Keira Knightly and the Ladies in the Locker Room

In Los Angeles, when someone asks you, “Are you in the industry?“, they are referring to the movies. Yet there’s another industry that I’m pretty sure is thriving, let’s call it the “industry that supports the industry”, otherwise known as plastic surgery. Open any copy of People, Star or US magazine and you’re guaranteed to see at least one spread about the latest Hollywood Starlet’s nip, tuck or augmentation.

It’s not just the actors and actresses in magazines - the not-so-famous LA folk have quite clearly had a few trips to the doctor as well. There’s the woman at CVS with the skinny face and giant puffy lips. The teenage girls at the farmer’s market who still have bandages covering their new noses. But mostly, it’s breasts. I’m surprised they even sell bras in LA, given the number of size D breasts that are completely gravity defying on their own. Walking around the farmer’s market, you would think there must be a nearby stand where you can just order a pair of lips with a side of double Ds.

This is not a rant about plastic surgery. I have nothing against a forty year old mom who just wants her body back the way it was before babies took it over. And you know what? Someone who feels a new chin or different nose will give him or her more confidence, I am not about to judge that either. But the truth is, while it might be glamorized in magazines and on reality tv, you put yourself at risk anytime you undergo surgery. 25% of women who undergo breast augmentation will find themselves back in the hospital within four years due to leaking or hardening. Pretty sexy, huh?

This is why, as a mom of three daughters who will be lucky to fill a B-cup, I loved that Keira Knightly refused to have her A-sized breasts enhanced to Cs on promo photos for her new film, “Duchess”. I like to think this is a turning point for young actresses determined not to be pressured into fitting the cookie cutter (Barbie-shaped cookie cutter) mold expected of them. I’m skeptical though because when I look around I can clearly see there are plenty of Barbie-shaped women ready to step in and fill the roles.

Raising girls in a world that bombards them with negative body images isn’t a problem unique to LA. It seems a little over the top here at times (note the “Pam: Girl on the Loose” billboards all over Ventura Blvd.) but you can turn on the tv or pick up a magazine anywhere in the United States and young girls do it all the time. It makes teenage years seem particularly daunting.

When I start to worry that my girls are exposed to too many of the wrong type of images, I keep myself grounded by thinking of the ladies in the locker room at the Y. These women have never seen a plastic surgeon. They are wrinkly enough to look as though they’ve been in the pool for hours, even before they get in. They have dark purple veins running up and down their legs. Their breasts hang down to their belly buttons. They are lumpy, flabby, and liver spotted. I find them refreshingly beautiful. Sure, they aren’t going to grace the cover of any magazine, but these women have confidence. They stand there, showing their wrinkly bodies to the world, while they ask the girls about swim classes or chat with friends about where to meet for cards that afternoon. I love them for being so happy with who they are. Whatever the plastic surgeons are trying to sell, they’ve got it already, in its pure form.

I’m not holding my breath that Keira Knightly will set a new trend in Hollywood, but I like that it’s a start. Until then, I’m taking my girls to the Women in Science exhibit at the Getty and I'm hoping they learn a thing or two about beauty from the women at the Y.