A statue of a woman needs plastic surgery

[SparklingWaves]

[SIZE=+1] Poland: Cosmetic Surgery -- on a Statue?[/SIZE]

A small seaport village in Poland wants cosmetic surgery for a statue of a mermaid. No, make that out of date statue. The enhancement is important, city fathers say, because the mermaid is also on the Ustka city seal. And everybody in the town wants to catch up with the times.

Of course, no surgeon actually plans on putting a knife to the statue; but the surgical enhancements of so many people around the world have caused many to suggest changes for the unclothed statue of a mermaid in the public square at Ustka, Poland. Townsfolk think their statue is behind the times because it was crafted too long ago, when standards of female beauty were very, very different.

The improvements are considered necessary because Poland is soon joining the European Union, where the usual standards for feminine attractiveness apply and are admired (READ: slim hips and generous breasts.) But the statue has small breasts and what could kindly be described as a generously proportioned waist, hips and thighs.

Decades ago, when craftsmen first made the statue, the ideal of femininity was a stout female body type. Because the area is also farm country, it made perfect economic sense for 50 percent of the population to be hardy enough to work in the fields. Now, the town council wants the mermaid to slim down and get some serious chest enhancements.

All that hints that strong women who can heft hundreds of pounds of potato sacks during a 12-hour day in the fields are not quite as admired any more.

Says a town spokesman: "We are considering altering the mermaid slightly by making her breasts bigger and maker her leaner. She will become more attractive and Ustka will gain publicity."

Good night, what is going on in the world? Are we going to totally reject anything that ever resembled a normal and real female body? Some can't stand the sight of it even if it's a cartoon. ??? They think it's actually revolting and will bring more people to see a seal that resembles maybe Playboy. ??? So, a freaking historical seal has to be changed too to have bigger breasts and a slimmer body. What?! Am I dreaming? Someone wake me up and get that Memory Gel advertisement out of my face too.

Geesh!

 

[blazeno.8]

Why anyone would seriously want to do that is beyond me, but if they feel it's important to defining their identity well, more power to them.

 

[redambition]

us crazy polacks.

the polish national coat of arms has evolved over the years, why not the coat of arms of the towns?

this change actually happened a while ago - Poland has been in the EU for quite some time now.

the Wiki entry for Ustka has a pic of the updated seal.

*warning* link contains cartoon mermaid boobies.

ImageOL Ustka COA 1.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[SparklingWaves]

So, they did change her. I am so saddened.

I wanted her to remain the same out of respect for the history and what she represented.

Thanks for the follow-up.

 

[redambition]

in one way it is sad, in another - the town is looking to the future instead of the past. there's both good and bad.

a coat of arms can evolve as the years go by. i guess that in seeing the polish coat of arms be revised over the years, i'm used to the notion that things like that can change.

 

[SparklingWaves]

Is this one next for plastic surgery?

Coat of arms of Warsaw - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[AmberLilith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves So, they did change her. I am so saddened. I wanted her to remain the same out of respect for the history and what she represented. Thanks for the follow-up.

Gutted.
I wish they hadn't. History is history. Don't have to re-write it. Ok, if they wanted another, more 'modern' mermaid somewhere else, fair enough. I don't think they should have changed the existing one.

 

[kimmy]

that's effed up. srsly.

 

[SparklingWaves]

I mean. I know that Coat of Arms are changed sometimes. There will be a crown removed a leaf added. I know it's not a huge deal, but I am a such a history buff. That little cute mermaid represented the strong women that helped give life to that area and showed people what real women look like. She is a symbol of strength. I know. I am strange. I am not against some changes, but that's how I see that little lady on the old seal. They could have changed the boat, the design around her, the water, the fish, her hair, her fins, but not her strong body that gave life to the area. That should be honored.

You got to understand. I may sound weird to some. Here is a just one example. I drove through an old town in another state during a vacation. It was their downtown area. I saw this gorgeous old historic house. It was two stories. It had bedrooms that were octagon shaped. I saw a bull dozer in front of the house. I freaked. I had my husband stop the car and I got out.

I went all through the house. It appeared to be the oldest house in the area and the only one in the downtown area. It had a view of the river. I could tell it was being taken down board by board. I actually started crying. I did research on the house and found out who owned and wrote the old man.

He gave me the unique history on the house and how it got locked up in legal matters. He said the youth in the family didn't want to save it. They wanted to sell it for it's lumber. Again, I researched and contacted officials within his state to tell him their were grants to restore the historic house. He said it was no use.

My last deal was I wrote the local paper and put a poem about the house. I gave the house a voice in poem. People replied about the poem to the paper. They too didn't want the old home destroyed, but the old man's grandchildren won out. I did all I could to save the old home.

I felt insane, because it wasn't in my state. It wasn't my home. But, I did fight to save a piece of history. Now, it just exists in a photo somewhere.

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves They could have changed the boat, the design around her, the water, the fish, her hair, her fins, but not her strong body that gave life to the area.

they did actually also change the boat, the water, the fish and her hair.

the coat of arms was created in 1922, not when the town was founded in around 1337. the mermaid on the coat of arms is actually meant to represent tourism. the ship represents the port and the fish represents fishing. all three are the town's main sources of income.

the change was originally just proposed as an update to the coat of arms in general. the breasts thing started as a joke made by one of the councillors that got huge media attention. the town council figured that they might increase tourism (and thus their economy) by doing it, so it became part of the changes. considering that the mermaid represents tourism, i think it's kind of appropriate, and a bit funny as well.

so, the mermaid actually has no ties to the area apart from the fact that a local artist thought that it was a good water-based theme to represent tourism. there isn't even a statue of her, it's just the coat of arms used.

as for warsaw's coat of arms: read the history. it was originally a dragon's body with a man's head (circa 1390) that morphed into a topless mermaid (circa 1600's).

the mermaid also has a historical/mythical significance for warsaw - as outlined in the history of that wiki article.

i understand where you are coming from in terms of preserving history, but in this case the mermaid has little to no historical significance for the town. there was even a petition to remove her from the coat of arms totally.

 

[SparklingWaves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redambition they did actually also change the boat, the water, the fish and her hair. the coat of arms was created in 1922, not when the town was founded in around 1337. the mermaid on the coat of arms is actually meant to represent tourism. the ship represents the port and the fish represents fishing. all three are the town's main sources of income. the change was originally just proposed as an update to the coat of arms in general. the breasts thing started as a joke made by one of the councillors that got huge media attention. the town council figured that they might increase tourism (and thus their economy) by doing it, so it became part of the changes. considering that the mermaid represents tourism, i think it's kind of appropriate, and a bit funny as well. so, the mermaid actually has no ties to the area apart from the fact that a local artist thought that it was a good water-based theme to represent tourism. there isn't even a statue of her, it's just the coat of arms used. as for warsaw's coat of arms: read the history. it was originally a dragon's body with a man's head (circa 1390) that morphed into a topless mermaid (circa 1600's). the mermaid also has a historical/mythical significance for warsaw - as outlined in the history of that wiki article. i understand where you are coming from in terms of preserving history, but in this case the mermaid has little to no historical significance for the town. there was even a petition to remove her from the coat of arms totally.

Yes, I saw those changes. A petition to remove her. Whoa! She was so cute. Everyone sees something different. I understand.

Yes, I read about Warsaw too and how she has changed. I like the Warsaw mermaid with her sword.

Thanks a lot for the information.

 

[pumpkincat210]

haha, this is too funny in a way. If I saw that statue i probably wouldn't think twice about it. I can't believe these people don't have anything better to do when the whole world is going to hell.

 

[Kuuipo]

The Russian Duma has all these really young female ex models (albeit brainy as well) in their employment. Since the fall of communism, Russia has become a very glamour conscious nation.

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves Yes, I saw those changes. A petition to remove her. Whoa! She was so cute. Everyone sees something different. I understand. Yes, I read about Warsaw too and how she has changed. I like the Warsaw mermaid with her sword. Thanks a lot for the information.

i agree - i think she's cute too! (well, the old one was cute, the new one is a bit sultry

)