Mar 11 2010
Heidi Montag- Beauty in 10 simple Surgeries
I’m glad I live in Portland. Up here in the rain and dreary clouds, no one is expected to have a perfect tan (in fact, there is a veritable club who spends their time picking out the self-tanners or tanning booth attendees in a crowd). Blond hair isn’t the universal hair color, and women rarely frequent the Oregon coast in a bikini.
Even the most stylish don’t feel the pressure a commoner might feel on the streets of LA.(No, we leave our obsessions to our organic grains and Portland-roasted coffee beans.)
But even with all these seeming advantages, I can, on some small level, relate to the drive Heidi Montag feels in her relentless pursuit of physical beauty. More than anything, I feel sorry for her as she desperately seeks happiness in her attractiveness.
The Recent press attention on the newly unveiled Heidi Montag, notorious for undergoing 10 plastic surgery procedures at one 10-hour sitting, has brought unexpected focus to what “true beauty” really looks like.
Maybe the answer is 10 plastic surgeries?
Newsweek confers: She told People she was “never the prettiest girl,” and that the reason for her many procedures was “to feel perfect.” But what Montag is reaching for, say body-image experts, simply doesn’t exist. It’s “unattainable beauty,” as Susie Orbach, the former therapist to Princess Diana, has put it: the idea that good looks and peak fitness are no longer a biological gift but a ceaseless pursuit. If this is Montag at 23, just imagine how she’ll be at 40.
Montag decided she needed a “new body” to reflect her “inner beauty” as a sweet, God-loving, confident small-town girl. Post-op, she says she’s thrilled to look like “a Norwegian goddess.” Which means … this whole time, her “inner self” was a Norse deity?
Poor Heidi. To spend all that time and energy, have your conquered your “mix of insecurity and Hollywood pressure” ? I guess time will tell, but I think we know the answer.
Not to overly quote celebrities this post, but maybe Heidi should spend some time with Halle Berry:
People magazine reports the Catwoman saying, ’Let me tell you something — being thought of as a beautiful woman has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory.’
I think that there is a little bit of Heidi in each of us, we look in the mirror and pick at all of our defects and flaws. In our heart of hearts, we wish God had made us differently. How do we find happiness? The culture says- “build your self-esteem”, “learn to love yourself”. The Bible says, stop looking at yourself at all-
“Set your mind on things above, where Christ is” (Colossians 3:1)
“We have been bought with a price, so glorify God with your body” (1 Cor 6:19-21)
When Jesus is in His rightful place, all the other planets of makeup, beauty, fashion and exercise fall into proper orbit.
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” -Prov 31:30
Sources:
Unattainable Beauty, Newsweek, Jan 15, 2010
The Most Egregious Photoshop Jobs in History
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Thanks for the reminder that beauty dosen’t bring happiness!
I have a couple post requests:
I find that makeup, fixing up hair, feminine dres etc… is just as important as exercise. Do you have any exercise tips for problem areas??
Also I live on a farm, where I get dirty every single day- jumping dogs and goats, cleaning out the cow stall etc.. Do you have any tips on dressing in style when you have to dress down as daily lifestyle except on Sunday mornings?
I would so appreciate any tips!
Hi Kalani,
I couldn’t resist posting some ideas for you: have you ever tried pilates or an adult ballet class? (I don’t know how you feel about dance, I’m sorry if that’s something you don’t agree with… I don’t want to offend anyone!) Both of those are really great exercise and toning for your body, and help to keep you fit!
And what I like to do when I have to dress “grungy” (even though I’m not on a farm, so don’t have to do it as frequently as you) is, I like to do my hair and makeup nicely, so all that looks good, then try to coordinate my clothes, even if they are kind of old, and maybe even use clothes that used to be nice, but are a little worn out now, so I just wear them for working in. Does that make sense to you? I don’t know if that’s any help, and I’m sure Christa will have some better ideas. That’s just my take!
That is so sad. She was already gorgeous! To my mind, the trouble with plastic surgery and all that is that even if it does what you think it will, it still backfires. Even if she does suddenly look in the mirror and think “Okay, now I’m attractive” she probably won’t be any happier. All it will do is confirm in her mind the idea that she wasn’t enough before… that her worth only comes from her looks, and those aren’t even naturally hers. I pray that God will move in her life and heal the brokenness that no surgeon’s knife will ever heal.
I had to laugh when you pointed out that not many women frequent the Oregon coast in a bikini. I used to live in the coastal town closest to California, which they say is the warmest spot on the Oregon coast…and you never saw anyone on the beach in a bikini! Maybe once or twice when it got into the 80’s or 90’s but otherwise, a t-shirt and shorts may have left you a bit chilled. Heheehee.
Anyways, thanks for the post! It’s always good to be reminded that outward beauty isn’t what we’re striving for.
It’s too bad that she did this. She was pretty before, but I don’t think her surgeries actually enhanced her appearance. She was much prettier beforehand.
I really enjoyed this article thank you!
What was especially heartbreaking to me, what her profession of Christian faith. While her words say she is a committed Christian, her actions portray she is finding her happiness and worth not in Jesus Christ, but in her physical appearance and ability to attract men.
I had to google Heidi Montag to see who she was and I found this under Wikipedia:
“Montag said, “for the past three years, I’ve thought about what to have done [...] I’m beyond obsessed”.[47] She later revealed that she almost died from too much Demerol, reducing her breath rate to five breaths per minute, but said that it was still worth it.[48]”
I’m not sure how reliable this is but here’s the link to check it out for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Montag#cite_note-46
Thank you so much. A great read and a lot to think about. I’m going out on a date tonight to celebrate my 4th wedding anniversary. I was just about to start stressing with the whole “what could I possibly wear…” and doing the “how on earth can he still find me pretty, I don’t have anything nice to wear for tonight!… he’s seen all of these clothes countless times…” while I just opened the closet. But praise God that he’s stopped me in my tracks to give me a reminder. Thank you for being His vessel.
“We have been bought with a price, so glorify God with your body” (1 Cor 6:19-21)
For me to do this I need to be glad for what I am in Christ. I’m not the best mom and I’m not the most pleasant wife most the time. I’m not perfect and sometimes I’m not too happy with what I see in the mirror but my husband loves me like Christ loves the church and I need to rejoice in that! I need to stop this negative self talk for my husband’s sake and get my mind off myself and back on Christ and this marriage. Phew. Thank you so much <3
I think its sad that people look for happiness in outer beauty.
I know what you mean though about how there is a little bit of Heidi in all of us, there really is and it is so easy to get sucked into thinking to much of outer beauty, I think everyone struggles with it once and awhile.
You know, I tried the perfect outer body thing. I went anorexic trying to be perfect. But it never worked. It was when I started working on the things no one could see. As Jewel so elegantly put it:
I’m gonna love myself more then anyone else
I’m gonna believe in me even if someone can’t see
The strong little woman in me
I’m gonna be my own best friend and stick with me till the end
I won’t lose myself again, no no
‘Cause there’s a strong little woman in me
It was funny that it took me reaching rock bottom. Then getting to the point where if I looked up I could barely make out rock bottom to hit the point where I knew that that was what I had to do. Now I disciple girls dealing with everything from break ups to eating disorders.
wow. that. is. sad.