It's very odd the way we are so comfortable sharing certain personal information with each other, and yet in this crazy, Oprah-reality-tabloid-infused time, certain topics are still considered taboo.

It's perfectly acceptable to ask someone - even someone you don't know very well, "Do you like my new handbag?" or "Do you like my new lipstick?" Even "Do you like my new hair color?" is okay, but "Do you like my new face?" Uh, not so much.

We accept the use of a wide-range of health and beauty products to enhance our appearance. In fact, we're disappointed when celebrities venture outside their doors without the requisite foundation, eye shadow and lipstick. Make-up has gone beyond enhancement or correction - it's a bona fide fashion accessory.

But in general, cosmetic surgery is still not discussed. It's as though the transformations these procedures achieve are expected to have occurred by magic. Or perhaps we don't want to admit we were less than perfect before. (Of course, before, we were younger and everything pointed up.)

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) 2006 Consumer Perception Survey, while close to 20% of the U.S. population might like to have a little something done, only 33% would admit to plastic surgery when asked, and just 18% are comfortable enough to tell a friend or family member.

Really?

I've been sitting here on my cellulite all afternoon trying to figure out why this is. We fully accept changing our hair and having our brows reshaped. Transforming body shape by lean eating and hard work in the gym is celebrated - but then, that's the Puritan work ethic in sweatpants. You look the way you do either by being blessed at birth or because you earned it by the sweat of your brow. It's practically religion.

And perhaps that's the point. For many, saddlebags, tummy flab, honking honkers, and bee-sting boobs are God-given. If you mess with your body, you're messing with Creation - and that goes against nature.

After all, in our culture, one of the most infamous villains of all time was a freak of plastic surgery. Frankenstein's monster, the poor wretch, was cobbled together from bits and pieces of flesh. Heroes are either good and pure to begin with, or able to triumph over whatever shortcomings they possess through sheer force of will (or bank account).

But our culture is changing.

Now we like to share EVERYthing. And we also like to brag. Look at my new fancy car! Marvel at my multi-function phone appliance thingy! And you can't tell me any woman gets a breast enhancement so she can HIDE 'em.

Full, round breasts are most definitely fashionable ornaments. Right up there with "it" bags, now there are "it" boobs! And why not?

If you can afford to make yourself more wondrous, why not share it with the world? If it's ok to tell everyone your wrinkles got smoother with La Mer, why not tell everyone you got rid of them thanks to Dr. Lamerkowitz?

I mean, the whole point of getting cosmetic surgery is to make yourself look obviously better. THIS you're going to keep secret? Heck, if it were me, I'd be shouting from the highest hill, "I FINALLY have thin thighs!" And I'm not alone. Hollywood stars are beginning to out themselves from the surgery closet.

Patricia Heaton, Jamie Lee Curtis and Joan Rivers are just a few of the actresses who've come clean and said, 'Hey, I've done it, I'm proud of it and I look great,'" says Paula Froelich, of the New York Post's Page Six.

Other stars include Melanie Griffith, (breast augmentation - and it sure looks like a bunch more to me), Sharon Osbourne (several procedures, including collagen injections in her lips and a leg lift (leg lift? You mean they don't touch the floor anymore?)), and most recently, George Clooney (eye lift).

According to Paula, it's getting more difficult to spot who's had a nip and who's had a tuck. "As the years go on and plastic surgery becomes more advanced, a lot of the procedures are getting harder to tell," she says. "Actresses try all sorts of potions and procedures, but plastic surgery is still the number one choice to staying young in Hollywood."

But that's Hollywood. Most of us are not in the spotlight, and our careers do not depend on our looks. But often, our moods do.

Here's the way I look at it. Who cares how you achieve the look you want? Whether it's by diet or exercise, chemical peel or lipo slurp, what difference does it make? You look fab. I don't think you need to be tackling everyone you meet and showing them the before and after photos, along with the DVD of the procedure.

But what the heck. If you've had a little work done, why hide it - unless it was a chop job? Like any intimate detail, I probably wouldn't tell someone within the first few minutes of meeting (that kind of honesty is not always the best policy), but if your friends should ask what's putting the spring in your...uh..."step?" Tell them! Tell them proudly you're on the cutting edge - ooh, maybe too clinical - tell them you're part of the new technocracy! You're using every bit of technology at your disposal to improve your life, and your ass(ets).

However, there is one particular instance where I think a little truth in advertising is imperative. The thing is, your complete makeover may have put you in skinnier pants, but it won't do a thing about your genes.

No matter how perfectly you've re-engineered yourself, you won't be passing it on to your kiddies. So when your knight in shining Armani begins to wax lyrical about starting a family, I think it's time for a little heart to heart.

Your Prince Charming might not be so charming when his swan hatches an ugly duckling. Sounds harsh? Honey, don't tell me looks aren't important in love when you went to so much effort to change yours.

But why wouldn't you want to share your most intimate truths? Honesty is the foundation of every successful relationship. I can't say my sweetie loves me "warts and all" (I had them lasered off, of course!), but I know he loves who I am inside. Despite what the media would have us believe, beauty is still more than scalpel deep. And long may it remain.

Tess us what you think!



Michele Hickford is a freelance writing with an opinion on almost everything. Her first book, "Do I Need To Slap You?" www.doineedtoslapyou.com is available on Amazon.