going to provide a shot of self-esteem and make a person feel better, why not go for it.

Sometimes people can work out day after day, night after night and still not lose that last 5 lbs.; the pizza and beer just tastes too good. Seriously, though, I’ve seen too many surgeries on the Discovery Channel to consider having surgery myself. At the same time, I don’t see what’s wrong with trying to look and feel better in your every day life.

On the flip side of the debate, there are people who think adding some silicone or sucking out some fat deposits qualifies as the easy way out. And while I don’t think they are the easy way out, I just don’t want to have someone cutting into me and stuffing foreign objects into me. Not only that, but more than likely your insurance will only cover liposuction if it is used toward gynecomastia, better known as enlarged male breasts; not exactly the pecs most men are going for.

Additionally, plastic surgery also carries a risk for infection, and quite a large price tag. Lipo alone starts at about $2,000. One of the scariest, and grossest in my opinion, side effects comes from silicone implants, the most popular of which are in the pecs, calves and buttock. If not done properly, and some surgeons won’t do it at all, the implants can move or even rupture. Besides all that, the silicon implants tend to not look natural and feel hard, not the best for cuddling.

In spite of it all, the fact remains that people going under the knife feel better about themselves and their place in the world after having plastic surgery. A recent Reuters report showed that, despite the downturn in the American economy, the number of appointments made for simple procedures were on the rise. Granted these were lower-risk procedures such as botox shots, but men and women alike were feeling that looking better give them a better shot at landing a job.

If you can stand the nips and tucks, and it makes you feel better, I say go for it!