Cosmetic Surgery, Limitless?

            Something has been bothering me since Monday. The thought of a seven year old receiving a plastic surgery certificate has been in the back of my mind. I recall that day a few years back when I first heard the news. The title Sarah Burge,'Human Barbie', Gives Liposuction Voucher To 7-Year-Old Daughter For Christmas captured my attention instantly. Then was when I just started taking classes about child development and childrearing for my Child and Family Studies major. As soon as I finished reading the article, I remembered one of the many studies that was presented in the class that day. The research study that I had to read for my parenting class have found that among adolescents, the lack of maternal and paternal affection might promote feelings of rejection, consequently, lowering the teen’s self-esteem. The duplication of this study yielded similar results, indicating that deprivation of affection towards children will have a negative influence on their self-esteem. Now, back to the news. The mother gave her daughter, who is only SEVEN, a certification for liposuction as a Christmas present. If the lack of affection leads to a decrease in self-esteem, then how would such an absurd gesture affect the girl who is only seven?

(Poppy and mom, Sarah)

            Parents should love their child no matter what. Parents’ love should be unconditional and unrestricted. It’s hard for me to understand why Sarah felt that there was a need to give her young daughter Poppy a liposuction certification, redeemable when she turns 18. In one of the many interviews, Sarah said that Poppy had asked for it. Why would a seven year old ask for such a thing? Children follow the paths of their parents in many occasions. The mother, who is known as the ‘Human Barbie’, has gone under the knife over fifty times to achieve what she considers ‘beautiful.’ Through this gift, she is passing on the message that plastic surgery is the key component of being beautiful to her young daughter. Many people criticized her parenting style and even deemed her unfit for the role of motherhood. I don’t blame them because I believe so as well. Plastic surgery has evolved in many ways to become more than what it was intended to be, now being performed mostly for beauty enhancement reasons. This news is a clear indication of why people are turning to cosmetic surgery to ‘beautify’ themselves.

            It’s true that we should not judge. Every person should be able to do what his or her heart desire. If a female believes that she will feel better about her body and herself after getting a breast augmentation or any other beauty enhancement procedures then she should be allowed to. However, what if it doesn’t come out as desired the first time, how many times should she be able to go under knife to achieve her dream breast size? This is where cosmetic surgery becomes tricky. It’s hard to set a limit because money talks. How many surgeons would turn down a good payday? The answer: not many. Actually, let me rephrase that: close to none.

It’s so easy for us to judge others. The ‘Human Barbie’ or the ‘Human Ken’ received both praise and criticism for what they have done to themselves. Gone under the knife for over 100 procedures and still counting. Numerous times I find myself criticizing their actions but right now, I question the surgeons who performed the surgery on them. Right, there is no set limit but I believe that there is a point where it is clear that the limit has been reached.