Teen Plastic - The Adolescent Obsession with Plastic Surgery

Britain's self-proclaimed "human barbie", Sarah Burge gifted her 7 year old daughter a voucher for $11,000 worth of liposuction. This isn't the first time the buxom blonde shocked the world, she's also gifted the little tyke a voucher for a $6000 breast augmentation when she comes of age. Naturally, this started a firestorm of controversy not only in the UK, but around the world. What business does a mother have inferring to her young daughter that plastic surgery is a necessary part of of being a woman?

In the United States alone, plastic surgeries among teenage girls has increased over 550% between the years of 1990 and 2010. Teens all over America are hitting up mom and dad for everything from chemical peels, breast augmentations, nose jobs, and ear surgeries.

Teenage girls are more conscious then ever of how they are perceived in eyes of their peers. Even with an increase of public awareness and several healthy body image campaigns, girls of primary school age are idolizing women with voluptuous fake breasts and overly sculpted bodies, believing that this is indeed a way a woman's body should look.

By the time young girls hit puberty, they've already spent countless hours coveting features they may not have, scrutinizing ever bump, every freckle, every flaw. And with the exception of a few sensible voices emphasizing more important advice like how to attain scholarships for women rather than how to apply long lash mascara and how not to look your age, it seems that everything in print and on tv is out to make your teen feel bad about being in her own skin!

But before we dismiss this alarming trend as a passing fad, we have to examine the reasons why young girls are going under the knife. Teenage girls are looking for an instant fix, they want to correct a physical feature that they deem unattractive, or a feature that their peers have commented on. They think that if they fix the flaw they see in the mirror, when they wake up from surgery, they'll feel better about themselves. It doesn't work that way and most teens lack this understanding. Grown women who go under the knife, while they might suffer from the same insecurity about one particular feature, they might have another agenda, like hiding a scar from domestic abuse, or rebuilding a body broken after being ravaged by breast cancer. They generally don't lack the maturity or cognitive abilities to make sound decisions about altering their bodies in drastic ways.

So is it ever okay to let a teen get plastic surgery? Well, it depends on the type of surgery they have their eye on. Breast augmentation is only appropriate for girls 18 years or older. If you're a teen with a small chest, you're just going to have to deal with it until you're of age. It doesn't matter what size you are, small is just as beautiful as full and voluptuous. Nose jobs, breast reductions and ear surgeries are all common cosmetic procedures, and every situation must be approached with caution. Teenagers should be interviewed, and accessed for their state of mind before they make the decision to cut into their skin. As parents, friends and loved ones, it is our responsibility to ensure they know how beautiful we think they are, flaws and all.