The Conditions of the Barbie Man's Soul

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If Nikita Mirzani recently reported that she was making a Barbie-sized doll that was in the same image as her, the opposite is true of a handful of people who conjure up her body like Mattel's doll. It is Rodrigo Alves, a Brazilian-English crossbreeder who shapes himself in such a way as to match Ken, the Barbie couple.

Reported by the South China Morning Post, Alves has been testing plastic surgery since 2004. Now, the 34-year-old man has undergone 10 nasal surgery, silicone implants on the chest, buttocks tightness, and a row of other body creams.

In addition to Alves, several other names were reported to change their body shape to similar dolls like Pixee Fox, Victoria Wild, Valeria Lukyanova, and Justin Jedlica. The last mentioned person even had to undergo 340 operations to get Ken's similar appearance.

The cases above are extreme things that people do against their own body. There is nothing wrong to pour big money for the aesthetics of the body for them, but another story with the public comments. Excessive, sad, terrible, are some words that come out of critics in response to physical changes to Rodrigo Alves and other "human dolls." Furthermore, psychologists judge the implied mental impairment of plastic surgery actions as they do.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a term that refers to mental disorders related to body image. Those who suffer this feel themselves always blameworthy and trying hard to hide or correct the shortcomings. Yet according to others, the body part that he felt less is not problematic. It is considered a mental disorder because it affects the activity, the process of socializing, even lead to suicidal thoughts.

In a study published in the journal World Psychiatry, BDD patients are said to often experience fear of rejection, low self-esteem, shame, and feelings of worthless or unloved. Nearly half the patients observed in the study were said to be delusional. They assume, others will pay attention to the lack of a minor body and talk or mock it. In short, they want to look as perfect as possible in front of people.

This condition is not only experienced by people who perform extreme plastic surgery like Alves. According to Dr. Jamieson, a health expert from Harvard who practices in Hong Kong, common BDD symptoms are found everywhere, it's just that people do not always realize it. Most people assume that the person is just experiencing excessive anxiety around his body, not suffering from psychiatric disorders that require a psychic therapy.

Jamieson observes that Hong Kong people who do plastic surgery want a European-like appearance. He considers the Western culture that enters through Hollywood movies to influence the plastic surgery obsession of the Hong Kong people.

From the opinion of Jamieson it can be understood that BDD is not just a mental thing that becomes a limited affair of certain people. There are cultural issues that then have implications for the physical person. In many countries including Indonesia, when there is a K-Pop fever, some people strive to match their performance with the idol from Korea.

Smooth faces and slim body style of girl and oriental jejaka are considered as the main goal. No matter how much money should be spent on plastic surgery, it is important that the aesthetic standards of the body be met can conform to the standards of the countries where the idols come from.

Excessive anxiety about the body that is associated with BDD is generally focused on the face, hair, skin, breast, muscle, or genitals. With regard to genitalia, it is not merely anxiety centered on size. In the book Overcoming Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Cognitive Behavioral Approach to Reclaiming Your Life (2012) is mentioned one of the subtypes of BDD: koro.

Koro is an unreasonable fear that the penis will shrink or enter into the body causing death. In women, these fears are related to other body organs such as breast or labia. Koro flourished in the Asian region, although subsequently these were also found in non-Asians.

When BDD is generally experienced by individuals only, the coro affects also family members who believe that the limbs may shrink to death. Some literature states that koro-related social and cultural contexts, which in turn, lead to symptoms of psychological disorders.

Cheng (1996) who conducted a special study on koro reported, the family of individuals who are considered to have depreciated organs often misinterpret the symptoms of the body found by the individual. As a result, beyond the desire of the individual, he was taken medication even though it was not there's something wrong with her.

BDD or extraordinary anxiety about the body can be caused by several things. First, abnormalities in brain structure. Genes also play a role against BDD. Parents who have a record with BDD may have children with similar or other mental problems such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Finally, environmental factors. The interactions that followed-including the pressure of friendship, rejection as a child-and the exposure of ideal body standards in the mass media contributed to the growth of BDD in a person.