As Barbra Streisand opens up about appearance-related insults, why young Brits feel rising pressure to get nose jobs
Her global success as an actor and singer over the last 60 years has made Barbra Streisand a household name. But, in her forthcoming memoir My Name is Barbra: The Exhilaratingly and Startlingly Honest Autobiography of the Living Legend, the 81-year-old star revealed that she can’t seem to shake off the hurt she felt after the media mocked her appearance – in particular, her famous nose.
Streisand admitted in her new book that, even after all these years, she is "still kinda hurt by the insults". She endured being labelled "an amiable anteater, a sour persimmon, a furious hamster, a myopic gazelle, and a seasick ferret", and joked that her "odd-looking" features "got more press" than she ever did.
In an excerpt of her book, published in People, Streisand wrote: "I had already been told by several people that I should get a nose job and cap my teeth. I thought, Isn’t my talent enough? A nose job would hurt and be expensive. Besides, how could I trust anyone to do exactly what I wanted and no more? I liked the bump on my nose, but should I consider a minor adjustment… just straighten it slightly at the bottom and take a tiny bit off the tip? No. It was too much of a risk. And who knew what it might do to my voice?"
Although it has been decades since Streisand faced ridicule for her nose, many people continue to feel insecurity over what is often their most prominent facial feature. Pressure among young people to undergo cosmetic surgeries and treatments has grown in recent years as social media constantly brings new, often unachievable beauty standards.
Why are nose jobs so popular?
In the UK, rhinoplasty — a plastic surgery procedure to alter and reconstruct the nose, also known as a nose job — is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in the UK. In 2022, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) found a 67% rise in the number of rhinoplasty surgeries for British men and women from 2021.
The younger generation is particularly keen on getting facial cosmetic surgery, research has suggested. A 2022 survey by Patient Claim Line found that three-quarters of 18-24 year olds admitted they already had or were considering cosmetic surgery on their face.
Among Generation Z participants, nearly half (45%) agreed their reason for wanting cosmetic surgery was influenced by their peers. A similar proportion said that influencers on social media were a factor in their desire to tweak the way they look.
Selfie filters, which are popular on video and picture-focused apps like Instagram and TikTok, were also a factor that influenced young people's decision to go under the knife. Some 41% of respondents said these filters, which can drastically change the way you look, made them decide they wanted cosmetic surgery.
Dangers of cosmetic tourism
There has also recently been a rise in the number of Britons travelling to Turkey to undergo cosmetic and dental procedures, at a fraction of what it costs to have the same work completed in the UK.
But experts have warned against doing this, as a number of people have gone without doing enough research on the clinics they choose and often return needing further work done in order to fix mistakes or damage.
Last year, the BAAPS said that 100% of reports about surgical complications it received came from people who went to Turkey for their procedures. It said that a total of 324 people required treatment when they came back to the UK after going under the knife abroad over the last four years.
The organisation released figures showing that, in 2021, 44% more people required corrective procedures on the NHS after they travelled to another country for cosmetic surgery compared to the previous year. It estimated that for each patient who required urgent medical care, it could cost the NHS around £15,000.
In May, Dr Ahmed Alsayed, lead surgeon and medical director at plastic surgery specialists Signature Clinic, warned that many people who go abroad for rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, lip filler and more "fail to do their research and focus too much on money, rather than the quality or safety of the clinic".
He told HullLive: "I would always advise doing as much research as possible into the surgery and the clinic to make sure you are totally confident you are making the right decision," he added. "Surgery is an incredibly personal decision, so it’s important to go into the process fully informed, and totally sure that it is what you want to do. The best clinics will provide a comprehensive before and aftercare program that puts the patient at the heart of it."
Marc Pacifico, president of the BAAPS, also said in a statement: "There are many reasons that cosmetic tourism is considered riskier than surgery in the UK, and these include the variation of standards of hospitals and medical centres in different countries, a variability in oversight and regulation of medical establishments and variations in clinical standards.
"In addition, all surgical procedures carry a degree of risk and have a complication profile, and it is imperative that any surgical procedure does not simply end at the time of completion of the operation, but that there is continued post-operative follow-up and easy access to the clinician and medical facility in which the procedure was performed - usually impossible once a patient has returned to the UK."
Pacifico concluded: "Whilst no surgical procedure is risk free, we would urge the public not to consider surgery abroad for the reasons above."
Buy now: My Name Is Barbra | £24 (Was £35) from Amazon
Watch: A woman claims she was 'butchered' by a Turkish surgeon who she claim let her right breast die and left her with gaping wounds on her stomach
Read more about cosmetic surgery:
The 5 Questions You Need To Ask Before Getting Cosmetic Surgery Abroad (HuffPost UK, 4-min read)
Celeb cosmetic surgery regrets: Simon Cowell, Courteney Cox, Linda Evangelista and more (Yahoo Life UK, 10-min read)
What to do if cosmetic surgery goes wrong and where to get help (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
