I saw Greta Van Susteren recently.
She is famous for her take-no-prisoners style of interviewing.
She also famous for her plastic surgery.
Everyone was a little surprised that she had any. She’s not a vain person. Apparently, her husband has to remind her to comb her hair before an interview instead of after.
So Greta getting plastic surgery was news.
I scrutinized her carefully. I looked at the "before" and "after" photos.
It’s hard to see what she’s had done.
It’s harder still to tell why she’s had work done
She is not prettier or more beautiful. (I am not saying she’s not pretty. I’m saying she’s not prettier!)
And then it occurred to me that we we might be looking at a new motive for plastic surgery
Perhaps Greta wanted to make herself look more formidable.
And this would make her plastic surgery adaptive in an whole new way.
Beauty is one thing. But when everyone on camera plays this card, well, aren’t there other opportunities? Formidable makes lots of sense for someone who scrutinizes people and topics for a living. It makes sense for people who want credibility in the newsroom.
And why stop there? Could we be on the verge of a world in which we go under the knife to look more intelligent, more sensitive, more caring, more thoughtful, or more honorable. To see this from an evolutionary point of view, every "species" is working the same angle. Everyone is being more beautiful…as if this were the only way to be more attractive.
Greta is mum on the topic. See the People story (below). I may have missed it, but I don’t see her declaring herself explicitly one way or another. And of course someone trained as a lawyer would play it just this way. Let the world assume what it will. And keep the truth to yourself.
Or maybe Greta did do it for the beauty. We are still in possession of a possibility.
References
McCracken, Grant. 2008. Transformations: Identity Construction in Contemporary Culture. Indiana University Press.
Smolowe, Jill. 2002. “Nipped, Tucked and Talking.” People. February 18. here.
Greta is such a powerful young woman. She did it at the right time. Yes, Greta DOES look beautiful. I want to be like Greta. I know my husband would be delighted. I’ve already lost weight, from a 14 to a 10. I want my 25 year old look again.
Bravo Greta, you clearly have the best doctor in the world. You look fresh, rested and dazzeling.
Holly Aichele
New Braunfels, TX