The Omnibus

Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: The Forum

Comment on this article

Once upon a time, there was an ugly duckling who grew up and became a beautiful, graceful swan. Now there is a popular television show where a select 16 women can achieve that same status. Some people feel they have gotten through the first stage of the story, but have never advanced beyond that to achieve the final product: beauty.

These women want to look beautiful, and they believe it will not happen naturally. Instead, they turn to the plastic surgeon, willing to have everything tightened, tucked, lifted and manipulated in order to become the winner of what Fox calls "the world's most unique beauty pageant."

Here is how the process works: when a woman enters the Swan program, she lives on-site with the other contestants who have rooms without mirrors or other reflective surfaces. After they are given a full body evaluation, including dental, physical and mental checks, the contestant is given a personalized plan for success.

It includes visits to a cosmetic dentist, plastic surgeon, physical trainer and psychologist. After their transformation is complete, they enter a portion of the show simply known as "the reveal" where the women finally get to see their reflection.

They have not seen themselves since they entered the program, and several of the contestants look nothing like they did when they first came on the show. Of the two contestants per episode, the winner goes on to the Swan Pageant, competing to become "The Swan."

Seems like a good program for people who have issues with their physical appearance, right? Maybe not. Sure, it seems simple enough to go under the knife and have your appearance changed, but is that really necessary?

I think plastic surgery is only needed in extreme cases, usually from car accidents, not from a personal dislike of his or her appearance. Methodology only teaches that beauty is skin deep. Beauty comes from within, not from some doctor wielding a scalpel or liposuction tube.

A psychologist is on hand to provide counseling to the participants, tying to help them overcome emotional barriers that hinder their self-esteem. I think this should be the first step of the program, making the contestant see the beauty within herself before she enters into any kind of surgery.

For the family left behind, psychological problems may arise. The mother is taken out of the picture for several months, often leaving a husband and small children behind. It is not healthy to take a mother away from her children and then have her return to them looking completely different.

As a child, I did not like being separated from my mother while I was at school during the day, so I can only imagine how these children feel about not having their mothers around for months at a time.

With the show entering its second season, it seems to have improved a bit. Now, more support is given to the participants by having previous Swan contestants come and give encouragement to the women.

Unfortunately, it looks like this show is going to be hanging around for a while. I hope it continues to improve so it can give contestants true self-value and not just a tummy tuck.

Article Tools