Contestant Who Collects Most Mardi Gras Beads to Receive Free Plastic Surgery

Another controversial story about plastic surgery has made headlines.  Just recently, an organization of Buffalo bars has offered free breast implant surgery to the contestant who will collect the most number of beads during the Mardi Gras celebration.

(Throwing beads has been a long-standing tradition in Mardi Gras.  Meanwhile, many people don’t know that each bead color has its symbol: purple represents justice, gold symbolizes power, and green signifies faith.)

Going back to the unconventional prize, the contest is open to men and women.  While the main award is breast augmentation, the winner can opt for other cosmetic surgeries such as nose job (or rhinoplasty), tummy tuck, and other similarly priced procedures.

One manager of a nightclub believes that giving free plasticsurgery “is an attention grabber,” according to the Buffalo News.  

As expected, not everyone is happy with the contest.  Some people have criticized it saying that it somewhat “reinforces poor body image in women.”  However, there are those who have posted more positive comments on the event’s Facebook wall.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time plastic surgery has been used as a prize.  A few months ago, two women in Chicago have won free breast augmentation given by a local radio station.  The contestants were required to tell their reasons why they would want to undergo the knife.

A casino in Atlantic has also offered jackpot in the form of plastic surgery such as breast augmentation, cheek implants, and liposuction, in addition to non-surgical procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers.  The contest, dubbed as the Tuck and Lift Sweepstakes, has surprisingly attracted many gamblers.  

With the growing acceptance and popularity of cosmetic plastic surgery, more contests are expected to offer and raffle off this procedure.  However, not everyone who wants to have some sort of “surgical enhancements” is a good candidate because of certain risks particularly for those with health issues and unrealistic goals and expectations.