Online US dating website for ‘beautiful people’ selling advice on cosmetic surgery
AUSTRALIAN medical officials have slammed an online dating site that restricts entry to “beautiful” people for beauty-shaming perfectly normal-looking men and women. For a fee, the site will advise you on the cosmetic surgery needed to become a member.
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AN online dating site that restricts entry to “beautiful” people only has started selling advice on the cosmetic surgery needed to become a member.
Australian medical officials have slammed the BeautifulPeople.com site for beauty-shaming that could cause perfectly normal-looking women and men to have cosmetic surgery they do not need.
The US-based online dating club has rejected more than nine million applicants since launching in 2004, with new members only allowed to join if existing members approve of their looks.
Last week, the site began offering rejected applicants a report — for $61 — from a plastic surgeon about their physical flaws and how cosmetic surgery could fix them.
The Daily Telegraph tested the concept, getting advice from Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr Linda Li based on an uploaded photo.
Her judgment included “thin lips”, an “angry/grumpy” look and “heavier appearance” that could be fixed with fillers and liposuction.
“While the dark pants help to hide some of your hips, they are still wide which give you a heavier appearance,” said Dr Li, who starred in American reality TV series Dr 90210. “Liposuction … would trim that area and give your legs a longer look.”
She also advised liposuction of the abdomen and waist to “enhance your figure”, dermal filler to soften “frowning lines” at the corner of the mouth that “make you appear slightly angry/grumpy” and fillers for the lips, which were “on the thin side”.
Site founder Greg Hodge said seven applicants had scheduled plastic surgery with Dr Li since the feedback service was launched.
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Of 7000 people rejected from the site, 2978 have asked for feedback, with 83 per cent of requests coming from women.
“We understand getting unfiltered feedback on your appearance can be, in some cases, quite jarring but feedback is only given if applicants opt in for it, and most appreciate the unvarnished truth,” Mr Hodge said.
Former Australia Medical Association NSW president Dr Brad Frankum slammed the offering as “unethical” and “potentially very damaging for people who are vulnerable”.
“It’s likely to cause people who potentially already have self-esteem or image issues to doubt themselves further and be tempted to seek unnecessary surgical or cosmetic procedures, which could put them at risk,” he said.
“The government should have a look at it. From a moral and ethical perspective what they’re doing here is completely wrong. The depths keep getting lower for some of this behaviour, it’s shocking.”