Lagoon Monster Love

On 14-year-olds being “surgically enhanced,” and beauty being in the eye of the beholder. (An excerpt)

I just saw a news report about a 14-year-old who got free plastic surgery in order to stop bullies making fun of her ears (although they also performed surgery on her eyes, nose, and chin).

I don’t think anyone should be reporting this crap. First off, it is not a testament to anyone’s strength or good will to solve someone’s deep-seeded self-esteem problems by taking the easy way out. Becoming a more self-assured person shouldn’t require that you change what others don’t like about you. On the contrary, you should learn to love those things, because they make you unique, and (to quote Sir Francis Bacon), “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.”

I understand surgeries for deformities that cause people physical discomfort (for instance, cleft palettes and deviated septums). Ears that stick out a little should not be cause for full-face procedures. This was frivolous elective surgery, which I’m usually in favor of, because really, I don’t care what you do as long as it makes you happy (and doesn’t interfere with the happiness of others). My problem is that the organization that donated the surgery to this insecure girl could have given the $40k they spent on her nose job on someone who actually needed it!

You know, someone who actually needs an operation (as in, must-haves vs. wants). 

I understand, as well, that dealing with bullies is tough, and it’s a sensitive topic, but I also think that everyone gets bullied at some point in their life by somebody. The way to deal with that is never to give in to the opinions of the bullies, thus allowing them to take control of your emotions. Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted so often, saying that nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. Don’t give them your consent!

There are billions of people, and each one has an opinion. You’re the only one with the power to choose which you subscribe to. Personally, I would never waste $40,000 on someone who can’t decipher that for themselves. 

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tags #beauty #fitspo #plastic surgery #opinions #abc news #thinspo #any kind of 'spo' #youth #charity #rant