America Planning A ‘Sexist’ Tax on Cosmetic Surgery
Women have turned to cosmetic surgery in ever increasing numbers. Today’s society pushes them to have a perfect body and a young face. Exercise and diet are important, but most of the time they are not enough. Cosmetic surgery is, many times, necessary for a woman to maintain the look that is expected of her. Now, Senator Harry Reid’s healthcare bill has a proposed tax on elective cosmetic procedures, which has quickly been termed the ‘botax.’
The American government does not really understand who they are taxing with this tax. A promise was made to tax the rich and make them pay their share of taxes. This tax will actually harm middle-aged, mid-income women. In a blog on the NYTimes.com a physician said, “I can tell you that most of my cosmetic patients are not rich, but are working people, including teachers, and accountants.” Should these people have to pay the government to look good?
This botax has been dubbed a sexist tax. Nearly 90 percent of all cosmetic procedures are performed on women, so the tax is going to be paid mostly by women. Terry O’Neil, president of the National Organization for Women, told the Times that many middle aged women would suffer form this tax. With a lot of women loosing jobs due to the recession, many are looking to cosmetic surgery to help them to impress potential employers. She went on to say, “[the government] is going to put a tax on middle-aged women in a society that devalues them for being middle-aged.”
Women who get cosmetic surgery are not vain shallow people, contrary to what some may believe. Dr. Carlos Wolf, a Miami plastic surgeon, told the Stylelist, “Generally, I find that cosmetic surgery patients want to look their best, so they eat healthy and stay in shape.” One of the most popular procedures, boob jobs, is commonly performed on women who have recently had a child. Pregnancy tends to cause a woman’s breasts to sag, after they are no longer lactating. Society promotes the idea that a woman should have perky firm breasts, so taxing a middle aged mother when she wants to have her breasts fixed is ridiculous and sexist.
Most cosmetic procedures are performed on middle aged women who want to turn back the age that is sapping away their beauty. This may sound vain but the truth is that society does not value a middle aged woman that actually looks middle aged. Society values beauty and it is sexist to tax these women, making it harder for them to stay beautiful in a chauvinistic society.
