Jeppe Pachai 3 EN 21/02/11

Cosmetic Surgery on Teenagers

Cosmetic surgery allows you to create, form and design your own figure. It makes you the
boss of your own appearance. But should this form of surgery, which is a value-based
decision, be legal to achieve if you are a teenager with a body that is not fully developed yet?
And should parents be allowed to sign for their children so that they can get the surgery they
believe could help them to a better life?

In our modern society it has become a big deal to be beautiful. We aspire to be unique,
different and yet normal, so we can impress everybody without being looked upon as a
lunatic. A goal like this is almost impossible to achieve, but every trick is allowed in the
pursuit of happiness. This includes plastic surgery, which is to be taken seriously. It is not
right to jump into it without consideration and especially not if you are being pushed into
surgery by friends and family.
In an article from Los Angeles Times Valerie Ulene discusses the topic of cosmetic surgery
performed on teenagers. She involves experts’ knowledge and her own common opinion to
debate basic values of having plastic surgery when you are young. She agrees in my
reflections of plastic surgery and believes that a plastic surgeon has to go into a discussion of
the surgery with the young client and its parents before the actual cosmetic operation.
Valerie involves her own thoughts of having plastic surgery as a teenager. She hated her nose,
and wanted to get rid of it, but she ignored the thought of having an operation and learnt how
to accept her nose and make it a part of herself. Her acceptance of the fact that she has an ugly
body part is not attractive to the younger generation, who is raised to believe that everything
is possible and that they should not be pleased with the next best thing.

The idea of perfection has infiltrated our minds as a small virus that only grows bigger. And
now, plastic surgery is looked upon as totally normal. More people are having operations
done. Especially children of parents who have had surgery done, because these parents have
troubles saying no to their children if they want an operation similar to theirs. This is also
shown in an article form New York Times website, in which Camille Sweeney has interviewed
Jeppe Pachai 3 EN 21/02/11

a few experts and asked them for their opinion on cosmetic surgery on teens. But first in the
article the reader can read about Kirsten, who got breast implants as a gift from her parents
when she graduated from High School. Her reason for this operation was that she wanted to
look normal. It is a huge misunderstanding to think that getting a surgery makes you normal.
The most natural thing is to look the way you were born. But unfortunately, the way of
looking at cosmetic surgery as methods of normalising yourself is widely spread in today’s
society. In Kirsten’s perspective it is normal to get breast implants because both her mother
and older sister have had their breasts operated. And the fact that she got her operation when
she was younger than her sister and mother shows the development of cosmetic surgery.
Nowadays you have to be perfect to be normal.
In the article Sweeney also interviews the director of the Cincinnati Psychotherapy Institute,
who tells that she has patients who want to get a liposuction, when a new lifestyle, which
includes healthy eating and workout, is what they really need. If just more teenagers would
seek some counselling before jumping into conclusions about getting an operation, then
teenage surgeries would not be an issue. But as Valerie Ulene wrote in her article it is not
considered as a particular good business model for the plastic surgeons to inform the
teenagers about options that discourage them from having surgery.

Both Valerie Ulene and Camille Sweeney are great to engage the reader. The two writers put
up examples that give the reader options of identification. Ulene uses herself to create
identification options because she is the mother of a teenager. That is a clever move because it
is important that parents can relate to an article like this and become aware of the risks
involved with these surgeries that their teenage children want to have done. Sweeney keeps
her own person more anonymous, and this makes her article trustworthy and ethos
orientated because we do not know if she is pro or against plastic surgery on teenagers. But as
Ulene she uses examples, by involving the young Kirsten, who has had the same breast
operation as her mother and big sister. By using examples the writers create pathos, because
it touches the reader emotionally, when the articles involve real persons.
Further more, there are also logos in the texts because of the logical information. The readers
are being informed about the society and the development of teenage surgery. They become
aware of the risks of operations going wrong and the follow-up procedures. But the final
decision about legalisation of plastic surgery is not being asked in any of the two texts.
Jeppe Pachai 3 EN 21/02/11

In the state of Queensland in Australia plastic surgery on people under eighteen have been
banned. And in an article from ABC news website Dan Childs has asked some experts if the
same model could make sense in USA. Both the positive and negative aspects are represented
in the text. Some surgeons believe that such a decision is only to be made by adults mainly
because it is a valued-based decision. Others are afraid that if certain teenagers are restricted
from having plastic surgery it will harm their self-esteem. So should the state get involved in
these decisions? Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, director of plastic surgery at Maimondes Medical Center
in Brooklyn, N.Y., says that teenagers are reasonable enough to make their own decisions and
believes that the state should stay out of this field. But meanwhile he recommends that the
teenagers find a surgeon, who is capable of both surgical and psychological aspects of
cosmetic surgery.

In this article the reader is truly being engaged, because now he or she has to think about the
ethic and moral principles relating to cosmetic surgery on teens. The reader is forced to take a
stand and decide whether he or she is pro or against cosmetic surgery on teenagers. This
article is filled with logos because of the argumentation and information, but it also contains
ethos because the article is based on interviews with experts.
Personally, I am divided in this question, and I would have troubles by saying just yes or just
no to cosmetic surgery on teens. I can understand that for some children it is the only way to
get a better self-esteem, but it should be the last opportunity. I believe that a lot of the
teenagers could do without surgery. Instead they should seek a psychiatrist, who could help
them to get a better self-esteem and help them tackle their problems. I think that we should
ban plastic surgery on people under eighteen and let the psychiatrist have the opportunity to
recommend cosmetic surgery. But only if that is the only option left for the teenager in order
to prevent a possible suicide or mental breakdown.