by Culley Schultz
I was seven-years old around the time the Botox became the new “it” in cosmetic surgery. By the time I was 10, I could declare if a woman I passed on the street had a “frozen forehead” from the procedure. Nowadays, it is commonplace to see actresses who have perfectly smooth faces despite being in their sixties. However, for some seven-year olds, cosmetic procedures are not something in which just older women partake. It is something that will save them from torment in coming years.
Bullying has gained increasing attention in the past year as a problem that is driving children and teens to drastic measures. For some teens, the results of bullying have been fatal. For others, bullying has led to life decisions that will change them forever.
For seven-year-old Samantha Shaw from South Dakota, plastic surgery was a preventative measure taken by her family to help her avoid bullying as she continues to grow up. Samantha had her ears pinned back and to fix a fold in her right ear. Samantha’s mother said that the choice to undergo the surgery was a result of comments made by other adults in front of Samantha. Her parents were trying to protect her from the demeaning remarks she might face in middle and high school.
At age seven, Samantha was interviewed on “Good Morning America” as they took a closer look at plastic surgery practices. Who would have thought that a seven-year-old would be profiled in such a special? They discussed whether the media was to blame for shaping what is a “normal” look for a seven-year-old girl–or any other person for that matter. There are so many actresses and singers who have undergone “the knife” that it can be hard to tell where the line is drawn between fact and fiction.
The controversial artist Lady Gaga recently commented in an interview for “Harper’s Bazaar” that “promoting insecurity in the form of plastic surgery is infinitely more harmful than an artistic expression…” She added, “How many models and actresses do you see on magazine covers who have brand-new faces and have had plastic surgery, while I myself have never had any plastic surgery?” Recently, Lady Gaga chose to undergo “body modification” to have her cheek bones made more prominent, declaring that she was “waiting for the right time to reveal to the universe who I truly am…They’ve always been inside of me,” she said. Here is a woman who is lashing back at traditional norms by altering her bone structure in the name of art. This is a sharp contrast to the message that many actresses and singers send when they get their noses or breasts or stomachs “fixed” through the means of cosmetic surgery.
In a world that strongly focuses on outward appearance, Samantha’s cosmetic surgery this may have been the right choice. But consider why her family felt the need to change Samantha’s born traits. Have the media’s images so corrupted the view of beauty that anything outside “the norm” seen on TV is a cause for childhood bullying? What can we do to combat this issue and let little girls live a life free of look related harassment and make their own decisions about how they want to look in their future? When will it be the right time to reveal to the universe who you truly are?
I think the idea that parents got their daughter to have plastic surgery to fix her ears is absolutely absurd! It is feeding right into the idea that girls (and all people in general) have to look a certain “normal” way. Each person is born with unique characteristics, each of them a part of nature.
The parents should have had very long talks with Samantha (and maybe they did) about how you should love yourself just the way you are. The life lesson of learning to deal with bullying and having self confidence, and loving yourself is something she could have gained. However, now, what she is going to take away from the experience is that she had an “abnormal” “problem” that had to be fixed in order for her to look “normal”.
If I was her parent, I would have responded to other adults negative comments right in front of Samantha by putting them in an awkward, uncomfortable position by saying something like, “oh really? I never noticed anything wrong with her ears! They are absolutely beautiful and unique just the way she was born!” Maybe the adults would think before they comment on the “normal-ness” of children.
I am saying all of this from the perspective of someone who has a younger brother who has ears that are larger than the majority of others, and who got made fun of in school. There was a point where he was made fun of. My parents were very supportive, explaining to him that bullies pick on others to make themselves feel better, and it was not a reflection on him. Saying that his ears looked like his grandfather’s and were an important part of family genetics passed down.
Also, if they are concerned about protecting their child and having her be “normal”, how in the hell is getting her plastic surgery and sticking her on television shows in anyway making her feel more “normal”? Absolutely, incredibly absurd.
So many people have different sized ears and maybe as she grew her features would have balanced out more..who knows?! and who should really care?!
And you know what she takes away from this? That she was born “imperfect”. That something innately about her had to be “fixed”, and that in the future when she gets made fun of for something else, say her red hair, or her beautiful sun-kissed freckles, she will try to “fix” them and give into the bullies and the a-hole adults who judge what she looks like.
You know what she COULD have taken away from this? Amazing skills at standing up for herself, self confidence, conflict resolution, and an ability to embrace her uniqueness and individuality.
Samantha, I am so sorry the world did this to you.