Do You Recall The Dawn Of Aesthetic Pursuit? by Hedy Habra

Visit to the Plastic Surgeon by Remedios Varo (Mexico, b. Spain) 1960

Do You Recall The Dawn Of Aesthetic Pursuit?
 
Mom always alerted us to her friend's misfortunes after a facelift. A rarity at the time. Mom thought it was the best way to become a monster since having one's skin pulled in the wrong direction led to keep submitting to the scalpel. I once met a girl at the Sporting Club who underwent a successful nose job. Much needed, some whispered. It certainly wasn't as bad as Remedios Varo's portrayal of a woman entering furtively a plastic surgeon's clinic at dusk and trying to conceal a majestic proboscis under a thin veil. In those days, everyone envied Candice Bergen's nose. We gossiped about a medical student who had hers done Bergen's style. Being the Prime Minister's daughter, she could afford the best surgeon. It seems that most starlets in the sixties had their features redesigned, and we loved unveiling secrets in celebrity magazines. I remember spending hours in front of the mirror as a teen, attempting to sculpt my body along imaginary lines. When I worked as a medical representative, I thought of having my nose done. During hospital calls, I consulted a plastic surgeon who said he liked my nose. Another one invited me to take photos in his clinic. I avoided them both. These two handsome men reconciled me with my looks. 
 
Hedy Habra

This was first published by Panoplyzine.

Hedy Habra's latest poetry collection, Or Did You Ever See The Other Side? won the 2024 International Poetry Book Award and was a Finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award and The USA Best Book Awards. The Taste of the Earth, won the Silver Nautilus Book Award and Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award; Tea in Heliopolis won the Best Poetry Book Award and Under Brushstrokes was a finalist for the International Poetry Book Award. Her story collection, Flying Carpets, won the Arab American Book Award’s Honorable Mention and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award. Her book of criticism is Mundos alternos y artísticos en Vargas Llosa, She is a twenty one-time-nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. https://www.hedyhabra.com/