Friday, July 25, 2008

Latino Immigrants To Europe Want To Look Like Europeans


Spanish plastic surgeons are reporting a dramatic rise in Latino patients from Central and South America visiting their offices requesting to look more white, or European. Doctors report over 2,500 immigrants have opted for cosmetic surgery, like rhinoplasty.

"What they want is for people not to recognize them as foreigners and go unnoticed," says Dr. Jose Palacín

20 Minutos, a Spanish news program, reports that the majority of these immigrants are Ecuadorian and Columbian living in Madrid. As the capital of Spain, Madrid's modern image maybe not only luring Spanish-speaking immigrants to its bright lights, but also luring them to change their image.

While SFP doesn't encourage others to loose their ethnic identity through plastic surgery, we must remind everyone that these immigrants are adults making adult decisions. Since the news program didn't interview one of these European-idolizing Latinos, we really have no idea why they want to look white. Perhaps they just like the aesthetic (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all), or maybe it's something more sinister - perhaps discrimination is involved. This could be similar to the historic case of the Irish changing names to avoid English discrimination. SFP will keep you abreast of any other information.

No comments:

Post a Comment