TV: From BBL to Regret: Why These Celebs Want Their Real Bodies Back
Many people believe that pressing play on their lives must include a measure of self-enhancement, surgically.
But this week a new show on DSTV's E! channel shows the exact opposite.
Celebs join in and share the who what why when and where of hitting the reverse button on artificial body modification under the knife.
Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind kicks off on 17 August and will air every Sunday at 7.05pm.
In the show, nine celebrities and influencers head to what they call a Rewin retreat to discover and kumbha-yah on whether to reverse past cosmetic procedures in the name of a more natural look.
The programme is hosted by Michelle Visage, with plastic surgeon Dr Terry Dubrow and body image expert Dr Spirit. The show promises more than beauty chinwags and vanity lament. It is billed, instead, as a mix of personal truths, emotional reckonings and a bit of lightness.
Rewinding surgery
Irish content creator Alan McGarry is part of the cast. They are known for a bold presence in the LGBTQ+ media space and reality TV.
McGarry participated in the retreat because of regrets about a Brazilian bum lift and a willingness to reconsider what beauty really meant to them.
'When I was approached to go on Plastic Surgery Rewind, it came at a really good time,' McGarry said.
'I was very hesitant about where I was going with my career and my well-being. I was not feeling good about myself, and I kept asking why I had done this cosmetic surgery.
'To others, it may not have been a big thing, but to me it was. The show just came at the right time to help me decide where I was going with my life, and I am so happy I got that call.'
Also Read: 7 Ways Gen Z is Living The Soft Life, and what it costs
McGarry did not know who else would be at the celeb retreat at the start of filming. 'I had never been on a show before where I could be vulnerable,' McGarry said.
'I could talk to people about my experiences with bullying, trolling, my sexuality and my gender. People have been messaging me since, calling me their little chicken and telling me I am beautiful. This time, I was just being me and living my true self.'
Live your true self
McGarry co-stars alongside Aubrey O'Day, Kim Zolciak and Brielle Biermann, Jessica Dime, Larissa Santos Lima, Sebastian Bails, Sophia Elgerabli and Kathy Brown.
Each had their own reasons for rethinking surgical enhancement. For McGarry, the experience was about stripping away more than just fillers and surgery. It has been about looking behind the expectations and impressions of others. Then to stand in front of the mirror and like what they see.
Like what you see in the mirror
The original plan was to focus on their Brazilian bum lift or BBL, but the conversations and self-examination that took place changed the conversation.
'I learned about the side effects and complications if I had it reversed, but as the journey went on, it was not the bigger picture. It became about my hair, my aesthetics and my face. The BBL was only the starting point,' McGarry said.
Pressure around body image in the LGBTQ+ community played a big role in their decisions to change their appearance in the first place.
'Growing up in a small, very Catholic town, people were judgmental and there was nobody like me walking around,' McGarry said.
'I was trolled for how I looked, how I spoke and how I presented myself. I started changing my hair colour, enhancing my face, getting liposuction and then the BBL because I wanted to fit in and get away from the bullying.
'It never really worked, because every time I changed something, I was still trolled. In our community, we just want to be accepted for our sexuality, but then people judge us for how we look or dress. It is tough.'
All about image curation
Social media and the curated image concocting that comes with it, they said, widened the gap between outward image and their personal reality, especially for celebs.
'When you are on social media, you want to look your very best all the time,' McGarry said.
'I was never one hundred percent the real Alan online. There was always a front, a mask. If you are paid for a collaboration, you may not always be yourself.
'Since the retreat, I am happy to pop on with no makeup, to have normal days and just be me. I cannot wait to show people the real Alan instead of the stage presence they are used to.'
NOW READ: Expert shares 7 safety rules every South African needs to know
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