Ethnic Groups Differ in Cosmetic Surgery Preferences

Published February 25, 2011 by Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown

Different ethnic groups are choosing different cosmetic procedures, which are “tailored to their cultural preferences and ideals of beauty,” says a recent article in The New York Times.

“When a patient comes in from a certain ethnic background and of a certain age, we know what they’re going to be looking for. We are sort of amateur sociologists,” said surgeon Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh.

Doctors interviewed for the story reported seeing a demand for more facelifts among Egyptians, rhinoplasty for Iranians, buttock enhancement for Dominicans and breast augmentation in Russian women.

A survey last year from the AACS confirmed that cosmetic surgery has been increasing in popularity within ethnic groups in the U.S. Over half of respondents believed that during the last 5 years, the popularity of cosmetic surgery had increased among members of their racial/ethnic population.

According to Victoria Pitts-Taylor, a sociology professor at Queens College, motivations for ethnic cosmetic procedures seem to have changed. She said that in the early days of cosmetic surgery immigrants underwent procedures to try to look “more American.” Today it is different; many immigrants have procedures that reflect their home culture instead.

“My patients are proud of looking Hispanic,” said Dr. Jeffrey Yager, whose office is in a largely Dominican neighborhood. One of his 27 year old Dominican patients underwent breast augmentation in 2008. Now considering a buttocks lift, she reportedly said: “We Latinas define ourselves with our bodies,” and “We always have curves.”