I am gonna write this post as if you’ve never heard of this lobotomization of a garbage reality TV show. I say that in the best way possible, but also coming from a place of heavy critique. Dr. Nassif and Dr. Dubrow are both A-list plastic surgeons and TV personalities straight out of Beverly Hills, they work, at least in this show, EXCLUSIVELY on people (oftentimes obnoxious) who come in looking for corrective surgery from previous procedures that left them “botched.” And it’s true, some people come in looking like a whole mess, but the extent to which they put plastic surgery on a pedestal is insane to watch.
LOL to this picture, it’s so heavily edited ā ļøš
There are a good amount of episodes of truly the sweetest people who got fucked over and are so desperately seeking care from these doctors so that they aren’t “freaks” or social rejects anymore. I lost track of how many episodes are centered around a timid, wimpy person with a low self esteem who truly wholeheartedly believes that getting surgery will allow them everything being “botched” denied them. Don’t get me wrong these are some DAMN GOOD surgeons and they’re really good with their patients BUTTTT my god the language around every corrective procedure kills me inside. So much talk about making this and that “normal.” Maybe I’m just sensitive and assume the patients would get hurt at comments like “change this to make it NORMAL.” I understand doctors can be cold and oftentimes very blunt, but why is that normalized??????? I get the need to be concise and clear in a field like theirs and patients really do love these doctors, so it’s not like they’re shitheads, but idk I feel bad. There was one episode in specific about a trans female sex worker coming in to get her boob job and vaginoplasty corrected. It’s episode called “Vagina bomb!” please watch it. Anyway, the doctor that initially did her sex changed fucked her UP. I’m talking her labia majora was way too meaty (lack of better word) and for the inner components all she had was a clit, no inner lips. Both doctors brought in another doctor who specializes in genitals and is also a man. This episode bothered me the most. I understand that the initial vaginoplasty was abnormal, but IT SITS WITH ME THE WRONG WAYYYY I CAN’T HELP IT. It hurts my feelings to hear these doctors keep reaffirming that her body is not NORMAL AND THEREFORE NEEDS TO BE MADE NORMAL TO BE ABLE TO BE A NORMAL ACCEPTABLE BODY. Ugh I hate and love this garbage show and I’m only writing this because I’ve been stuck in a weird rut and just need to babble about SOMETHING.
really craving pizza and panera mac, mmmmm…
Unruly Bodies 
Hi!
I’ve also been binge watching botched since they put it on Netflix, I get what you mean about their language when talking to patients for example the use of the word “normal”. But I dont think they’re trying to put it in a mean way, often times then not a lot of the people that come in have previous horror stories of plastic surgery so I think it might be for lack of better words when they say they want to make the persons body look normal and presentable. Also I like how in the show they do before and after of the surgery and more often then not you can see a huge difference in the persons energy that they radiate simply because they’re so happy. I actually didn’t watch that “vagina bomb” episode yet so I will definitely look into that and be more aware of there wording.
Hey, I really liked your blog post and I hope you treated yourself to some pizza and Panera mac. I have never heard or watched “Botched” (mostly because I cannot afford that Netflix subscription lol) but that’s so crazy. Like why do people feel like the need to critique that harshly on surgery mishaps? If there was a problem that both the patient and the doctor could see, there’s absolutely no need to rub it in. I guess it’s good for views, but it’s still so wrong! From the sound of it, I don’t think I’ll like this show because it just sounds like an infuriating watch. I think your reason for ranting is 100% valid lol.
I’ve never watched this show before but I definitely understand what you’re saying about these doctors being inconsiderate. As a doctor, you should know that there are many people with different types of features and that everyone is unique. So saying that someone’s features are not normal is extremely rude. These doctors should be able to perform procedures without saying that they are “fixing” their patients. They are simply changing something, not “fixing” them or making them look “normal.”
Botched is my little guilty pleasure reality TV show, they have so many more seasons on E! Network and I have seen just about every one of them. The show definitely fits a formula of extremely insecure people coming in with plastic surgery disaster and leaving in tears of joy because of how ānormalā they looked. Thinking about the Susan Stryker piece āMy Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix,ā she says how we are all socially, and sometimes physically, constructed at some point. And theoretically, we should all be fighting against the notion of what is ānormalā because no one is safe in its gaze. I do recognize that although we might want to dismantle the patriarchal gaze that we are subjected to, we still live beneath it. Therefore, I completely understand wanting to appear ānormalā because appearing āabnormalā comes with so much shit.