Cosmetic Surgery in Children: 160,000+ Patients

http://www.naturalnews.com/027728_cosmetic_surgery_children.html

Gutierrez, David. "Bodies Under Construction: Teen Cosmetic Surgery." www.naturalnews.com. N.p., 14 Dec. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

This article talks about the number of children that were cosmetic surgery patients in 2008. The number—160,000+.  By children, they mean people under the age of 19. The most common procedures were breast implants, liposuction, Botox injections, hair removal, and birthmark removal or "Asian eye surgery." Celebrities and the cosmetic surgery leads young girls to believe that cosmetic surgery is the norm. Some procedures are necessary, such as cleft palate; but others are for the sole purpose of boosting self-confidence.

Necessary and medical are two very different situations in terms of cosmetic surgery. The amount of children that get surgery, however, is absolutely ridiculous. Many people do no understand the risks of said surgeries. These side affects can cause a lot of damage to the child. How parents can just let their children alter their bodies is a mystery to the world.

The Plastics: For Real?

http://www.fazeteen.com/issue13/teen_cosmetic_surgery.html

Wansbrough, Liane. "Bodies Under Construction: Teen Cosmetic Surgery." www.fazeteen.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

This article states that the amount of cosmetic surgery in teens has increased. Some of the reasons for this are lack of self-esteem, high media coverage of the various surgeries, and it’s become acceptable to the public. One highlighted incident in this article is when a 15 year old girl decided to get breast implants for her sweet sixteen birthday. But cosmetic surgery isn’t just booming in the US, it’s also exploding in Asia and in other countries overseas. Many Asians have gone under the knife for work-related reasons. Procedures to increase height are one of the most common surgeries. The article concludes with an extra emphasis on low self-esteem of teens.

Reading this article confirms what I already assumed. The teenage trend of our generation is cosmetic surgery. The condition of teenage girls’ self-esteem is fragile. One little comment could throw a teen into a depression. In fact, with how much bullying has made headlines it’s no wonder teen self-esteem is all an all-time low.

Genes for Eating Disorders?

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/07/31/genetics-may-determine-length-of-eating-disorder/28112.html

Pedersen, Traci. "Genetics May Determine Length of Eating Disorder." www.pyschcentral,.com. N.p., 31 July 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.

This article is very interesting. It states that by studying genes one might be able to predict the chance of an eating disorder. They look at personality traits and temperaments. Genetically they might have anxiety, stress, etc. They scientists must do more research on the topic, as this is only a theory.

I cannot believe how far science and medicine have come in the last decade. It is helpful that scientists are able to tell if a person had an increased chance of an eating disorder. I do not understand however, how they will tell if the individual needs to be tested. Will all of the babies born be screened before they go home? If scientists are able to tell if there is a problem through our genes what else can they check. This research should help assist in diagnosing this severe problem.

Outrage From a Children's Picture Book-Self Image

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44372471/ns/health-childrens_health/

Italie, Leanne. "Outrage Explodes Over Rhyming 'Diet' Picture Book ." www.msnbc.com. MSNBC, 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.

This article talks about a children’s picture book being about dieting. “Maggie Goes on a Diet” has been in the middle of controversy because it depicts a young overweight girl that goes on a diet and turns into a soccer star and becomes popular.

This article will go well with my topic to use for an example. This is the type of pressure children and teens alike get not only from their peers, but now from a picture book. It would have not been so outrageous if they would have had the girl not lose so much weight and if the author wouldn’t have made her more popular. The author states that he only want to encourage kids to be healthy, but showing children that skinny=popular is not something they should be learning. Girls need to learn that their body is beautiful and their weight is not important.

Reflection-Woah! Is There a Mirror in Here???

So far I have researched articles on self image, trangender children,texting, twitter, cyberbullying, and religion vs. state. That's a pretty broad spectrum if you ask me! I think the article that I learned the most be reading is the transgender children article just because I had no prior knowledge that children could even become transgender at such a young age.

The article that I will do for my research paper,however, is the topic of self image. i will elaborate on eating disorders and plastic surgery, and the costs of those dangerous activities. I believe that this topic should have plenty of information for me to write a long and accurate paper.

I will probably not use the other articles because of several reasons. Some of the topics would be hard to find unbias research/articles/information. Others do not hold enough interest for me to write about. I do think that some of these topics could be good supports for others as supports behind the facts in their papers.

I feel very confident that this should be an interesting and stressful paper to write.Wish me luck!

Cyberbullying: More Than Half of Teens Affected

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/tech/web/online-bullying-poll/index.html?hpt=us_t4

Gross, Doug. "Poll: More Than Half of Teens, Young Adults Harassed Online." CNN.com. CNN, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.

This article talks about what a problem cyberbullying has become. The percentage of teens/ young adults said that they had experienced abuse through the web. In 2009 the percentage was about 6%. This survey finds that 56% of young adults have experienced cyberbullying. Doing the math, there was a frightening increase of 50% from 2009! The only way to stop cyberbullying is to get rid of the bullies. Only the youth of this country can do something about this. Many teens also said in the survey that if they saw cyberbullying going on, they would intervene. But, honestly, when it comes time for action, will they stick to it? Are they all talk and no action? Cyberbullying has led to suicides and even more depressed young adults. It will always be easier to say hurtful things when they are not directly talking to the individual.

There was a bias in this article towards stopping cyberbullying. I think that this could potentially be a good topic for my paper. I think I should be able to find information on it, but my only concern is, would it be repeated information?

Transgender Children: Is It Ethical?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/health/transgender-kids/index.html?hpt=us_t3

Park, Madison. "Transgender Kids: Painful Quest to be Who They Are." CNN.com. CNN, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.

This article is about Thomas, age 3, change to Tammy, age 11. When Thomas was 3, he had a speech impediment so he signed to communicate. One day he signed to his parents "I am a girl," his parents thought that he had just gotten the signs mixed up, so they signed back, "No, Thomas is a boy." As Thomas grew up he was bullied and kept quiet although he no longer had a speech impediment. At age 11, however, Thomas goes by the tame "Tammy," and wears dresses to school and faithfully plays with his dolls. The question the article raises is :is it ethical to allow young children to decide what gender they truly are? "Many adults believe that the parents of these children are bad parents and are push-overs, but one therapist comments on how upset and emotional the parents get and how they sometimes blame themselves. The children do not get the operations until they reach adulthood, but these children are cross dressing and going by different names, and then once they reach the age of about 13 years old, they can be prescribed hormone-blockers. The hormone-blockers will just make their bodies hold off with puberty, that way they are able to decide which way they want to go. There were no fallacies or biases in this article. It was merely factual and shared a true story of one of the children going through this. I think this might be a good topic for anyone. I am curious, however, if there would be enough information on the subject.