Picture this: it’s 8pm on a Tuesday and I’m sitting on the couch, scrolling through TikTok, when a video of the ultimate It girl Julia Fox appears. She’s dancing to CMAT’s “Take A Sexy Picture Of Me”, her taut midsection on full display.
Similarly to many other women — especially those who grew up in the heroin chic era of the ’90s — I’ve always felt insecure about my weight and my body as a whole.
Despite the much kinder gaze of 2025, every once in a while, I find myself slipping back into some regressive and damaging ways of thinking. And, whenever these moments of body-based ennui strike, my stomach is a particular sticking point.
With a tea in hand, staring at my iPhone screen, my vulnerabilities were well and truly piqued by Julia’s harmless video. But when I dived into the comments, I was surprised.
Instead of finding other women like me chastising ourselves and praying to the powers above for a body like Julia’s, I found an outright question and an even more forthright answer.
“I love you Julia, I hope this doesn’t come off as rude but did you have lipo? What caused the dimples on your belly?” asked a curious commenter.
It was the kind of loaded question that usually goes unanswered in comment sections of celebrities’ social media accounts. But Miss Thing answered, straight up.
“Yup lol,” she responded. And that was that.
Just as quickly as my self-loathing said “hey girl, remember me!?!”, it just… went away.
Because in that moment I recognised Julia’s transparency and instantly clocked that having a stomach that flat and that toned was realistically not achievable for me without surgical intervention.
For me, that dose of realism actually helped.
New face era
It’s not every day that we see celebrities so willing to come clean about the cosmetic procedures they’ve had done.
Even over the last few months, the zeitgeist has become captivated by celebrities dropping new, updated faces. There was 69-year-old Kris Jenner, whose transformation has been so significant that a facelift is essentially undeniable.
Then, there was Lindsay Lohan, 38, who, despite her freshly taut and gorgeously youthful appearance, brushed off her newfound glow to carrot juice and olive oil.
Not only is this completely unrealistic (reminder: no matter how much carrot juice or olive oil you drink, you won’t look like her), but it’s sending a damaging message.
It’s telling women that as long as they take care of themselves, put in the work, put on the right products, that they too can — and should — look like Lindsay Lohan when they’re pushing 40.
Logically, we know this isn’t possible, but emotionally, when we’re surrounded by beauty standards that are always juuuust out of reach? God, it feels hard to keep up.
Cosmetic procedures are costly, with something like a mini facelift ranging from $35,000 to $70,000. And that’s not to mention the range of quality provided by surgeons at different price points and locations. Even if you can drop alleged Lindsay Lohan money on a plastic surgeon, chances are you’re not getting the same level of artistry.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame Kris Jenner or Lindsay Lohan for getting work done. I can only imagine how difficult it is to constantly face deafening criticism about your appearance on a worldwide scale.
It’s no secret that women in Hollywood are held to a ridiculously high standard to remain beautiful, and — to be crass — fuckable. Youth goes hand in hand with fame. And, as the new hot young starlet ages, another one is always there in the wings ready to replace her.
With that alone, their choice to hold onto their youthful appearance with both hands is incredibly understandable — I just wish they’d say that.
Can transparency go too far?
The Kardashian-Jenner clan have always had a pretty secretive approach to cosmetic procedures. Despite being thought of as the first family of body trends, most members of the famous brood have generally denied getting work done.
However, in recent years, Kylie Jenner has come clean about some of her procedures. After flat-out denying it for years, Kylie finally admitted in 2015 to getting lip fillers. Then, in 2023, Kylie admitted that she’d had a breast augmentation when she was just 19 years old.
It looks like Kylie’s reluctance to openly speak about her cosmetic work is now a thing of the past. This week, Kylie casually dropped the almighty tea on her boob job, after a TikToker named Rachel Leary begged her to reveal what she asked her plastic surgeon for.
“To me, you have exactly what I want to have done,” Rachel said in the TikTok.
“It’s like the most perfect, natural-looking boob job ever. They’re still big, but whatever way you had the implants, if they are implants, or if you had a fat transfer, to me, it is perfection. That is what I aspire mine to look like.”
Thankfully for Rachel, Kylie came through: “445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle, silicone!!! Garth Fisher!!! Hope this helps lol.”
While part of me is still worried about the quality of cosmetic procedures available to your average person, I adore the honesty and the casual way she came through with an answer.
So, what’s the solution?
It’s so easy to condemn plastic surgery, but without a complete rehaul of our culture and the way society quietly puts so much value into a woman’s appearance, it’s sadly unrealistic to expect it to just… go away.
However, what we can do is to be upfront and honest about the things we get done.
Whether it be a cheeky dose of Botox (my forehead does not move 🫶), some filler (MWAH) or a full-on facelift, it’s the least we can do to make it clear that these procedures aren’t natural, normal or expected.
Cheers to Julia Fox for leading the charge. She really is sooOoOooo Julia.
