What do women in different countries think about their appearance?

Often, beauty is perceived as a deception and something that interferes with the peaceful continuation of the family. This is clearly demonstrated by Russian folk proverbs and sayings: “It looks good, but you can see it – your mouth twists”, “Outside is beauty, inside is emptiness”, “Do not be handsome, but be suitable”, “Pestrenka is a belladonna, and Burenka is with milk”, “Good eyes, but not good speeches.”

Europeans perceive beauty as a natural harmonious state.

• Italians:

La bellezza ha una verità tutta sua – Beauty has its own truth.

Se son rose, fioriranno – If these are roses, then they will bloom.

Chi va con lo zoppo impara a zoppicare – He who walks next to the lame will learn to limp.

• French people:

Être bien dans sa peau – Literal translation: “to feel good in your own skin.” Literary translation: “Be satisfied with your life.”

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To understand the issues of the body and physicality from the point of view of medicine, we asked a few questions to the plastic surgeon Adelson Alexandrino, who operates in Russia, Italy, France, the USA, and Brazil.

Is there a relationship between the patient’s attitude to his own body and the desire to modify and improve it?

Adelson Alexandrino: Undoubtedly, the relationship can be traced. The largest number of plastic surgeries are performed in the USA and Brazil. These nations have the simplest attitude towards themselves and their bodies, and plastic surgery is perceived as a trip to the dentist or hairdresser. Then comes Italy. For Italians, their appearance is a subject of special cult and pride. They can look at themselves in the mirror for a long time and admire themselves. Therefore, the beauty of shapes and proportions is so important to them. French women and Russians are treated much less frequently. But the reasons are different. French women have a highly developed love for themselves and their bodies. They have learned to love and accept themselves for who they are. They tend to age naturally. But Russian women, on the contrary, often do not like themselves, therefore they do not consider themselves worthy of being better, which means they do not need to seek correction. Someone is even embarrassed to expose and show their body during a consultation. Plastic surgery services are not very popular in Germany. For Germans, it just doesn’t matter. The body for them is a purely functional mechanism. He is fed, washed, dressed. It bears and gives birth to children, naturally ages and dies.

Does the life of people who correct their body change? And is this correction always necessary?

A. A .: Often a woman turns to a plastic surgeon when she is ready for changes in her life. Someone for this goes to a psychotherapist and takes a course for several months or years. It is important that a woman love her nose, her breasts, and not imitate the stars: her nose is like Monica Bellucci’s, her breasts are like Madonna’s, her lips are like those of Angelina Jolie. I am often approached with this request. But I do not carry out such orders. Otherwise, a person will lose himself by imitating others. What happens if everyone looks like the same person? This will be cloning, not finding the real you. It is important for me to show the patient how beautiful he is in himself. And if nature is a little mistaken – it does not matter. You can only make a small correction and discover the potential inherent in a person. And of course, after the correction, the woman becomes more self-confident. She gets married, changes jobs, goes to live in another country. Someone fulfills their old dreams. A new appearance becomes a symbolic new birth of a person, where there may not be restrictions from a past life. And most importantly, a person finally gains faith in himself and in his right to be happy.