Syrians seek solace in cosmetic surgery

Readily available cosmetic procedures, including tattoos and piercings, are establish new parameters for beauty at a time when Syria's own sense of cultural identity is lacking after so many war-torn years.

The rise of the beauty clinic also comes amid the pervasive influence of modern media, which brings to cell phones and electronic tablets an artificially enhanced sense of beauty, exploiting the desire to escape a brutal reality into the world of fashion.

Philosophy and changing faces

Philosophers have long suggested that even a person's imagined sense of self is shaped by their experiences in the real world, not least French thinker Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

He sought to explain how the structure of an individual's social interactions can shape their impressions of themselves. This is why people can be vulnerable to a proliferation of unrealistic but readily attainable beauty standards.

Add aggressive marketing and an absence of clear societal values and a sense of shared cultural values and political norms and you have pressure — on women in particular — to conform to a new brand of  personal appearance.

These days that includes plump lips, bulging cheeks, taut eyelids, and bright white teeth.

Syrians would perhaps recognise Merleau-Ponty's distinction between two perspectives on the human body. The first involves a person's contemplation of how they want their body to appear, while the second involves recognising and adapting to the bodily perceptions of themselves and others.

Some people in Syria have come to rely on their physical appearance as their main means of displaying a sense of self to the outside world, while post-modern ideas and language has taken hold amid a decline in once-traditional forms of social life. That comes as a contrast to societies where such change is more gradual and a more natural form expression more prevalent.

The role of the mass media and its images, which often lack genuine authenticity and a proper grounding in realism, were of interest to another French intellectual, the sociologist Jean Baudrillard.

Perhaps he would have recognised the kind of hyper-reality a process like this has produced over body image in the minds of so many Syrians. Social media has subjugated wider society, in which its overblown, unrealistic imagery is now being emulated.

Hyper-reality makes its mark on Syria

It all means that young men may perceive a girl with natural and non-sharpened features as possessing ordinary beauty, while artificially enhanced people are judged to be more attractive, because they conform to a brand of hyper-realism also associated with supposedly happy and successful famous people.

This phenomenon is reminiscent of the ideas of Scottish Enlightenment-era philosopher David Hume, who thought that sensory perception is linked to the emergence of memory. The constant stream of artificial beauty images on social media unconsciously alienates people from natural faces.

Self-confidence is needed within the desire to conform

The desire for beauty undoubtedly has a positive aspect, as it can boost self-esteem by encouraging individuals to present themselves well to others. However, it is important to distinguish this from the contemporary compulsion to constantly emulate unattainable and artificial beauty standards, which ultimately lead to a distorted sense of self-esteem based on imitation.

In a war-torn country, the question arises as to where funds for these procedures come from. In Syria, people's spending habits, including their penchant for entertainment and luxury, raise concerns about the sustainability of their finances.

Even in small towns, cosmetic centres are proliferating and thriving, catering to customers of all social classes trapped in the beauty hype. Despite poverty, people seem to be embracing modern beauty standards, perhaps as an escape route from the day-to-dat turmoil of their lives.

Consequently, many Syrians who have undergone plastic surgery, or who observe others who have, tend to focus on superficial comparisons, avoiding deeper questions. This is especially so given the dwindling real-world social life in the country, with interactions becoming increasingly confined to social media.

The money Syrians are spending to alter their bodies and faces may reflect a more daring attitude towards confronting wounds and allowing cosmetic specialists to make improvements.

But it is gathering pace.

A decade ago, rhinoplasty was a thoughtful decision, but now Syrians of all ages are flocking to cosmetic surgeons. A culture of boasting about beauty is spreading among young Syrian men and women, leading to further divisions.

Personal aesthetics have become the only means to find oneself in a disintegrated society where their conventional or coherent role no longer holds any significance. Control of their personal appearance has perhaps become the only freedom left to Syrians.

This contorted quest for beauty may be an effort to salvage something that may not yet be fully understood. With the war in their country not yet entirely over, people there are seeking solace by wearing a new face, perhaps as a distraction from lingering suffering. 

Read more: Plagued by war, queues and sorrow, Syrians await their inevitable demise

By beautifying their bodies, Syrians seek to dissociate themselves from the agony of displacement and the atrocities of war, hoping to leave these memories behind them in the clinics.