Women and Botox

A couple of weeks ago I saw Lara Flynn Boyle on Law & Order and she was virtually unrecognizable. I was very disturbed by her puffy face and lips and itty bitty body. But, I didn't write anything about it because, well, I hate writing about women who get botox cause I don't want to bring more attention to the issue.

An article in Sunday's LA Times which talks about women on TV and botox made me change my mind. We need to talk about this a lot more. I remember that first time I became aware of botox was when I saw Beaches and Barbara Hershey's lips look like mine did when I was stung by a bee. But that was 1988 before we had public conversations about plastic surgery.

I can understand (but disagree) when a woman hits a certain age (in my book I think its over 50 or 60) and decides to have a face lift or something else done. But, I don't see why Lara Flynn Boyle at 38 feels the need to get botox. This is out of control. Women in Hollywood are under increasing pressure to look younger and younger and younger while the guys seem to be concerned about how to get a penis in every movie he makes (yes, you Judd Apatow.)

The scary thing about botox is that is doesn't make these women look better, it makes them look scary and fake. Is this what we want young women and girls to think real women look like?

On TV: Botox. Face-lifts. Reconstructive surgery.