With the recent proliferation of reality shows like Extreme Makeover and The Swan, it comes as no surprise that the number of people having cosmetic surgery has mushroomed, especially over the last couple of years. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 8.7 million people had some form cosmetic surgery last year, up 32 percent from 6.6 million in 2002.
What does seem surprising though is the rising number of children and adolescents who are going under the knife to correct everything from large ears to small breasts. According to the New York Times, children as young as six and seven are having their ears operated on if both the child and parents feel the ears are too big. A child's ears, by this time, have just finished growing to their full size. The corrective operation, called otoplasty, involves reshaping the child's cartilage and folding the ear back against the head. The operation costs around $2,500.
By 13 or 14, children can elect to get a nose job, or rhinoplasty. By 16 or 17, girls and boys can get their breasts done. For the most part, girls most often augment smaller breasts to increase their size, while boys will get unusually large breasts reduced.
This trend is fairly disturbing. It seems shocking that parents would send their kindergartner to a plastic surgeon. I thought the common answer to a child being teased was holding a conference with the teacher, or speaking to the offending child's mother.
It seems that we are living in a time when physical insecurity is at an all time high. America is seeing a simultaneous rise in obesity, eating disorders, fad diets and cosmetic surgeries. We are constantly focusing on the way our bodies look, how they should look, and how they fall short.
To allow a child to believe that he or she is abnormal in any way and needs corrective surgery not only wastes money and time, but it sets a horrible precedent that the child will undoubtedly internalize. It inscribes body issues that will haunt the child for their entire life.
Rather than investing money in a single operation, parents should instead use the $2,000-plus dollars to send their children to a therapist, camp, or after-school program that makes the child feel good about him or herself. Let the child realize that even though they don't have a perfect set of ears, or the ideal nose, that they can make friends and play sports and be successful.
Another way to spend the money would be to buy the child pictures and movies of actors and actresses who have made themselves famous with their unusual features. Would Will Smith be as famous as he is today if he'd had his ears operated on when he was six? Would Barbara Streisand be as striking if she'd had a nose job when she was 14?
There are always going to be aspects of a person's body that he or she does not like. For people who have worked and struggled with their body, and who have earned their own money, cosmetic surgery is a viable and often rewarding option. I am not going to begrudge any 30-year-old professional his or her right to look like he or she is in his or her 20's.
To operate on a child or an adolescent not only wastes money, but also sets a harmful precedent the child is unlikely to forget. It does not improve the child's self-worth, but rather ensures that it will always be a problem.
Sarah Barry is a biweekly columnist. She can be reached at sbarry@cavalierdaily.com
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