Montero 1

Sandra Montero Villamizar

Genevieve Winters

English 101

15 April 2020

Argumentative Essay

Plastic surgery refers to surgical procedures that reshape and re-form human tissue, often

used for reconstructive purposes, but most commonly performed for aesthetic purposes, also

known as “Cosmetic Surgery”. Girls aged 18 and younger are influenced by media to get

aesthetic plastic surgery such as liposuction and breast augmentation, although they might not be

completely informed when consenting it. This can negatively impact their physical and

psychological health since it is hazardous. Teenage girls should not be allowed to undergo

elective cosmetic surgery because of the adverse influence of media, uncertain informed consent,

and physical and psychological risks.

Firstly, teenage girls frequently surrender to the “standard image of femininity” framed

by mainstream media. Ann Kearney-Cooke states that there is "a narrow view of what's

considered acceptable appearance in our culture." Most teenage girls feel perpetually inadequate

as they try to live up to those impossibly high standards of beauty (qtd. in “Teenage Girls and

Plastic Surgery…”). They observe near-naked ladies with large breasts and flat stomachs in

magazines, movies, and television shows, and they believe they have to resemble that to be a real

woman. For example, Kate Birch-Davis, a sales manager from Britain, said that her verdict to

get breast implants at 19 years old was profoundly influenced by men's magazines such as FHM,

which were filled with pictures of half-dressed women with full breasts.  “Those types of figures

cause girls to feel as if they do not equal the models. It makes them think that their partner will
 Montero 2

expect their bodies to look that way”. Birch-Davis explains that she received cosmetic surgery

because her small breast made her have low self-esteem. However, after getting her breast

augmented, she was the subject of immoral comments from men. This made her solution worse

than the problem since it reduced her self-confidence even more (“Teenage Girls and Plastic

Surgery…”).

Secondly, informed consent would enable teens and their parents to decide cautiously what is

best for them. Still, it is difficult since adolescents are frequently negligent to possible health

consequences. Likewise, “Requiring parental consent for patients under 18 does not ensure

informed consent since research is lacking on long-term risks for many cosmetic procedures”.

Additionally, the influence of persuasive and pervasive publicity that stimulates request, it is

complicated for a physician to neutrally display both the risks and benefits of an elective

procedure that he or she is contemporaneously selling. (Zuckerman).

Also, performing cosmetic surgery is extremely risky. In fact, an 18-year-old girl from

Pennsylvania died, most likely from a pulmonary embolism, after undergoing liposuction.

Similarly, in March 2008, an 18-year-old Florida girl died after suffering an adverse reaction to

anesthesia. Besides, teenagers who undergo rhinoplasty do so before their faces are fully

developed, which could lead to breathing problems later in life (“Teenage Girls and Plastic

Surgery…”). Moreover, most women who get breast augmentation have at least one serious

complication within the first three years, including infection, hematomas and seromas, capsular

contracture, loss of nipple sensation, and hypertrophic scarring. Breast implants restrict

mammography and rise the probability that a woman will not be able to generate sufficient milk

when trying to breastfeed (Zuckerman).

 Montero 3

In conjunction with the physical risks, there is a psychological burden related to plastic

surgery on teenagers. Since the intention of cosmetic surgery is to improve and adjust the

presence, it may be difficult to differentiate between this desire and a pathological concern such

as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), described as “a preoccupation with an imagined or slight

defect in appearance that leads to significant impairment in functioning” by the American

Psychiatric Association (qtd. in Zuckerman). Furthermore, teens are not mentally or emotionally

equipped to make good choices regarding cosmetic surgery since they can be susceptible to not

think about the consequences but in the “I´ll look better” (“Teenage Girls and Plastic

Surgery…”).

In conclusion, there are thousands of girls 18 and younger who decide to get elective plastic

surgery mostly influenced by social media and beauty standards. Informed consent does not

assure that girls and their parents are entirely aware of the long-term consequences. Some of

these consequences include breathing problems, death and psychological disorders. Because of

the previous reasons, adolescent girls should not undergo cosmetic surgery.
 Montero 4

Works Cited

"Teenage Girls and Plastic Surgery: Should Teenage Girls Be Allowed To Undergo Plastic

Surgery?" Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 10 July

2009, https://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=2134

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. “Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank

STATISTICS 2017.” Surgery.org, www.surgery.org/sites/default/files/ASAPS-

Stats2017.pdf.

Zuckerman, Diana. “Teens and Cosmetic Surgery.” Our Bodies Ourselves, 4 Apr. 2012,

www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book-excerpts/health-article/teens-cosmetic-surgery/.