Oct 15, 2012

"Oh, My Nose!"



Readers, today I want to discuss a somewhat sensitive topic, and I'm not referring to mucous membranes.  I want to talk noses: specifically the extent to which a -- forgive the slang -- outsized schnoz is considered to be a "problem" in our (Western) culture.

Naturally, we'll be discussing people in the public eye, who may not be representative of the public at large in their (the celebrities') need to maintain a particular image for career purposes.  But for better or for worse celebrities have a big impact on what we consider acceptable.

Yesterday, I saw a very entertaining documentary about the late Diana Vreeland, The Eye Has To Travel.  Vreeland was famous for her many accomplishments in the fashion world, most notably as Fashion Editor of Harper's Bazaar and as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue.  But Vreeland was also known for her unusual face -- the most salient feature of which was an uncommonly large nose.  In the film, it is revealed that Vreeland's mother considered her ugly and would often compare her unfavorably with Diana's more conventionally pretty younger sister.  It's implied that this may have fueled her desire both to create a world of beauty around her and to be at the center of it.



 
Vreeland never had plastic surgery, choosing, instead, to make the best of what she had.  A woman of exceptional energy, style, creativity, and wit, she may not have been beautiful, but through her magazine work, she had an impact on the way women saw themselves.  It was Vreeland who put unconventional beauties like Cher, Barbra Streisand, Twiggy, Angelica Houston, and Penelope Tree on the pages of Vogue, in the process broadening Americans' view of what beauty could be.
  
Of course, you can't talk about famous noses without bringing up Barbra Streisand. 



Was it she herself who made big noses acceptable in the mainstream, or had the times changed enough to embrace a Barbra when one came along?  Whichever, Barbra was a real style icon in the Sixties -- less so when she went all folk rock in the Seventies, but at least she kept her nose.

In the heyday of Hollywood, a lot of actresses changed their noses.  Marilyn Monroe was tweaked sometime around 1949 or so, though the change was subtle.



Vera-Ellen's nose thinned out in the mid-Forties, soon to be followed by the rest of her.





Yet Barbara Stanwyck managed quite well with her somewhat unusual nose, as did many other famous stars.





More usually, however, a nose that looked too large, or was deemed too "ethnic," confined you to character or comic roles.









By the Sixties and Seventies, as the fashion world loosened up, the perky bobbed nose was just one of many acceptable profiles.









Where are we today -- fifty years after the emergence of Streisand?  There's still a lot of nose reshaping going on, perhaps now more than ever.  Even in a more globalized world, some facial features (read: conventional Anglo/caucasian) are considered more marketable than others.   This recent article in The New Yorker about K-pop (short for Korean pop music) is an eye-opener (no pun intended).





Readers, how about you?  Do you now -- or did you ever -- have what might be considered a big nose?   Did you grow up in a time or place (or culture or family) that pressured you to change it?   If so, how do you feel about your nose today?

Do you think there's more pressure on young people to have conventional good looks (and noses), due in part to the mainstreaming of plastic surgery, or less, thanks to people like Barbra Streisand?

Jump in!

Is this Lady Gaga's new nose or old nose?

51 comments:

  1. I figured you put Jennifer Grey in here, too, as when she changed her nose, she became completely unrecognizable and therefore less desirable for roles.

    Personally, I like my nose though it is differently shaped (maybe not really large, so much as long and curving down). My Mexican grandmother had the same nose and while I didn't get many features from that side of the family, I like that I at least have the dark hair and her nose.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have to admit I had my nose done when I was in my early twenties and an "aspiring" Hollywood actress because I had a complex since the third grade. Thank god the doctor hardly changed . But now almost twenty years later, I think my old nose was just fine and I just was insecure to do it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I agree that the nose job took away some of the character from my face . I remember when Jennifer Grey did her nose around the same time. Sadly her career went stale after that.

      Delete
  3. I have to confess that I have always envied my paternal cousins' straight, bold, yet proportional German noses. I inherited an awkward combination: My paternal grandmother's flared nostrils and my mother's very-short nose. I basically have a toddler's nose--short and perky, yes, but almost as wide as it is long. Yes, I'm pug-nosed.

    My brother got the nostrils, too, but at least he got the longer nose to go with them. He used to gross out school friends by stuffing M&M's--peanut, not plain--into his nostrils at lunch time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a big one! I'm not from an ethnic background you'd expect to see a big nose on-- English, Irish, and Swedish, but there it is! Don't know if my kids will wind up with it-- their father has an enviably nice petite and well-shaped nose and for now most of them seem to be taking after him, except for one of my sons who has an obviously rather big scnoz for a preschooler. haha (when he was born, a friend commented "I've never seen a nose like THAT on a newborn!" lmao)

    I longed to have a little button one when I was in my teens and maybe even through my mid-twenties. I think if I'd had piles of cash around back then I'd probably have gone for a reduction.

    but I'm in my early thirties now and if you gave me five grand to "fix" it I don't believe I would. I think it would ruin my face. Women with "strong" features seem to age better, to me, somehow. Seems to me like a lot of the cutsie-pie girls of my youth have not aesthetically aged as well as I feel I have. (yes I have a huge ego to go with that big nose. :D )

    Maybe the big beak holds the skin taut so it can't wrinkle as much or something lol

    or if you were never conventionally beautiful you've already kind of come to terms with it and worked with/around it?

    anyway, I think a LOT of women in hollywood have had their noses done. Scarlett Johannsen, I believe, even! she didn't have a huge one to start off with but I've seen a before/after pic, where it seemed to have obviously been "tweaked." no wonder all those gals start to look the same.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah, yes noses. I have a large one, a big one, so big that even kids have frequently asked me "why is your nose so big?" like in little red riding hood. It was tough in school and I thought I was ugly because of it. Nowadays it's just as big, I don't love it, but I'm also not particularly bothered by it. But I don't think I'd make it in Hollywood. Big noses are still only comic, if seen on screen at all. But I wouldn't change it, just couldn't be bothered by plastic surgery. And funnily enough my boyfriends have always told me they were attracted by my nose :) So, maybe big noses have sex appeal after all :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. and no, I never got pressure to change it from outside or my family-- all my anxiety about it came from stupid magazines and movies.

    My media intake was pretty limited back then but you almost can't escape the relentless airbrushed imagery, unless you're willing to move your family off the grid or something like that.

    (and truth to tell, my nose is not even THAT big. It's probably enormous by hollywood standards but if you saw me on the sidewalk, you wouldn't be like, "oh yeah, I saw this woman with a huge nose the other day") haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What...by Hollywood standards ? Honey, Hollywood is practically packed with Jewish actors bwith bith big and small noses. If you are taking your self worth/value from Hollywood/magazines...your problem is self confidence. You can exist in a world of media and be yourself...just stop using them as a standard. I grew up around TV, but was always taught the the thing that mattered most from my parents, siblings, and best friends.

      People will pick on you....it doesn't matter what a magazine shows. After all…most of us don’t look like magazine covers. They do it because you are different, special, ect... It has nothing to do with some ambiguous social pressure to look like a movie star. People have different taste in beauty and that is the ned of that. Most guys don’t even like the stick thin waifers that get thrown at them in commercial media. No need to move away from it…that’s just desperate.

      Delete
  7. I would have to say I probably do have a relatively large nose... perhaps a little bit beaky. I've been known to complain that it sticks out of my face like the prow of a ship!! It's a little bit crooked when you look at it in profile, and I went through a stage of being rather paranoid about it (after one rather rude woman on a bus asked me why it wasn't set after being broken - my nose has NEVER been broken) But, the truth is, I'm now generally okay with it. I like to think it gives me character, and it's a characteristic from my dad's side of the family, so it's a part of my heritage I guess!

    I don't think I'd have a nose job even if I could afford it! My parents gave me this nose, and so I'll keep it. The same can't be said of this extra ten pounds or so... but then, they're all my own doing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have to chime in...my nose is not big...and not anything that anyone would say I needed done..however...one of my side profiles look different like my nose is not straight...and honestly that does bother me a bit...however...what I would rather have done is I think I have a smaller upper lip...would love to puff that out in proportion to my lower lip...nothing that a good lip liner and lip color can camouflage...but would be nice

    ReplyDelete
  9. I never felt awkward about my nose when I was younger until I saw a video of a family gathering that showed me in profile. It's not that I have a large nose, but rather that the concavity of the angle of projection from my forehead combined with the lift at the tip make it reminiscent of a ski jump. My oma had the same nose and the family called it a "ski-jump nose". I'm thankful, however, that I didn't get my dad's nose. I don't think I'd ever change it, and I always think that most nose jobs don't suit the people that get them as much as their original noses. Janet Jackson should have kept her original nose. So should Cher.

    Many people don't realize that none of us are symmetrical because the head doesn't grow from the middle of the face out - it develops from the back of the head around to the front, ending with the center of the face, which explains why some people have noses that look crooked or off-center. My oldest child has one entire side of her face that is slightly larger than the other, although you have to really study her face to notice it, and I only recently realized that one side of my face is flatter than the other, which explains why I always thought that one profile looked different from the other.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The great star of film, screen and television, Mary Martin, was definitely in the well endowed proboscis category. It was her strongest facial feature and she had the personality to make it work for her.

    Different strokes for different folks, but I love a performer who is totally comfortable working the jolie laide side of the street. Sooo much more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary Martin? That's funny, I never thought of her as having a big nose.

      Are you sure you don't mean DEAN Martin (who had his nose fixed, btw)?

      Delete
  11. While I have small facial features (and hands, wrists, ankles, and feet) I have a bump on my nose known as the "dorsal hump". It's created at the connection of the nasal bone and septal cartilage. At some angles (mostly 3/4 variants) it looks weird but I am happy with my nose. Holds up glasses very nicely!

    I don't have a nose preference or facial feature preferences really. I enjoy the ethnic diversity and sometimes it really suits the person. One of my university professors had a nose that reminded me of a male proboscis monkey (like Jimmy Durante but bigger) and he was a Primatologist!

    I can understand fat issues and surgery and medical surgery. But to change the infrastructure of your body is just sad.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah yes, my 'pronounced dorsal hump'. I get it from my Welsh father though I don't think nationality has anything to do with it.

    I was never really conscious of it until my sister told me that when I smiled it looked like the bridge of my nose was going to break through the skin. Cue a couple of years of self-consciousness. But then again I was 15 and if I wasn't self-conscious about that it would have been something else.

    I then read something about parting your hair to the side to draw attention to your eyes instead and then over the years forgot all about it.





    ReplyDelete
  13. I have a big ole nose. My mother would always say that my nose was smaller than her nose and lovely, but would go on to disparage her own. In fact, she and I have the exact same nose. I think she wouldn't mind if I got plastic surgery and even asked once if I would get it (and then pretended she didn't say it, Ha!) but I've had this big ole nose my whole life, what would I change it to? What if I ended up like Jennifer Grey? Or worse, Michael Jackson?

    ReplyDelete
  14. It seems pretty sad and limited to only like people who look identically the same-- small noses, wide eyes, perfect symmetry. I love unconventional beauties. And actors with character in their faces. Now, even the character actors have to be beautiful. Which is sad, because I adore Jimmy Durante and Mary Wickes, and I'd like to see more talented and less conventionally pretty actors.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My nose is similar to Vera Ellen's "before." In fact, I looked a lot like her when I was a teenager. I remember going to a makeup artist who smeared brown gunk on the sides of my nose to "contour it." She also tried to slim my round face with the same contouring cream. I just ended up looking like I had 5 o'clock shadow and with a weird tan that was just on the sides of my nose. I've since decided that my slightly rounded face with my slightly wide nose is just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fascinating post as we could substitute the nose for many other features (breasts, for example). I was too busy tormented about the size of my breasts, as a young person, to pay much attention to my nose :-) But I'll say this: I think my nose is fine. It's on the small size, slightly upturned. It's neither my best, nor my worst feature.

    I don't think size makes for an unattractive nose, but I certainly think that some people have less than attractive ones (just like some people have subjectively unattractive derrieres or stomachs or legs). My husband, who's pretty gorgeous, has a rather unfortunate-looking nose, truth be told (don't tell him I said this). I mean, I don't think it's his best feature. I suspect he might look even more gorgeous were he to have it altered. Do I think he should have it altered? No way. Why should he change his face unless he feels like it? And his nose gives a nice contrast to his fantastic smile and beautiful eyes.

    Let's face it (no pun intended), not everyone has objectively gorgeous features all around. I support people in having surgery to change the features they feel limited by. (I am no advocate for people who do all manner of things to avoid the impact of age.)

    But let me reiterate - large noses do not equal unattractive noses!

    ReplyDelete
  17. My husband once called my nose my "Shylock special." I never even thought about my nose before that! But he's usually pretty nice, so I've forgiven him.

    ReplyDelete
  18. My nose looks very regular from the front, maybe a bit stronger than the norm, but it really stands out chen you see me in profile. I used to hate it but now I realise changing it would completely distort my face. Everyone in my family has quite strong and clear features: clearly defined eyebrows, large eyes, noses, teeth.

    I remember being seven years old, in school, and feeling bad about myself compared to the other girls in my class. They all had shiny straight hair, got tans in the summer and had small noses. I was (and am still) very pale with freckles, rather fluffy hair and what I thought was 'a weird face'. I think I just grew into it...

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is oddly not "a man thing". Don't hear the guys lamenting, or scheduling an appointment about their noses. It would be kind of odd topic if came up amongst a group of men.

    We've put TOO much "beauty ideal" on women, when they aren't any where near similar. I know someone who got a slight bump leveled; minimal change, she's happy, and still recognizable. Though I didn't even notice it had been done until she pointed it out.

    Seeking perfection or making improvements are either an exercise in chasing youth, or an ethnic apology. Not much of a prize in accomplishing either one.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I do have a big nose. It was only one of several features that I was extremely sensitive about growing up. I've never seriously considered changing it. If I did that I would have to change a bunch of other stuff that is less than beautiful. I have come to accept my nose. It's not beautiful, but it is part of me. I think a small amount of plastic surgery is fine if it helps someone become more confident. The Michael Jackson effect is there to make us all realize that the less surgery the better.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm the daughter of a WASP and a Romanian immigrant. My father tells of picking my mother up at her parents' house and my grandfather saying "What a joker! He's wearing a fake nose and glasses."

    If I do have a big nose, I'm mercifully unaware of it.

    I read Eleanor Dwight's biography of Diana Vreeland and felt sad for her. The book included a list of DV's self-styled, "self improvement" regimen. My favorite was "go for mad walks."

    ReplyDelete
  22. My nose is just a nose. Now, Vreeland's mother was my mother. She once told me that I'd never be pretty, but I could always be attractive and that I really should wear make-up (I was 15 and it was back when 15 year-olds didn't wear make-up.) My saving was the French expression "jolie laide" which means, roughly, ugly-beautiful. Being tall (for then) and skinny, I took to sewing couture and wearing things that were stylish and different. BTW, when called on it, mum explained that I wasn't blonde, wasn't blue-eyed, had straight hair and was flat chested. Thank God for Twiggy. That girl saved my life.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have a somewhat large, bumpy ( I prefer to think of it as curvy) nose and I like it. It fits the rest of my facial features.
    I consider plastic surgery of any kind to be extremely stupid, your face comes with a set of features that work together and that's that. if you mess with them you look weird.

    I'm completely happy with the way I look, I couldn't imagine myself with a different face or body. Sadly, I know this is an uncommon attitude among girls my age( I'm 17).

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hmmmm... Fairly typical nose, here. Length is proportionate in my face. I call it a "ski slope-pug." It's very narrow, then ends in a bit of a pug--sort of a cross between Vera-Ellen's and Norma Jean's early noses.

    While I would love to have a more elegant nose, this one works well with my round features. The only real disadvantage is my glasses slide down my nose all time! Unless they're too tight, and that's a whole 'nother story! *LOL*


    Taja

    ReplyDelete
  25. I remember reading about DV and her sister...but I will point out: which of those two siblings became a LEGEND, hmmm? The one who went out there and took life by the horns (WITHOUT a nose job!)or the one who just rode around on her LOOKS all her life? Does anyone know Diana V's sister's NAME, even? I rest my case!

    I heard that Barbra S.WAS in fact thinking about getting her nose "done" but when the doc couldn't guarantee that the surgery wouldn't affect the quality of her singing voice she took a PASS on surgery! The shape of your sinuses acts as a resonator; to change them would certainly affect the quality of one's voice.

    I will remark that while I am not a believer in frivolous plastic surgery, a nose job can literally "revolutionize" one's looks for the better (provided of course, one has a highly competent surgeon with artistic sensibilty!)I will never forget one article I read in Cosmo years ago; this woman had a frankly ugly, Jimmy-Durante-type nose, and decided to get a nose job. The transformation was stunning; she went from only "moderately attractive" to absolutely breathtaking. Once her ugly nose (and it was ugly!) had been re-shaped, the rest of her extremely attractive face fell into place. It was hard to believe it was the same woman! She even said she had a hard time getting used to her new nose, because people's overwhelmingly positive reactions to the new one caused her to wonder what sort of 'horror' she had been "pre-surgery"!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have to chime in here. As a young girl I had a normal pert nose nothing that would give evidence of what was about to happen once puberty hit. Growth hormones, instead of telling my boobs to grow, told my nose to grow, and grow it did. I would sit for what seemed like hours in front of the mirror with my index finger across the 'bump' to see what I would look like without it. I guess I bothered my parents enough about it that they agreed to surgery and I had it when I was only 14 years old. For my self-esteem, it was the best thing I ever did. I had the surgery done at a small private hospital in NYC...and still hold the card in my wallet to the plastic surgeon who did it (he also did Paul Newmans nose).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Puberty can be a bitch. How wonderful that you have a nose you now love. I had no idea that Paul Newman had a nose job! :-)

      Delete
  27. My favorite Aunt had a huge nose. She once said when the rest of you is ugly having a big nose makes little to no difference to the overall effect. She had a wonderful laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Today and yesterday, I had a similar conversation about beauty and images with a dear friend. We are always bombarded with images of what beauty should be; rarely do any of those images look like me. I have dark brown skin, curly hair, curvy hips, full lips - pretty much everything that is the opposite of how beauty is portrayed. I am beautiful. Period. =)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with plastic surgery. To say that our features are naturally balanced just isn't true.

    If you're satisfied with the genetic hand you've been dealt, that's swell. But calling anyone who chooses to change something about their physical appearance "stupid," when you don't know their motivation or expectations, is unfair. It's like my rich friend who said, arrogantly, that he "never thinks about money." Well, sure. If you've got it, you don't need to think about it, right?

    I'd say the question is whether you're trying to fix something you see as a minor, fixable, annoyance, or you are on some never-ending, unsatisfiable quest for a perfection that is not necessarily your own ideal, but one society has dictated to you.

    In a nutshell -- do YOU hate your nose, or were you fine with it until somebody told you you shouldn't be, and you believed them?

    My own nose is mediocre. Not big, not small, not particularly pretty, not particularly ugly (at least at most angles). But if I'd inherited my maternal grandfather's beak, I'd have recovered from the surgery decades ago. I don't have the strong features to carry it off. I'd have been "all nose."

    And as my mom, like Bunnykins', lovingly told me "There are no great beauties in our family."

    A long time ago, someone said I resembled Jennifer Gray, and I was very flattered. This was well before she changed her face. I felt bad that she felt she needed to "fix" a feature that I had never thought needed fixing. It was not overwhelming or grotesque in any manner, and it added character, softness, and charm to her face. Now, while perhaps conventionally prettier, her face has lost those arguably more desirable characteristics.

    On the other hand, I have friends who, like Sassy Lassie, still say it was 'the best thing they ever did,' which I suspect actually means, "I don't regret it for a minute."

    FYI, rhinoplasty is not recommended for anyone under 16, as potentially deadly blood clots to the brain are, for whatever reason, more likely to occur in still-growing girls (and, I'd assume, boys). In real life I'm a medical editor.

    ReplyDelete
  30. My nose is large AND wide AND curved, with a prominent bump at the bridge. As a teen, I was teased about it by my brother. My parents did nothing to stop the teasing, but they also were extremely biased and judgmental about plastic surgery (or anything "artificial" to improve one's looks, quite frankly.) So I was expected to live with my nose and be teased about it. It seriously impacted my self-image and the way I related to others.

    Now that I'm older, I realize that my looks were (and are) actually just fine, but a little different from the norm. Some men find me unattractive, and some are attracted to my strong features. I feel like I've grown into my face, becoming more attractive as I've gotten older, and I'm happy with it. I still think I'd be more attractive with a straighter, less bumpy nose, but not so much that I'm willing to go under the knife.

    But because of what I suffered as a young person, I would never, EVER, judge anyone who wanted to have plastic surgery. I see such a change as not much different than the change I experienced when I finally got my teeth straightened at 46 (another thing my parents considered frivolous). It was significant change in my appearance and a hugely positive experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just to clarify: I dislike my nose because I was teased; at that point, it was already very obvious to me that my nose was out of the norm. But I do think my life would have been easier if I'd felt freer to make a decision about rhinoplasty, without all the guilt and judgement that so often surrounds those who are considering plastic surgery. That type of judgement adds a whole additional layer of pain to the situation.

      And there's nothing wrong with wanting to be conventionally attractive. Sure, we don't all want to look the same, but adding a little balance and symmetry to one's face or body is not the horror that some people make it out to be.

      Delete
    2. *Ugh! First sentence above should read "not because I was teased.

      Delete
  31. I have a largish schnozz.....Which I first became aware of when my classmates started calling me "Bushchook" in primary school.

    Bushchook being Aussie slang for an emu.

    Yup.

    They tormented me for years.

    I hated my nose since then.
    Over the years I think my face has grown into it. I'm still not 100% comfortable with my profile. But it's a "Molnar nose" - runs through my father's side of the family quite strongly. It would be an insult to change it.
    Overall I'd say I'm unusually attractive - I'm becoming more convinced that if I changed my nose I'd just be "plain". So for now, it stays ;-)

    You know which actress I like who is also "quirky" looking in the schnozz department, but wouldn't be the same without it - Charlotte Gainsbourg. She's awesome.
    .

    ReplyDelete
  32. Charlotte G. is lucky she didn't take after her FATHER; he bore a remarkable resemblance to a CHIMPANZEE.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I wasted far too much adolescent time on worrying about my big nose. Everything is supposed to be wonky and out of proportion when you're going through puberty - why else would they call it "the awkward phase"? I was teased about it, but not mercilessly, and frankly, most kids will find something (anything) as an excuse to tease, no matter how you look.

    I've either grown into it or grown to ignore it in the intervening 30 years. Luckily, for every person who asked me as a child if I would get a nose job when I grew up, there was at least one more who told me it was a terrible idea and would change my face. Having had two medically necessary surgeries on my face (unrelated to my nose), I wouldn't go through the pain and recovery, let alone the medical risks of anaethesia and surgery, for anything less than a medical issue again, and I would certainly never suggest somthing like that to an impressionable kid!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi! It's my first time commenting but I have been reading your blog for a while now.(very recently figured out how to "follow officially".) I'm a big fan!:)

    As you mentioned above, in Asia, it's all about making eyes AND noses bigger. When I was a school girl, I wanted to have plastic surgery to "fix" my eyes. Now I'm glad I didn't do it because I wouldn't be able to bear the guilt of cutting up my body which was perfectly healthy.

    But I'm not completely against plastic surgery...if such small changes make you feel better and give you positive attitude toward life, why not? It's only bad when you obsess about looking perfect and cannot stop the "reinventin"... Even if you are a beauty queen, there are always prettier, younger women than you somewhere.


    Looking forward to future posts!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  35. About 15 years ago I was riding a city bus through an "interesting" part of town and when I got off, a young guy dressed in full gang wear was behind me. He stopped me, told me I had a perfect nose, then walked away. I told my husband about it and my nickname has been Nose ever since. -Ellie

    ReplyDelete
  36. I've broken mine some 5 times...it's pretty squishy...I would prize a big schnoz! I like big schnozzes.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Aw, I love unique noses. Whether they are big, or have a bump, or turn down - I think they are beautiful :) That being said, I don't begrudge anyone who opts for surgery. I have parts of my body I'd like to change as well, and I think that's totally understandable.

    As far as my nose goes, well, I love it so much - I had it pierced twice :) Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I have a rather insipid nose myself but my husband's nose exhibits an impressive mash up of Viking-Celt, French Canadian Fur Trader (likely of stealth Jewish descent) and Native American qualities. Our daughter inherited his dramatic cheekbones, nose and olive skin tone and she's gorgeous. She has a Nefertiti profile, a beautifully distinct smile and she never has trouble commanding attention onstage or in person. She will never change her largeish nose, in part because she doesn't want to affect her fabulous voice but mostly because she loves the rich genetic heritage that is evident in the features of her face.

    Our adopted son has a rather unremarkable little nose but we try not to let him feel inadequate because of it - he got gorgeous brown curls, long eyelashes and artful freckles instead.

    We need more big noses and more celebration of physical features that differ from the "commercialized norm" in general. Plastic surgery is fine if you really need it but I feel that it an industry that preys upon women's learned fears and insecurities. In my eyes, beauty vs ugliness is not determined by genetic code for physical features so much as by behavior, health and emotional disposition.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I've never paid much attention to noses, I guess they're not of much importance in my area. I have a "cute" nose, well proportioned, but had plenty of other body parts to obsess about!

    My grandma tells the story of being thin and uncurvy when she married my grandpa. His sisters were voluptuous and made fun of my grandma. Twenty years later my grandma was the curvy beautiful one, and the sisters were flabby. Guess who had the last laugh! haha

    ReplyDelete
  40. I think the better question would be this: Why do we feel the need to fulfill some expectation of perfection?

    I think having the choice of cosmetic surgery is wonderful. But I also think making the choice should remain a private decision. If one chooses it, I would hope it is because they are making the decision for themselves and not to please someone else.

    Why on earth do we all want to look the same anyway? I like my little quirks.....don't you?

    ReplyDelete
  41. I didn't read through all the comments, but I don't think a lot of people have the same nose "issue" as I do. I actually like my nose although it isn't your average shape or size.
    But, I really dislike how crooked it is when looking at my face straight on. It pretty much swings to the left, and I struggle with whether I should just accept it of get it tweaked. If there was some way I could be sure that it wouldn't change too much, then I'm sure I would get surgery, although I hate that I care this much and would go under the knife for it!
    All this fuss over noses, but I still just want mine to be straight.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I am 55 years old and still struggling to overcome the day in 7th Grade when a boy who I never actually met was talking to my best friend, and I walked up to ask her something--and he took one look at me and said, "You have a big nose, you're f***ing ugly!" Never mind that he was he was rather a pimply, red faced teen with not the most conventional features himself. . . I don't know that I had been aware of my large nose before this, but I certainly have never forgotten since.

    Barbra S. was my idol way back then. I thought my Jewish nose was sort of like hers, or at least I hoped so!

    Over the years, I have learned in many ways to live with my face, and never considered plastic surgery. My husband, bless him, thinks I am attractive. In the last dozen years or so I have found ways to play with clothing and create a personal sense of style that has largely transformed how I feel about how I appear.

    Yet lately, somehow, I can't bear to look at myself in photos. I am still the 12 year old who feels desperately unattractive. I wish this were not true.

    ReplyDelete
  43. As a matter of interest are there other fellas out there that really like a big nose on a lady? I can't be the only one?

    ReplyDelete
  44. I don't have a big nose. Compared to other people in my family (like my great-uncle), I certainly do not have a big nose. Instead, I have a slightly crooked nose, which bothered me for some time in my teens, but not too much, because I saw the same sort of slight crookedness on my father's nose and found it endearing. A shared family heritage, so to say.

    I'm still sort of bothered by it when I see it in photos, mostly because from some angles, it tends to look bigger than it is (and even if you are OK with your big nose, you probably do not want it to outshine the rest of you.)


    As to celebrities: I LOVE Peter Wingfield's nose. (Peter Wingfield's not a BIG celebrity, but I am head over heels in love with his looks.)

    ReplyDelete
  45. my nose is so big it makes me want to die sometimes it makes me look like a pig, I have a real snout and I think is what is preventing me from having success and love in my life

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.