What is with the craze of nose surgery in Iran? Every other day, or in Tehran generally every day, you see somebody who has a plaster stuck over their nose. This means, according to fellow locals, that the person has recently undergone nose surgery.
I find it interesting that people in Iran who have had surgery seem to flaunt and show off to everyone that they have undergone the knife. In the West, cosmetic surgery seems to be so much more taboo. You wouldn’t tell people that you had work done and you wouldn’t show it off to people in the street. You would be indoors, not making a statement that you just paid somebody to change your nose.
In Italian there are many ways to describe noses for example, ‘the French nose’, the ‘Roman nose’ and the ‘Greek nose’ however, many Iranians feel that it is unbearable to have an Iranian nose. I have a half-Iranian nose and I’m ok with it. I’ve never seen an unattractive Iranian nose myself, however it appears so common that many locals feel that their noses needs to be changed and ‘improved’.
Just looking at the statistics themselves, it is clear that getting nose surgery in Iran is an extremely popular trend, with the country having the highest number of nose surgeries in the world. According to reports, as many as 200,000 Iranians, have cosmetic surgery each year to make their noses smaller and make the tip point upwards. Most of these people are women.
It is interesting to think about why it is so popular for these people to have nose surgery in the first place. There are various arguments. One of them is the pressure to look good, along with the viewpoint that they want to look more like Western Hollywood stars. Another thought is that Iranians have nose surgery to supposedly look more attractive and appear ‘their best’ for possible suitors. So is a new nose the way to a partner? For some, it seems that way.
Nobody I know in Iran has had nose surgery for cosmetic purposes however, it is a recurrent occasion to see men and women with plasters over their nose, indirectly stating that they have had nose surgery. It is a shame that anyone feels like they have to change their natural beauty in order to feel good about themselves, but this does happens so often.
So is it hats off to those confident Iranians who walk the streets flaunting their new noses with a plaster over it? Maybe it is an admirable thing that they are not afraid to say that they have undergone cosmetic surgery. There is no secret or denial, they are open to saying it. The views of some Iranians towards cosmetic surgery is very unlike the West and is interesting to think about I feel. If anything, if you go to Iran, you’ll know what those plasters are about. A clear statement of truth with a potentially saddening story behind it.
Another Iran 