why, why do we hate ourselves?

Came across this article today. This is the kind of information that needs to get out there to people considering cosmetic surgery-doctors (real doctors) standing up and saying that something is potentially disabling. The article itself doesn't really pursue any health facts or drive this point home; instead it ends with what almost sounds like an endorsement for cosmetic surgery. I thought this was interesting:

"But advocates for the procedures say that critics simply do not understand the importance of high heels. "Some of these women invest more in their shoes than they do in the stock market," said Dr. Suzanne M. Levine, a New York City podiatrist who is widely quoted in women's magazines and has appeared on TV.

"Take your average woman and give her heels instead of flats, and she'll suddenly get whistles on the street," she said. "I do everything I can to get them back into their shoes.""

Those damn critics (doctors)! Looking out for their patients' health, for crying out loud! But they want to wear high heels so that men will whistle at them! Don't you understand that that's so much more important? That just made me laugh out loud. You get testimony from doctors who have to deal with screwed up cosmetic surgery, people being unable to walk, and they are called critics?

Mostly I am saddened by the societal attitude that says our bodies should change to fit our clothes. What sense does this make? Wouldn't it be easier to make a more orthopedic high heeled shoe? Or make comfort fashion? I know, I know, the beauty myth. A recent example: A week or two ago at Penney's a woman was trying on dress suits and found that the 9/10 she had picked out didn't quite fit. She was upset, naturally, concluding that she had gained weight and, sighing, would "just have to try on an 11/12" until she could lose a few pounds.

I wanted to point out several things to her: 1) the suit was from the Juniors department, which supposedly runs in sizes the same as misses. I am suspicious of this, and I imagine that they not only run smaller but also cater to a thinner, less busty frame. Not the frame of, as the case may be, an older developed woman. 2)Almost every time I go shopping, I bump up a size. After fretting about this for a while, I realized that I hadn't changed, the sizes had, getting smaller and smaller each new fashion season. Perhaps the problem here wasn't weight gain, but fabric loss. 3)There is no way of regulating women's sizes. Every brand measures and designs differently. What in the world does a "9" or a "14" signify, anyway? In men's sizes, pants generally go by waist circumference, no? I understand there's still some variance, but it seems like you would always know what size to go for. 4)I am preaching to the choir, I know, but may I point out the dissimilarity of women's bodies? The myriad of different shapes and sizes, hips, breasts, thighs, shoulders and waists that make up women?

My critique of the fashion industry could go on for ages, and it's only an example I use for my current point. What is this baffling trend to assume that designers know all and if it doesn't fit, it's our bodies' fault? I ask again, why do we hate ourselves so much? When will people understand that they have been brainwashed and milked for all they're worth? How many botched toe surgeries will it take?