For years, conversations about cosmetic enhancement have largely centred on women.
Brazilian Butt Lifts, liposuction, breast augmentation and facial procedures regularly dominate discussions about changing the body. But the recent case of Nigerian-British businessman Igho “Tiny” Ubiribo presents another side of the conversation.
Ubiribo, 43, died in Bangkok in March after undergoing a penis enlargement procedure. Details surrounding his death recently emerged following an inquest in London. 
The procedure involved injections of about 40 millilitres of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine. Afterwards, Ubiribo developed chest pain and collapsed. A UK post-mortem later found material in his lungs that matched the substance used during the procedure. The coroner linked his death to a pulmonary embolism.
Months earlier, another cosmetic procedure had raisd similar concerns in Nigeria.
Lagos socialite Elena Jessica developed serious complications after undergoing liposuction and fat transfer to her hips, buttocks and calves in February. She later died. Her family raised allegations about the care she received, while the Lagos State Government opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
These cases raise a question.
What makes someone look at a healthy part of their body and decide that it is no longer good enough?
The Body Has Always Had Standards
Beauty standards did not begin with Instagram.
Different societies have always had ideas about desirable bodies. Those ideals have also changed with time.What social media changed was the frequency of the comparison.
A person no longer needs to open a magazine or watch television to encounter an idealised body. It can appear hundreds of times during an ordinary day of scrolling.
The comparison also feels more personal.
Friends, influencers, celebrities and strangers appear on the same screen. Filters can alter faces within seconds. Editing can narrow waists, smooth skin and reshape features before anyone uploads a photograph.
Research increasingly connects this environment with how people perceive their bodies.
A 2025 meta-analysis examined 83 studies involving more than 55,000 participants. Researchers found a significant association between greater social comparison online and increased body image concerns.
Another systematic review found that highly visual and appearance-focused social media use has links with body image concerns and self-objectification.
The problem is not simply seeing attractive people. It is repeatedly measuring yourself against them.
Men Are Part of the Conversation Too
Body insecurity does not belong to one gender. Women may face intense pressure over their weight, breasts, stomachs, buttocks, skin and facial features.
Men face their own standards. Height can become a measure of attractiveness. Hair loss can affect confidence. Muscularity can become tied to masculinity. Penis size can become another source of anxiety.
Social media has also created highly visible male body ideals. Fitness influencers display extremely muscular physiques. Dating conversations can turn height into a requirement. Products and procedures promise to correct everything from hairlines to sexual anatomy.
A 2024 systematic review of social media, body image and cosmetic surgery found body dissatisfaction and interest in cosmetic procedures among both men and women.
Penile enhancement itself has developed into an area of cosmetic medicine.
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2026 examined 23 studies involving 2,620 patients who underwent different penile augmentation procedures. Researchers found an overall pooled complication rate of 14.9%, although rates varied according to the procedure and material used. They also stressed the need for stronger evidence and better patient-reported outcomes.
Ubiribo’s case brings male cosmetic enhancement into a conversation that often focuses predominantly on women. It also demonstrates why cosmetic enhancement should not automatically be treated as a women’s issue.
SEE ALSO: After Second BBL Surgery, Elena Jessica, a Port-Harcourt Socialite, Dies
When Enhancement Becomes Normal
Cosmetic procedures once carried considerable secrecy. That has changed.
People now document procedures online. Clinics advertise transformations through before-and-after photographs. Influencers discuss recovery periods. Celebrities openly acknowledge cosmetic work.
Terms such as BBL, fillers, Botox and liposuction have become part of everyday online conversations.
Greater openness has benefits. People can find information and hear about other people’s experiences. Normalisation can also change how people perceive medical procedures.
A dramatic physical transformation may appear as a short video showing the body before surgery and the final result weeks later.
The operating theatre stays outside the frame. So do anaesthesia, bleeding, infection, blood clots, follow-up appointments and possible complications.
The final body becomes the content, the medical process behind it can disappear.
Cosmetic Does Not Mean Risk-Free
People sometimes separate cosmetic procedures from other forms of surgery because the patient chooses them. The body does not make that distinction.
Surgical and injectable procedures can carry medical risks. The type and level of risk depend on the procedure, the patient’s health, the technique, the practitioner and other factors.
BBLs have attracted particular safety concerns because fat entering the bloodstream can cause a fatal embolism. Professional plastic-surgery organisations have issued specific safety recommendations for surgeons performing gluteal fat grafting.
Penile augmentation also carries recognised complications. Research has documented problems ranging from pain and inflammation to more serious complications, although risks differ considerably between techniques and materials. That does not mean every procedure will go wrong.
Millions of people undergo cosmetic procedures because they want to change something about their appearance, and many report satisfaction afterwards. The more important question comes before the procedure.
Does the person understand what they are risking to achieve the change they want?
Wanting a Change Is Not Automatically Insecurity
It would also be unfair to assume that everyone who undergoes cosmetic surgery dislikes themselves.
People modify their bodies for different reasons. Some want to restore their appearance after pregnancy, major weight loss, an accident or illness. Others simply prefer a different appearance.
Adults can make those decisions. Body dissatisfaction becomes more concerning when someone feels unable to meet an increasingly narrow physical standard without changing themselves.
One procedure can also fail to resolve the underlying dissatisfaction if the real problem was never the body part itself.
Another perceived flaw may simply take its place. That is why the question of motivation matters alongside the medical risks.
Where Does Choice End and Pressure Begin?
Modern beauty culture creates a difficult contradiction.
People hear messages about loving their bodies while algorithms continuously show them ways to improve those same bodies.
Lose the stomach. Increase the buttocks. Build bigger muscles. Remove the wrinkles. Fix the hairline. Change the nose. Increase the lips. Enhance sexual features.
Each message may appear harmless. Together, they can create the impression that the natural body is merely an unfinished version of what it could become.
That does not remove personal choice. But choices do not happen in isolation.
Culture, relationships, advertising, celebrity images and social media can influence what people consider attractive. Constant comparison can also change what someone sees when looking in the mirror.
Changing your body can be a personal choice. Understanding why you believe it needs changing may be just as important.
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