Reasons for doing rhinoplasty
Lack of confidence
One of the sub-themes found in the study was lack of confidence which was comprised of codes namely low confidence, distorted mental image, obsessive attention to appearance, being mocked by friends and peers, influenced by negative feedbacks of others, negative effects of appearance, depression, and assuming one’s appearance as a weakness or a problem in social interactions and relationships.
Some of the participants were influenced by the negative feedbacks on their appearance by others. There were cases of being mocked by others and obsessive attention to physical appearance. The negative effects of these led to disorder in mental image of oneself so that they would see their nose as a disadvantage and lose their confidence. The decline in self-confidence creates disorders in social relationships. In this regard, the participants stated:
“It only takes a dozen of negative feedbacks to lose your confidence and then you think you have to do the surgery…” (No.11). “I would watch myself in mirror and there was nothing wrong with the nose. But, my friends’ comments influenced me…” (No.15). “If there were a few classy individuals in a party, I would not dare to go…” (No.9). “I can’t say that I was depressed, but I was not interested in going out and being seen by others…” (No.16). “People only see the nose and don’t care about what you have to say…” (No.1). “Seeing myself in mirror was bothering…” (No.11).
Some of the participants had a different experience. Despite the positive opinions of the friends about their nose, they had a negative mental image of themselves and consequently found themselves in a lower status. “Everyone would say that my nose is OK, but I had a problem with it, I thought it was too bid…” (No.2). “Although, everyone would say that your nose fits you face, I liked to have nose job anyway…” (No.4). “You always think that your face is uglier than others’ and this affects your confidence…” (No.14). A cosmetic surgeon noted: “These individuals suffer body dysmorphic disorder. Most of them do. An individual, who does not like their face, is not healthy.”
In some cases, the mental engagement and the negative effect of ones’ physical appearance on spirit is too high that people develop depression. A participants noted: “appearance change through nose job solves depression…” (No.12). A nurse in rhinoplasty operation room said: “Many of the patients suffer depression and physicians recommend nose job as a way to change.” The clients underwent rhinoplasty to have a better face and solve their lack of confidence.
Hope for a better face
Another sub-theme was the hope for a better face including the codes namely desire to become more beautiful, having better feedbacks on one’s photos, and having a different physical appearance. All the participants decided to have a nose job in the hope for a better face and because of the importance of physical appearance. In this regard, some of the participants stated: “I was only thinking about physical beauty…” (No.1). “Like women, men also need to be beautiful…” (No3). “I wanted to be beautiful…” (No.2).
Some of the participants had a distorted mental image of their appearance so that they could not stand their photos and to have a better appearance in photos, decided to have a nose job. A participant noted: “One thing that bothered me most was the septal division in photos…” (No.6). A cosmetic surgeon said: “Many do nose job for their wedding ceremonies and the photos….”
Some of the participants highlighted dissatisfaction with physical appearance and the desire to alter their physical appearance. “Some like a different face…” (No.14). “I wanted change and difference…” (No.16).
Seeking attention
The next sub-theme extracted from the interviews was seeking attention. The codes under this sub-theme were drawing attention, drawing attention of the opposite sex, and the belief in the effect of rhinoplasty on having a better marriage opportunity. Some of the participants underwent the surgery to receive more attention and to receive more love. Given the expected increase in facial beauty, the participants believed that after the surgery, they can enjoy more attention and more friends. In this regard, some of the participants reported: “You can attract more people after a nose job…” (No.2). “With more beauty, you can expect more friends and attention…” (No11). “They pay you more attention when you have a nose job…” (No.16).
Some of the participants believed that one’s appearance is a factor in marriage opportunity and that the face is very important for marriage. Therefore, they decided to have a nose job to attract the opposite sex. “Nose job is very important for marriage…” (No.6). “I would try to cover my nose by my hand or keep my head down when I was hanging out with girls…” (No.12). The participants underwent nose job in the hope for a better face and attract more people.
Keeping up with the Joneses
This sub-theme consisted for codes viz. keeping up with fashion and defeating rivals. Through their social interactions, people might be affected by the fashion trends. Increase in the popularity of nose surgery among men can affect the decision for rhinoplasty. In this regard, some of the participants reported: ”Well, it’s now a norm in the society and as a member of the society I can see that everyone is having a nose job…” (No.5). “One reason for me was that having a nose job was the fad” (No.15).
Some of the participants decided to do nose job only for keeping up with the Joneses and defeating rivals. A participant noted: “One reason for me was to keep up with the Joneses…” (No.8). A nurse in rhinoplasty ward with extensive experience in this field mentioned: “90% of nose jobs are unnecessary, still, people want to keep up with the Joneses.” She also commented, “It’s more about keeping up with the Joneses, in some cases, all members of a family do rhinoplasty.” Some of the clients expected a better face and through this, defeating their rivals.
Persuasion by others
Persuasion by others consisted of motivation by others and friends, positive effects of others’ experience, and the effects of mass media. Some of the participants underwent rhinoplasty based their friends, family members, and relatives’ recommendations. “My friends highly recommended it. They would say that you can change your face…” (No.19). “My friends were a great reason for my decision…” (No.6). “It was my uncle’s nose job…” (No.8).
Some were motivated by seeing satisfaction in others after rhinoplasty and accept their recommendation in the hope of having a better face. “My friend had an ugly face, but after the surgery he was a different person…” (No.5). “Seeing how my friends’ faces were changed convinced me to have a nose job…” (No.16).
Some of the participants followed changes in appearance of others after rhinoplasty in social media and found them reason enough to do rhinoplasty. “I visited personal page of physicians on Instagram and saw how people had been changed. This made me more serious about the decision…” (No.14).