October 16, 2021

"According to Ms. Evangelista’s lawsuit... those stubborn fat deposits that balloon beneath their skin do not look like normal flesh."

"Instead, they resemble longish, solid rectangular bars — which in fact, reproduce perfectly the shape of the hand-held CoolSculpting wand, the device that is passed over the flesh to 'freeze' the fat. In other words, in cases of [paradoxical adipose hyperplasia], the body permanently takes on the precise contours of the tool used to reshape it. The body has literally, visually, internalized the weapon that deformed it and conformed to that weapon. In Ms. Evangelista’s case, she says her body created a permanent, visible record of what it — and she — were supposed to conceal."

The NYT writer, Rhonda Garelick, works hard at portraying Evangelista's medical problem as a Greek tragedy. Evangelista, I would say, was the most beautiful model of her time. She could have been satisfied with her glory and resisted all treatments, not deigned to allow anything as gross as a CoolSculpting wand to come anywhere near her perfect — or erstwhile perfect — self. 

I don't think Garelick pulls off the Greek tragedy comparison, because look how she's blaming the world — a world obsessed with women’s hyper-visibility has dispatched her so swiftly to invisibility

No, no, if this is to be a Greek tragedy, it's Linda's fault! 

But this is to be a NYT article, so the woman can't be to blame. She's a victim of the culture. Ordinariness.

19 comments:

Ice Nine said...

The epitome of "first world problem." I don't shed too many tears for women who have cosmetic surgery disappointments, and only maybe a few for the disasters. Leave it alone girls - we all look like what we are supposed to look like at a given age. And all your unnatural manipulations of nature's assignment don't fool anyone and generally make you look kind of notably freaky anyway. And, for the love of god, if you screw around with your eyes - the essence of your expressiveness, the window to your soul, etc -- you will look like someone everyone who knows you doesn't know.

Watch your carbs and work out, and be who *you* are and happy with that. Some of the most beautiful women I've known are in their sixties, sporting some wrinkles and a few extra pounds (see "like they're supposed to look" above) -- and beautiful character and history-suffused eyes. Thanks anyway, but Mother Nature doesn't need the help.

Big Mike said...

Trying to make a Greek tragedy out of a botched plastic surgery. Riiiiiiigggghhhhtttt

Yancey Ward said...

I remember her well- stunningly beautiful in the 1980s and 1990s. Lost track of her after that, though.

Narayanan said...

Q1 : re: The epitome of "first world problem."

is "first world problem." = same as "high class problem"

Q2 : re : women who have cosmetic surgery disappointments,

I never hear about women who are plastic surgeons - can they succeed in the profession?

-- do women who seek such surgery depend on a man's version of what is beautiful in women?
-- do women lack confidence in other women doing a good job of it?

Readering said...

I live in Southern California, plastic surgery capital (outside of South Korea perhaps). There is all this plastic surgery because it works. For both sexes. And all age groups. And most all occupations. But it is sad what happened to LE, a great beauty for sure.

Bender said...

Need I point out again that it is yet again another corner of the left-leaning universe -- this time the modeling industry that expects a certain look if the model wants work -- that is pressuring women to hate their natural bodies and radically change them.

Kai Akker said...

But how about femme fatale Linda Florentino?

Joe Smith said...

The '80s were a bad time to be a supermodel. The big hair and horrible clothes didn't help.

I'd say she was pretty, but not the most beautiful woman in the world.

Renée Simonsen (who I'd never heard of until I looked up '80s models) makes her look kind of plain.

wendybar said...

Age normally, and you won't have to worry about looking like a joker. Actions have consequences...Blame yourself. You weren't FORCED to do this, you paid to have it done.

daskol said...

Last time I saw her she was in a bathtub in a George Michael video.

daskol said...

She was the most beautiful of all the supermodels, and to me anyway the meanest looking.

William said...

I have some sympathy for her. It wasn't strictly vanity that caused her to initiate the process. Her good looks were how she made her living. Why not try to hang around a few extra years and pick up a few more big paychecks? ......I myself have kept my extraordinary good looks far into old age. That's all very well, but what I really miss are long afternoons playing tennis and all the perks that come with a young, resilient body. This whole aging process sucks.

Skippy Tisdale said...

"Watch your carbs and work out,"

Or even better, do your own manual labor. I had colleagues who paid to go to the gym everyday when they were also paying someone to put up a fence in their yard. Want a good free workout? Dig your own postholes and chop your own wood.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

The annoying/disgusting/headshaking thing about all this is that she probably looked great before she had the work done.

Narr said...

Supermodel schmupermodel. Pretty gals, her and Simonsen, and Fiorentino.

But college campuses are full of girls just as beautiful.

Nice said...

Malpractice Lawyers: Wouldn't an elective surgery with informed consent render her lawsuit void? I'd love to see the Release she signed. She needs gross negligence to collect any kind of damages, I would think. The article is behind a paywall, so I can't see what her exact claims are. Not willing to pay NYT to read this story. Gotta save up all my money for CoolSculpting.


The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I’m frankly baffled. She’s has a distinctly mannish face. If you saw her in certain surroundings, you might very well think she was a tranny.

Mary said...

Oh man. I kinda laughed while reading this article. Because it’s called “getting old as a woman”. I just weighed myself this morning on the scale, expecting it to be high according to how I see my body, and I was 103 lbs. I’m petite so I’m in the 103-108 range. I was expecting 108. I think it’s because I’m losing muscle and retaining fat. I’m working on that but damn, it’s a real thing! I’m 56 years old, the same age as that model, and I’m going through a similar experience without any CoolSculpting or anything like that. It’s called aging. I also have cellulite on my legs where I had very little before. Where did that come from? Age. I’m trying to accept it. It’s hard. But I also feel so good about who I am and where I’m at, so aging has had a great positive effect on me. Those wrinkles should be rewards, no?
It’s still hard.

Lazarus said...

She was the most beautiful of all the supermodels, and to me anyway the meanest looking.

Yes, it seemed somebody told her she had to be fierce and abrasive, rather than just pretty.

She and George Michael made a beautiful couple.

For some reason it didn't work out for them.