Something changed in the first decade of the new millennium. In the late 20th century, men undergoing reconstructive surgery was only acceptable when it came to nose reconstruction after a sports injury. But today, men—especially gay men—are the largest growing segment of patients signing up for elective reconstructive surgery.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a growing percentage of gay men have had some type of surgical procedure performed on their body or face. An even larger percentage of men said that they would like to have some work done.
“I’ve thought about it, especially lipo[suction],” says Lance, a Tampa Bay resident who didn’t want to give his last name. “I’m always working out and I watch what I eat, but it’s almost impossible to get a six pack. It would be so much easier to just get it sucked out.”
Nearly 250,000 Americans underwent some sort of liposuction last year, skyrocketing the surgery as one of the top-five cosmetic procedures of 2009.
“In the last 15 years, the proportion of men pursuing liposuction surgery has jumped from 10% to 15%,” says Dakota Calloway, a spokeswoman with the ASPS. “Last January, male patients started outnumbering women in the practice.”
Calloway says that sexual orientation isn’t a typical question on a patient questionnaire, so specific numbers relating to gay men undergoing elective cosmetic surgery aren’t available. However, it seems that men with no children and disposable incomes are typical patients.
“We have to go based on what we observe,” says Calloway. “We don’t ask if someone is gay or straight, but we’re an open-minded profession, so patients usually don’t hesitate to share their personal stories with us.”
Botox injections are still the number one non-invasive procedure performed on men and women, according to the ASPS. Nearly 5 million women underwent the procedure last year compared to 314,000 men. The number of men who elect for the procedure is growing more rapidly than in women, Calloway says.
“Often, a man is judged by his outward appearance—just as much, if not more than a woman,” Calloway says. “If he is obese, he may be perceived as lazy or incompetent at his job, because he is unable to take care of himself properly. An overly aged man may not seem appropriate for some jobs and he may have difficulty meeting single people. The point is that men seek plastic surgery for the same reasons that women do—to boost their self-esteem and allow them to appear on the outside as whom they are on the inside.”
Calloway adds that those who do undergo a procedure like liposuction should expect to change their lifestyle if he or she wants to maintain the trimmer waist line.
“The bottom line is,” she says, “if you get lipo and you still lie around the house and eat bad foods, your weight will come back. We encourage patients to become active before and after a procedure so they can maintain the new figure.”
Hair transplantations are also gaining momentum among men, as are skin procedures like microderm abrasion and chemical peels.
For Lance, who is 34 and has a full head of hair, a hair transplant isn’t even on his radar. But he says in the future, he wouldn’t be opposed to different procedures that could help him retain his youth.
“I know several men who have had face lifts or some other procedure, and they look great,” Lance says. “It’s something that generations before us didn’t have available, so why shouldn’t we take advantage of it?”
Top five male cosmetic surgical procedures in 2009
- Nose reshaping—50,000
- Eyelid surgery—31,000
- Liposuction—27,000
- Breast reduction—18,000
- Hair transplantation—13,000
—American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Top 5 female cosmetic surgical procedures 2009
- Breast augmentation—307,000
- Liposuction—218,000
- Nose reshaping—204,000
- Eyelid surgery—190,000
- Tummy tuck—117,000
—American Society of Plastic Surgeons
