![]() ![]() In this way, the botched body becomes a warning, a reminder of the unspoken standards we are held to. It speaks to how we, the observers, are perhaps more shaken by the pretense of artificiality than any actual body-modification procedures or the industry that peddles them. The overwhelming impulse toward pity or fear or even derision - “You paid money to look like that?” - applies to real-life bodies we gawk at, whether through a screen or on the streets. This mix of revulsion and fascination with the human form has a name: body horror, a term generally used to describe works of fiction depicting grotesque images, intended to frighten and reveal social anxieties. A growing online subculture of plastic surgery patients, enthusiasts, and voyeurs has thrived on the visual schadenfreude of scrutinizing certain “botched” figures such as Layne’s. Over the course of its seven-season run, Botched developed a cult following, one driven by our lurid interest in plastic surgery nightmares. (Layne was briefly featured in its sixth season.) Perhaps the most culturally enduring show to date from this genre is Botched, a series that followed two Beverly Hills surgeons who consult with patients to try and reverse the damages from their botched procedures. ![]() These shows eventually gave way to media that sought to divulge the darker realities of these procedures. In the early 2000s, “makeover” reality television shows like The Swan, Extreme Makeover, and Addicted to Beauty helped normalize the dystopian concept of a plastic surgery transformation for regular people while reinforcing Eurocentric standards of beauty. Layne is just one of the many not-quite-stars who’ve gained tabloid-level notoriety for their plastic surgery preoccupations. Commenters on social media, some of whom are rabidly fascinated by plastic surgery extremities and faults, bemoan the loss of her pre-surgery features, claiming she was “so cute and natural” before she went “too far.” Her body is “too plastic,” “cartoonish,” or “botched” beyond repair. Why, then, has her appearance been subject to ridicule, morbid and voyeuristic fascination on plastic surgery forums, and, among a devoted group of fans, erotic observation? To her harshest critics, Layne’s surgical pursuits seem delusional. In fact, Layne’s physique serves as an endorsement for some of the fastest-growing plastic surgery procedures in the country, as well as the most popular: liposuction, breast augmentation, lip injections, and the now-mainstream Brazilian butt lift (BBL). She is a real-life distortion of the “slim thick” body type sought by many American women today (an ideal appropriated from Black and brown body types). Layne is practically a caricature of Western standards of beauty, with long blond hair, bulging J-cup breasts, and a peach-shaped derrière that appears out of proportion to her petite waist. (For context, the average breast implant size is between 300 and 400 cc.) Still, Layne wasn’t deterred from trying to increase her cup size. When Layne nearly doubled the size of her existing breast implants from 650 cubic centimeters to 1200 ccs, her body couldn’t handle them, and she needed reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to her breast tissue. Part of this maintenance has involved 13 breast operations over the past two years, and resulted in four trips to the emergency room. “You have to maintain for the rest of your life.” “Once you get to this level, there’s never any stopping,” Layne admitted on the show. While she’s 32 procedures closer to achieving what she considers the “perfect body,” the 28-year-old needs, by her estimate, at least another 10. Haley Layne, who stars on the British internet documentary series Hooked On The Look, has spent about half a million dollars on plastic surgery. Part of the Horror Issue of The Highlight, our home for ambitious stories that explain our world.
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