Free Plastic Surgery for Bullying Victims: Your Thoughts?

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

@Mitsuru; It's probably nitpicky, but weight is a result of a genetic difference much of the time; there are people whose genes will never cause them to gain weight no matter how much they eat, people who will always be heavy even if they eat nothing but sprouts, and then most people who are somewhere in-between. And being overweight is not necessarily life-threatening and not necessarily something that requires a change for medical reasons (especially when compared to, say, obesity). But you are right that it is generally much easier to change your weight than your face, and it's a less permanent change, and therefore it shouldn't be compared.

Otherwise I completely agree with your post.

Another issue with changing your face when you're 14 is, as a lot of commenters pointed out in the original article, she is still growing. A lot of people look gawky at that age but later grow into their features. Even some of the most attractive celebrities out there, if you look at pictures of them as young teenagers, looked weird as all get-out at that age. That's part of the reason that plastic surgery is generally not recommended for someone who is that age except in the case of it interfering with their daily lives (e.g. breast reduction surgery for girls with breasts that are so large they're giving them back problems).

 

[Shinobu]

I personally can't wait to see what new frontiers in bullying prevention this opens up. Perhaps a group will form that helps bullied gay children turn straight, and another that turns bullied children of color white.

This reminds me of when certain pieces of media portray bullying one of the negative effects of childhood obesity, as if being overweight is the actual problem rather than the bullies.

 

[proserpina]

Whether or not the world is good/rosey should not be a reason to enable others to continue to bully each other. As I have said, Therian, I have experienced such problems myself. I was bullied for many years and have been through three counsellors myself for social anxieties and depression, only recently finding a psychologist who works with me personally even slightly. I have also had harsh dermatological treatments my parents had to agree to. I have, most definitely, spent many hours of my childhood and adolescence plotting plastic surgery and all manner of interventions to my natural appearance, particularly at the gawky stage I got bullied for around 12. But I grew into things. I got healthier. I kept trying to get help. I stood up to bullies in my own ways and now I am here and intact after contemplating the same miserable things you and other victims of bullying and sufferers of mental illnesses have. But I can still say that by no means would I allow my child to have plastic surgery for something they were being bullied over, because whether it's easy/idealistic or not, I won't teach my children that they should change things about themselves because others have made them feel bad about them. We are as we are and only see something wrong with ourselves when it doesn't fit with what others say we should be. For that reason alone I could never let my child go without an inherent appreciation of themselves because I know from experience that until you have that unconditional personal confidence and assurance building up within, what anyone and everyone does or doesn't say/think of you can sway your feelings about yourself so very much - whether you are what others would consider "ugly" or the most beautiful person on Earth.

If there was anything at all that should've been changed about this young woman it was that she lacked the self appreciation to not want to surgically change her own face, certainly not how that face looked. The bullies are the problem and I find it deeply sad that a young woman with absolutely nothing wrong with her felt the need to (and was allowed to) surgically interfere with a still temporary appearance under the guise that it would prevent bullying and make her truly confident when really the problem is with the bullies and with the lack of true confidence inside of their victim.

 

[Therian]

Ebelle if that worked for you I am happy for you, genuinely I am and I'm not just saying that. But you've got to accept others are not as fortunate as you. While I agree with continuing to work at solving the problem, and agree it's wrong people are forced into this, I don't think anyone should be stopped from seeking this help. It's very easy to sit here now as a teenager and say how you would act if it were your own child getting bullied, but I'd bet you'd act very differently if god forbid the situation should ever occur. If you were a parent watching your child go through this, and they were pleading with you to get this quick fix, I think most people would.

It's great that so many here have overcome bullying and are now happy normal people, but don't think everyone is as fortunate as you, when kids are being bullied for something they can't change such as their sexuality it can often lead to suicide. Now obviously the ideal world no one would get bullied for their sexuality, but if I had an LGBT child getting bullied obviously I'd go through the school and things first, but I would also encourage them to maybe tone it down and change aspects of their behaviour. Is it right that they'd have to go through with that, NO OF COURSE NOT ITS VERY SAD, but I'd rather my child not be themselves to the full extent than get bullied into suicide.

The same goes for this girl, I'm sure the parents were heartbroken about her getting plastic surgery, but when it came down to, send her off everyday to be bullied and risk the consequences, or take this route which could POSSIBLY work (works for some, doesnt work for others) they took that route and I think they should be applauded for that. Not everyone is as fortunate as you Ebelle, don't think if you can get through it that everyone can!

 

[UnovaCastaway]

Unless the person is being bullied solely for a physical reason, plastic surgery would only be superficial at best. Does anybody remember the stories that teach about inner beauty?

Judging from firsthand experience as well as reading accounts, people are usually bullied for multiple reasons. The bullies come up with more excuses that they see fit, and sometimes they turn to lies to perpetuate their little "fun" of making someone miserable.

They don't like the look on someone's face? They bully. Then they learn that the person has a less than optimal social life? They keep bullying. They misheard something the victim said? Turn it into an exagerrated lie to keep bullying them.

It's elementary school stupidity that grows during the rest of their educational careers.

 

[Mitsuru]

While I agree with continuing to work at solving the problem, and agree it's wrong people are forced into this, I don't think anyone should be stopped from seeking this help.

I don't think it's seeking effective help, so much as it is the means of such.

This girl had more options. If not direct counseling, perhaps a more serious psychiatrist. If not something like that, then there's always the option of alternative schools.

If you were a parent watching your child go through this, and they were pleading with you to get this quick fix, I think most people would.

That's the problem. It's a quick fix. A temporary one at that.
She'll likely need to go through more procedures as she ages. That's going to be a costly endeavor and I doubt this organization will back her up once she's older.

In another perspective, what's to stop the bullying from calling this girl a "whore" or "slut" because she had plastic surgery done, or even just using that to criticize her? How would that be any better?

It's great that so many here have overcome bullying and are now happy normal people

I'm far from. Considerably closer than before, sure, but I'm still scarred.

but don't think everyone is as fortunate as you, when kids are being bullied for something they can't change such as their sexuality it can often lead to suicide. Now obviously the ideal world no one would get bullied for their sexuality, but if I had an LGBT child getting bullied obviously I'd go through the school and things first, but I would also encourage them to maybe tone it down and change aspects of their behaviour.

I find this infuriating, to be honest.
I really don't care for effeminate men, as I'm personally much more subdued, but I would never make my child be anything else than what they are. Nor would I force anyone to be anything else. What right do you have to tell someone to stop being themselves? Evasive to bullying or not, a person's identity is more important than appearances.

Is it right that they'd have to go through with that, NO OF COURSE NOT ITS VERY SAD, but I'd rather my child not be themselves to the full extent than get bullied into suicide.

There are options. Suicide is completely preventable.
Let alone, I'd rather somebody lived and died being secure in their identity than hiding as something else.

If people criticized something of my natural being, I wouldn't hide it.
I have bushy eyebrows, long eyelashes, a "bulbous" nose, large lips and my hair naturally comes in two colors. I'm not going to change any of these things, nor should anyone else feel they have to.

 

[Fig]

Changing yourself is not a bad thing, mind. Be who you are has never been particularly good advice (it is, in fact, horrible). Be who you can be is much better. Be who you are encourage people to wallow in their personality flaws (and we all have them, including - especially - the bullies). Be who you can be is a call to constantly improve yourself, to diminish your weakness and strengthen your strengths.

If the bullying highlight what appears to be a legitimate personality flaw to you, work on it. The flaw doesn't excuse the bully, and dealing with the flaw might not deal with the bully, but if you are being picked on about something you think they're right about...it's in your power to change it.

That, of course, applies to personality, not outward look. In terms of outward look, while I have nothing against plastic surgery teenagers shouldn't be getting it, and it certainly shouldn't be proposed as a solution to bullying (it isn't, any way).

 

[Almonds]

If the bullied girl wants the surgery, then I don't see why not.

 

[GreatLiver]

This is an absolute waste of resources and terrible parenting. Just the fact that she knew there were procedures out there to reduce the size of her ears at the age of 10 shows just how hopeless our society is. Corrective surgery exists for the purpose of correcting defects or injuries. Not trimming down some kid's ears. My brother got plastic surgery when he was 14 because he ran face first into a trailer while playing manhunt and had a huge gash across his forehead. If it weren't for that doctor he'd probably still look fucked up. There's a very important reason for this field of medicine. Unfortunately it's gotten so muddled by our current culture that things like surgery for things other than defects becomes an option. That girl is still growing into her body, and her parents not realizing that and just looking for the quick fix is completely irresponsible of them.

I don't fault the girl at all. She's young, doesn't really know better, and not coming from a great place. In 10 years she'll look back and think it was a pretty dumb thing to do. It's unfortunate that her parents are irresponsible enough, and quite frankly dumb enough, to go along with this. It's also absolutely irresponsible of the doctors who most definitely know better but are doing it anyway.

The entire field of medicine is so fucked up these days and concerned so much more with wanking off pharmaceutical companies than actually getting people better, but that's a completely different topic I could go off about, but I won't.

 

[Therian]

but don't think everyone is as fortunate as you, when kids are being bullied for something they can't change such as their sexuality it can often lead to suicide. Now obviously the ideal world no one would get bullied for their sexuality, but if I had an LGBT child getting bullied obviously I'd go through the school and things first, but I would also encourage them to maybe tone it down and change aspects of their behaviour.

I find this infuriating, to be honest.
I really don't care for effeminate men, as I'm personally much more subdued, but I would never make my child be anything else than what they are. Nor would I force anyone to be anything else. What right do you have to tell someone to stop being themselves? Evasive to bullying or not, a person's identity is more important than appearances.

Is it right that they'd have to go through with that, NO OF COURSE NOT ITS VERY SAD, but I'd rather my child not be themselves to the full extent than get bullied into suicide.

There are options. Suicide is completely preventable.
Let alone, I'd rather somebody lived and died being secure in their identity than hiding as something else.

WOAH WOAH WOAH hold up, am I reading you right? First of all, suicide happens, that's a fact, sometimes someones life is so miserable they see it as the only way out. But I think you need to clear something up

Are you saying that you would rather someone be their full self, have a horrible time and commit suicide than tone down aspects of their personality?

If we look at it in order of preference

I think everyone's first preference would be that we could all be ourselves and not get bullied.

But if I was a parent of a bullied child, and the first preference was unavavailable due to the scummy world we live in, my 2nd preference would be that I'd rather my child toned it down and tried to avoid the bullying and I'd still have my child (who could still be himself at home), than have them suffer the full extent of that bullying, which can lead to suicide. And you keep mentioning how everyone's got to go into counselling because apparently that makes the pain go away (IT DOESNT) but most of the time kids who go for suicide, parents may be aware they are getting bullied (sometimes they don't even know) but before a counsellor even comes into the equation the child has done something drastic.

I think most of the people here lambasting the parents are talking absolute rubbish, Great Lover if you saw someone getting bullied your own child, and refused to help, then shame on you, the only thing that would happen is the child would resent their parents for seeing them as blocking their escape.

Also now, she has benefited from that bullying in a way, whoever bullied her the jokes on them, because now she is much more attractive, and will hopefully be getting attention from the opposite sex (or same sex if she wants that) OF COURSE that's not the reason to go in for it, something like that shouldn't be part of the decision making process, but it is a nice positive side effect. Having people show an interest in you in that way does a lot for your confidence, more than any guy in a chair with a pen could do.

 

[proserpina]

It doesn't, it gives you a temporary boost of ego, not true self confidence from your--and here is the clue--self, which is the only unconditional self esteem worthy of anybody's pursuit. The kind you can only get from being happy with yourself, not changing yourself and getting confidence because you're different and suddenly shallow people appreciate you. That kind of confidence is attention dependent, unreliable and frankly a bit unhealthy. I know this because I have been there - grown into myself and been found attractive only to find that the "confidence" my similar-minded friends and I got from suddenly being pretty to others was short-lived, needy and false. The mind is internal. With a bit of work, she can appreciate herself truly and get more happiness from instilling that than any constant adaptation to being superficially, stereotypically attractive can give her. And please don't repeat yourself that counseling doesn't work, because I highly doubt your experience is illustrative of counseling overall. Like with everything worth doing, it takes a lot of time, new attempts and work - and I know that's not easy in a suicidal/deeply unhappy mind (again, I have been there and I never thought I would ever get even the little bit better I have so far), but I find it frankly offensive that you are implying that counseling is ineffective at enabling people to get over their hurt, overcome suicidal feelings and become stronger while plastic surgery is suddenly an acceptable solution with acceptable morals to be sending out to kids. You are essentially saying "working at changing what's in your mind won't work, but having surgery on your ugly face so people find you attractive will", and I don't even know where to begin with such a ridiculous sentiment.

If we gave our kids true confidence from day one rather than enabling others to tell people how they should look to be "pretty" I don't think quite as many kids would be feeling suicidal about their appearance and being bullied for it in the first place, frankly. Any girl, boy or person at all anywhere deserves to be taught to appreciate themselves without changing their appearance to gain approval, become what others would subjectively call beautiful or to get bullies off their backs and an ego boost from resulting superficial approval.

Suicide as a result of low self esteem an other painful feelings happens, yes, but it is not unavoidable. Nobody said getting better, wanting to live on and loving yourself was or is easy. I am only just starting out on that road at eighteen years of age myself, and that is much earlier than many. But I sure as heck won't sell myself short by changing what's outside for an ego boost/others' approval when I can work at it and change my mind, giving me confidence no loss of looks or lack of approval can take away. When you make your confidence and perception of yourself as attractive extrinsic, you cheat yourself out of unconditional self appreciation and give yourself so much less than you deserve. I can't see how that is acceptable for anyone, much less a fourteen year old girl getting surgery before she's even grown into her own face to "fix" things other bitter, shallow people subjectively said were bad.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

It's not going to help against bullies and outside of reconstruction, I don't think 14-year-olds should be getting plastic surgery anyway.

 

[Vhazhiphor]

If I was a parent with a bullied child, and they plead with me to let them do this, I'd tell them "no". As a parent, knowing better than your kids is part of the job description. This isn't going to do a damned thing to help. Even if the bullying stops, I'm quite certain she'll come to regret her decision further on down the line.

It's been said already: the surgery is a "quick fix". She took the easy way out. Regardless if it works or not, I don't think that's something one should encourage a child to do.

 

[Mitsuru]

Are you saying that you would rather someone be their full self, have a horrible time and commit suicide than tone down aspects of their personality?

I'd rather nobody committed suicide and instead took pride in their identities. Be it their large ears or how camply they behave.

I think most of the people here lambasting the parents are talking absolute rubbish, Great Lover if you saw someone getting bullied your own child, and refused to help, then shame on you, the only thing that would happen is the child would resent their parents for seeing them as blocking their escape.

Firstly, sometimes escaping the situation doesn't truly help. There are countless people who would tell you that running away from the problem doesn't really help it (artificially changing your appearance, frankly, isn't dealing with the problem). Secondly, there is no mention of refusing to help the child; simply other, less extreme means of such. Arguably more effective ones, at that.

now she is much more attractive, and will hopefully be getting attention from the opposite sex (or same sex if she wants that)

Having people show an interest in you in that way does a lot for your confidence, more than any guy in a chair with a pen could do.

I think that's a very shallow, fleeting form of confidence.

 

[Therian]

Are you saying that you would rather someone be their full self, have a horrible time and commit suicide than tone down aspects of their personality?

I'd rather nobody committed suicide and instead took pride in their identities. Be it their large ears or how camply they behave.

I think most of the people here lambasting the parents are talking absolute rubbish, Great Lover if you saw someone getting bullied your own child, and refused to help, then shame on you, the only thing that would happen is the child would resent their parents for seeing them as blocking their escape.

Firstly, sometimes escaping the situation doesn't truly help. There are countless people who would tell you that running away from the problem doesn't really help it (artificially changing your appearance, frankly, isn't dealing with the problem). Secondly, there is no mention of refusing to help the child; simply other, less extreme means of such. Arguably more effective ones, at that.

now she is much more attractive, and will hopefully be getting attention from the opposite sex (or same sex if she wants that)

Having people show an interest in you in that way does a lot for your confidence, more than any guy in a chair with a pen could do.

I think that's a very shallow, fleeting form of confidence.

It's not shallow at all. Everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to find that special someone. Let's face it we go for partners who we are attracted to, it's a necessity as you need to be aroused to go all the way. As well as stopping bullying, this surgery has made her much prettier, the joke is on the bullies, they tried to bully and taunt her, but instead they unknowingly gave her a gift as now she is a lot more likely to have guys attracted to her and find a boyfriend. And make sure you don't cut this bit out of your quote "while this is obviously not a reason to get the surgery, and should not be a factor, it is nonetheless a nice bonus."

Having no one show an interest in you can be very degrading and knock your confidence, a few counsellors and close family and friends telling you don't worry about it does nothing for your confidence. If everyone is continually bashing you, or ignoring you, then you're going to feel worthless. It's not being shallow to say that being pretty does help boost your confidence, that's a well known fact, you rarely see someone who people would describe as gorgeous as having confidence issues. Body image is very powerful, and although it is wrong, our appearance does affects elsewhere in life.

If your ugly then you're 40% less likely to be offered the job, compared to someone who has average looks, 60% less likely than someone deemed attractive. Employers can hire who they want, they discriminate between who they want, and while its a horrible shallow thing to do, it does happen, and you can't do anything about it, you can't really punish business for not hiring ugly people. So again, not only has she escaped the bullying, got increased confidence, she is also more likely to get a boyfriend and a job. The benefits of this are endless. It's a real dis at the bullies because through all the cruelty they dealt towards her, its backfired on them, because now she has beauty too.

While I said some of you seem a bit Disney, if we want Disney, I would love it if one of the bully girl's boyfriends decided that actually they don't want to be with a bully girl anymore and would rather be with this girl and find her more attractive, that would be such poetic justice.

 

[Continent Turtle]

Not true at all. You keep ignoring mine and Caitli's point that actually change does stop the bullying. The reason I feel so passionate about this and keep commenting so much is because I just get so angry when people who have no idea about bullying comment. I just feel that if I had followed your advice, I wouldn't be here posting today as suicide really did become an option. It was only because I was able to change myself that the bullying stopped. Is it right that I had to change myself NO! But in the end what would I prefer, to change, or to carrying suffering the bullying, I chose to change, and this is what she did too! And thank god that charity were willing to help!

Are you talking about the change in your appearance, that made them stop bullying you? Because for me, it didn't work at all. My passion for video games stems from the fact that I was bullied. I didn't want to go to anything public, like a bar or a school party, because I could be bullied. When I was 6, the bullying began, because I had black frontteeth, because of the dehydration I suffered when I was two, or the antibiotics that followed. My mom doesn't know. But either way, when the front teeth fell out, and I got my new shiny spectacular adult teeth, the bullying didn't stop. They just picked the next nonsensical thing they deemed "strange", which would be normal to any other human being. They bullying only stopped when I changed my attitude. When I was younger I was more introverted and shy, which the bullies saw as a bullying invitation. When I became eleven, my attitude changed, and I became more open, happy and begin to think "fuck them" whenever someone tried to bully me. I ignored them, and it wasn't funny for them anymore. The bullying continued for a little while, until I was 14. I became a towering hulk for my age, because I had an early grow spurt. And I wasn't afraid to ask help from teachers and my parents anymore.

Nowadays I still have a eating problem, because if I got sad, or bullied or whatever, I began to eat. With the problems in my family, depressions, divorces, that hasn't stopped. That's why I'm now overweight. But people stopped bullying me. I became fat, but they didn't bully me anymore. Because I changed my attitude.

tl;dr: Changing your attitude and way of handling things stops bullying. Help is sometimes neccesary, as someone with authority, can drill bullies into the ground.

Thanks for reading.

 

[GreatLiver]

If your ugly then you're 40% less likely to be offered the job, compared to someone who has average looks, 60% less likely than someone deemed attractive. Employers can hire who they want, they discriminate between who they want, and while its a horrible shallow thing to do, it does happen, and you can't do anything about it, you can't really punish business for not hiring ugly people. So again, not only has she escaped the bullying, got increased confidence, she is also more likely to get a boyfriend and a job. The benefits of this are endless. It's a real dis at the bullies because through all the cruelty they dealt towards her, its backfired on them, because now she has beauty too.

That is completely irrelevant and untrue in the sense you're implying. This girl isn't ugly, she's 14. That statistic applies to people seeking employment who have severe asymmetry, other disfigurements, or obviously do not put effort into their appearance such as bad hygiene or dirty clothes. She's going to grow up into a completely normal looking person. You know the only thing that would deter an employer from employing this girl at the moment? The fact that she is 14. In 10 years, she will look like a normal human being, having had the surgery or not.

I cannot even imagine how poorly the parents response must have affected the girl. Them allowing her the surgery simply reinforces her belief that she is unattractive. The parents are basically agreeing with the bullies by not comforting their daughter and letting her know that she isn't ugly, she's just going through the same awkward years every other person goes through.

This hasn't backfired on the bullies at all. The girl still will have low confidence, and the bullies will know that and just find something new to ridicule her for, quite probably the fact that she went along and had surgery. If anything it'll backfire on the parents who think this will quickly fix the problem, when it will really just lead to even more problems.

 

[Therian]

Not true at all. You keep ignoring mine and Caitli's point that actually change does stop the bullying. The reason I feel so passionate about this and keep commenting so much is because I just get so angry when people who have no idea about bullying comment. I just feel that if I had followed your advice, I wouldn't be here posting today as suicide really did become an option. It was only because I was able to change myself that the bullying stopped. Is it right that I had to change myself NO! But in the end what would I prefer, to change, or to carrying suffering the bullying, I chose to change, and this is what she did too! And thank god that charity were willing to help!

Are you talking about the change in your appearance, that made them stop bullying you? Because for me, it didn't work at all. My passion for video games stems from the fact that I was bullied. I didn't want to go to anything public, like a bar or a school party, because I could be bullied. When I was 6, the bullying began, because I had black frontteeth, because of the dehydration I suffered when I was two, or the antibiotics that followed. My mom doesn't know. But either way, when the front teeth fell out, and I got my new shiny spectacular adult teeth, the bullying didn't stop. They just picked the next nonsensical thing they deemed "strange", which would be normal to any other human being. They bullying only stopped when I changed my attitude. When I was younger I was more introverted and shy, which the bullies saw as a bullying invitation. When I became eleven, my attitude changed, and I became more open, happy and begin to think "fuck them" whenever someone tried to bully me. I ignored them, and it wasn't funny for them anymore. The bullying continued for a little while, until I was 14. I became a towering hulk for my age, because I had an early grow spurt. And I wasn't afraid to ask help from teachers and my parents anymore.

Nowadays I still have a eating problem, because if I got sad, or bullied or whatever, I began to eat. With the problems in my family, depressions, divorces, that hasn't stopped. That's why I'm now overweight. But people stopped bullying me. I became fat, but they didn't bully me anymore. Because I changed my attitude.

tl;dr: Changing your attitude and way of handling things stops bullying. Help is sometimes neccesary, as someone with authority, can drill bullies into the ground.

Thanks for reading.

I did read it all, and it links with my point earlier about bullying not being a one solution fits all. I always did try and ignore it and think "fuck it" I was always told the myth that they won't bully you if you don't give them a reaction because they will get bored of it. That didn't work, they didn't get bored because they entertained the pack, the all found it funny and joint in, thus encouraging the ring leaders to still do it.

I also went through all the school authoirities etc, but it didn't work, they would punish the ones who did whatever, but then some of their other friends would do it. There was too many of them for the school to realistically punish them all. A few of them got threatened with expulsion, but even that didn't change, and I think the school knew there was too many of them to expel, our class size would be greatly reduced if they were expelled.

The other one was if you fight back they won't. When they used to hit me with bottles and stuff, or rugby tackle me to the floor I mostly tried to run away or just pick myself up and carry on, one day I did fight back, all that happened was I got beaten up.

FOR ME, the only thing that did work was changing my appearance.

 

[Mitsuru]

It's not shallow at all. Everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to find that special someone. Let's face it we go for partners who we are attracted to, it's a necessity as you need to be aroused to go all the way. As well as stopping bullying, this surgery has made her much prettier, the joke is on the bullies, they tried to bully and taunt her, but instead they unknowingly gave her a gift as now she is a lot more likely to have guys attracted to her and find a boyfriend.

There are an infinite amount of factors to love, of which sexual attraction is only one. This girl could still go through life and live it happily.
Also, you seem to be implying that she was ugly before. I didn't see anything wrong with her. Let alone the fact that she's still growing into her features, something repeatedly stated in this thread, but somehow ignored.

I don't think of it as a gift. Other members and myself have stated why having this done at such a young age is a mistake.

And make sure you don't cut this bit out of your quote "while this is obviously not a reason to get the surgery, and should not be a factor, it is nonetheless a nice bonus."

I kept in only what I felt was relevant.

Having no one show an interest in you can be very degrading and knock your confidence

She's fourteen. She doesn't need companionship so early in her life.

It's not being shallow to say that being pretty does help boost your confidence, that's a well known fact, you rarely see someone who people would describe as gorgeous as having confidence issues.

Celebrities all have issues, and you see it everywhere in media that popular peoples' lives tend to go down hill after high school, as that's their "prime".

Now, does the phrase "Looks aren't everything" ever come to mind? As people age, their looks do go out the window. It's both shallow and wasteful to think that everything can be fixed with some botox.

Body image is very powerful, and although it is wrong, our appearance does affects elsewhere in life.

If your ugly then you're 40% less likely to be offered the job, compared to someone who has average looks, 60% less likely than someone deemed attractive. Employers can hire who they want, they discriminate between who they want, and while its a horrible shallow thing to do, it does happen, and you can't do anything about it, you can't really punish business for not hiring ugly people.

Even attractive women get payed less than men. So, in pursuit of adapting, should people get sex changes and become handsome, white, heterosexual males? That's really the best outcome, following your apparent logic.

It's a terrible standard, so the least we could do is fight against it, not work with it.

So again, not only has she escaped the bullying, got increased confidence, she is also more likely to get a boyfriend and a job. The benefits of this are endless. It's a real dis at the bullies because through all the cruelty they dealt towards her, its backfired on them, because now she has beauty too.

Artificial beauty. And she won't need/have use of any of those things for several years, when she may need to get surgery again to compensate for her growth. It's going to backfire on her, because she won't have beauty forever.

FOR ME, the only thing that did work was changing my appearance.

How can you say that with certainty? Surely, you've used multiple means of stopping it, but nothing that you tried worked. However, if you had attended an open school, I believe that things would have been different for you. No physical change required.

Those schools are designed for students with issues, so discrimination simply isn't an accepted facet.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Yay, Instead of supporting bullied kids to accept themselves, let's transform them to confirm looks are all in this damned life. Instead of teaching bullies to accept everybody, and punish them for their acts, let's validate their prejudices by transforming their victims to that beauty ideals.

Suddenly I want to punch every of those organization jerks in their faces.