Bridalplasty??????????

Have any of you seen the new reality TV show Bridalplasty? I had never heard of it until this past Friday. As I was flipping through the guide I saw it and after reading the shows "info," I turned to it to see what it was all about. It took me a few minutes to figure out the shows concept but when I did, I was a bit mortified.

If you haven't seen the show, it is about 12-brides-to-be who move in together in a mansion where they compete against each other daily for plastic surgery so that they can have a "perfect wedding". And whoever is the last bride-to-be standing, gets their dream celebrity-style wedding.

If you haven't seen it, your are missing nothing but a train wreck and perhaps one of the worst ideas for a reality show. Yet, sadly, it is so captivating. Captivating because it is so awful. Because you feel bad that any girl would think so little of herself that she would voluntarily go on the show.

I read and hear so much about individual woman and organizations focusing on helping woman love themselves for who they are. Telling us that we should stop beating ourselves up. That we are amazing and have all the potential in the world. That it is okay if we are not perfect. That it is okay if we have a few flaws in our features. While I don't necessarily consider myself a feminist, I think this is great. As someone who has a bit of a low self esteem and am always criticizing myself, I think it is important to learn to love myself. Our culture has been making great strides on this.

And then you get Bridalplasty. Where these woman who are already very beautiful, compete to make themselves "perfect." I know plastic surgery is sometimes needed but I also think that it is way to overused in our culture. Just look at Heidi Montag. A cutie turned ugly due to too much plastic surgery. She oviously had a bit too low of a self esteem if she couldn't love what she already had. Did it help her feel better about herself by getting her first plastic surgery? Nope. She just went back for more. She continued till she didn't even look like herself anymore. And I wonder if she loves herself any more now. Or does she just want to become someone else now?

I think it is a ridiculous idea to make these brides feel like they can't have the perfect wedding unless they get the plastic surgery they have always dreamed off. The ending prize is great, but is it worth all the pain to get there?

Some may disagree with me. Some may say that it benefits these girls, as they would have wanted plastic surgery anyways and now can finally get it done. But is that what our culture should really be promoting?

The clencher for me was what the lovely host said to the girl when she was voted off: "Your wedding will still go on, it just won't be perfect."

Maybe the producers behind Bridalplasty should provide these girls free counseling too.