Is Plastic Surgery The Answer?

Samantha Shaw is the usual happy-go-lucky seven year old girl, but her story is slightly different.

This little girl from the United States made the headlines earlier this year after she had plastic surgery. Her mother justified it by saying she feared bullies.

Samantha had cup ears that stuck out on the sides. Her right ear meanwhile exhibited the condition known as “lop ear”, which means it folds over.

Samantha and her mother travelled to New York City where she got her new ears from Dr. Steven Pearlman at the Little Baby Face Foundation. The foundation is an organisation that specializes in plastic surgery for children, like fixing clefs for babies.

The foundation performs its procedures free of charge for parents who can’t afford them. Dr. Steven Pearlman strongly believes that if children have any abnormalities this can result in torment in the playground and low self-esteem.

According to one reporter, when little Samantha Shaw was interviewed she said she hasn’t really been bullied. When the mother was interviewed she said it was mostly the parents commenting on her ears and it hurt her daughter’s feelings. She also said she thought it was affecting her daughter’s personality.

Were big ears that stuck out a good reason to get plastic surgery? What do you think?

Over the last decade the number of teens and children getting plastic surgery to avoid bullying has gone up thirty percent. Whatever happened to those stories of self acceptance and beauty coming from within?

I for one don’t have anything against plastic surgery, but this rubbed me the wrong way. Even in the world of plastic surgery, sticking out ears is not seen as a cosmetic issue. More importantly, what are we teaching our children when we allow them to do these procedures?

We need to teach children to love their natural bodies and accept their flaws as a vital part of character building. Anything that happens to us as children and as teens is what shapes us into adults and makes us who we are.

The mother did what she thought was best and I can’t blame her even though it seemed like she was trying to mask her own insecurity about her daughter, but that’s just my opinion.

Bullying, I agree, it could be really tragic to young children, especially in extreme cases, but what are we telling the bullies when we change something about ourselves to please them?

Stand tall and stay strong. By doing so they will never break you.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?

To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/commonwealthcorrespondents/

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………