You may have seen the billboard on Interstate 15 offering cosmetic services with the slogan “God’s remodeling his temple. Isn’t it time to remodel yours?,” or heard the supposed “statistic” that Salt Lake City has more plastic surgeons per capita than Los Angeles, or that Utahns Googled “breast augmentation” at the highest rate in the nation.
You may know the rationale put forth by some that such beauty enhancements are done primarily by those not involved in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
After all, argue Latter-day Saint defenders, the church is “pro-body” and teaches that humans were created in the image of God.
So what’s the reality?
According to two Brigham Young University researchers, about 14% of Latter-day Saint respondents have had major cosmetic surgery — including breast augmentations, tummy tucks and liposuction — and 20% have undergone cosmetic enhancements such as laser hair removal, Botox injections or skin procedures.
That’s not off the charts, but it is above the national average, which is 4% for cosmetic surgery.
These conclusions are reported in a newly published survey — “Bodies at Church: Latter-day Saint Doctrine, Teaching, and Culture as Related to Body Image,” by Sarah Coyne and Lauren Barnes, professors at BYU’s School of Family Life — from the Utah Women & Leadership Project.
Their research, the authors say, represents the largest study ever on potential connections among Latter-day Saint religion doctrine, culture and body image.
Overall, researchers conducted 126 face-to-face interviews with church members — women and men — and gathered 1,333 online surveys from respondents (primarily women) discussing their feelings regarding the church and their own body image.
By and large, these were not BYU students, Coyne says in an interview. The researchers sought to create a nationwide sample of various ages, races and perspectives.
They wanted an overall snapshot, she says, of how Latter-day Saints view the church and its approach to body image, and how the institution could “improve body image among girls, young women, and women in Utah and beyond.”
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