American beat poet and author Janne Robinson. Photo / via Facebook
Hundreds of women who have happily undergone plastic surgery procedures have slammed the author of a viral Facebook post, who told women to "please stop injecting sh** into your lips".
"Women, please stop injecting shit into your lips. Stop taking flesh from your a** and putting it in your face. Stop getting silicone sewn to your chest," wrote Janne Robinson, an American author and self-described "beat poet", in a post which has been liked and shared thousands of times this week.
"I am sick of women looking the same," she continued. "I am sick of artificially inseminated manufactured blondes with tits that aren't real, lips that aren't real and their eyebrows looking like they constantly drink 10 espressos a day. Let your body ... be."
Ms Robinson bemoaned "manufactured, painted faces, with dyed hair ... in tiny dresses" and called on those who have had plastic surgery to "stop sewing your ass to your face".
"You've been spoon fed the wrong kind of pretty since you opened your eyes, and I'm sorry," she wrote.
"I'm sorry you ever thought you were anything but the perfection you entered this world as.
"I'm sorry you thought you'd be more worthy, more beautiful if you tucked and plucked and sucked and painted it all away.
"I'm sorry we live in a world where you believe the most important thing you can be is pretty.
"It should be a crime to alter anything about our flesh—our meat bags are tired of being poked, prodded and stretched."
The post attracted thousands of comments - mostly critical - including many messages from women who have chosen to undergo cosmetic and plastic surgery for health reasons.
"I'm currently waiting on plastic surgery for a breast reduction. My breasts cause me health issues. What's your opinion on that?" one woman wrote.
Another said: "I get Botox injections every three months to control life destroying migraines ... I don't use it for appearances - the injections go in the back of my skull - but I am GRATEFUL to all the women who do. They are why I have the quality of life I do. So thank you to every woman who gets 'a little work done'. You never know how your 'vanity' or choices to live life on your terms will benefit patients with no quality of life."
One woman simply said: "If someone wants to get lip fillers, that's their business.
If someone wants to get a boob job, that's their business. Women, please stop telling other women what to do with their bodies or how to look or what is acceptable and what is not. Thank you."
The reasons women undergo cosmetic or plastic surgery are complex and nuanced.
Some choose to fix bodyparts that have hindered their self esteem for years. Others do it to reduce pain or simply want to change the way they look.
While there is limited research available about the number of Australians who have gone under the knife, experts say treatments like Botox and filler are becoming less stigmatised.
New research by McCrindle and laser machine brand Cynosure shows most women want to change something about their bodies and believe their lives would be better with a more "sculpted" body.
According to the research, 93 per cent of Australian women believe their body shape could be improved and 59 per cent of women are unhappy with their body shape.
Almost a third said they would feel more confident in their love lives and would enjoy going to the beach more. 37 per cent would "feel more confident when I go out with friends" and 43 per cent would be "more OK with who I am".
Almost one in four Aussie women have tried microdermabrasion, diet pills, chemical peel, cellulite cream, liposuction, a breast augmentation or a facelift.