A Good reason for young men to go to College

[XTC]

Posted: Jul 1, 2005 9:30 PM

Commentary
By JOHN STOSSEL

June 24, 2005 â?? Lulu Diaz is excited to show her friends the high school graduation present she got from her parents â?? her new breasts.


At Lulu's high school and at the beauty school she now attends on New York's Long Island, she says the talk among her friends is about how they look, and getting breast implants. Some of Lulu's friends have gotten them.


"It just made me want to get them done right there. And then when I graduated, my parents were like, all right, congratulations, you got a boob job.


When she was 18, her parents had bought her a Jaguar for graduation. She didn't want a car. They told her: "OK, you can trade it in for new breasts." She did.

When "20/20" met Lulu's friend Jennifer O'Brien, she was self-conscious about having smaller breasts. It showed in her body language. She covered up her breasts, padded her bra.

Jennifer envied Lulu's new look. "Look how much confidence she has. Like, look at my shirt and look at her shirt, like, you know," she said.


Jennifer thought she could get Lulu's confidence by getting breast implants herself. So, she did. Six months later, Jennifer says her new breasts have changed her personality.


"I am a loving and caring person, and I'm outgoing, but the way I used to dress and my body language didn't say that. And now it does," she said. "I feel like a different person. I have so much confidence, I like, do and say as I want, like, I don't hold anything back anymore."


Who paid for Jennifer's new look? Her parents.


"This is a gift of love from us, and we see a difference in her," Jennifer's mom, Doreen O'Brien, said.


The gift of breast implants costs about $7,000. "But I don't think you can put really a price on your child's happiness," she said.

Now 19-year-old Catherine Houtrids wants implants too. She was about to have the implant surgery when I interviewed her.

"I'm nervous of the pain afterward, just like any human, I think, would be. But I'm more excited, you know? Like I said, it's something that I've wanted and today I get to go have it," she said.


I don't get it. Maybe Catherine has a body image problem? I told her she looks fine.

"If I didn't get them and I was in the circumstances where I can't afford them or it just wasn't possible, I would be fine with my body," she said.

But Catherine can afford it because it's her parents who are writing the check.
Catherine's mom wants Catherine to be happy. "I think she looks fine the way she is but it's not my choice and â?¦ if it makes her happy, I'm happy for her," she said.
Catherine's parents also wanted to give her a car, but Catherine preferred the breast implants.

Of course, cars can be dangerous. But so can breast enhancement surgery. The Food and Drug Administration lists 25 complications, including pain, inflammation, calcification, chest wall deformity, toxic shock syndrome, wrinkling and scarring. Most patients later have to have second or even third operations because the implants do things like move or break open. The surgery will later interfere with mammography, increasing the chance that a tumor will go undetected. And women who have the surgery are less likely to have enough milk for breastfeeding. The FDA says about 40 percent of augmentation patients have at least one serious complication within three years. Jennifer wasn't bothered by the possibility of complications. "Well, then I had one to three years of my life where I felt great about myself, and you can't take that back," she said. 'Quick Fixes' for Problems Kids Should Work ThroughWhy would a parent pay for an operation that is risky and medically unnecessary?"It's really fun to give things to your kids and to say yes and to have them like you," said psychotherapist Laura Gray, who specializes in treating teens. She says it's a parent's job to teach kids that, despite what popular culture says, a better body is not the route to happiness.

I told her how happy Jennifer was in our interview. It's almost like a commercial for the surgery. She's more outgoing. It's changed her personality for the better. Some people who see the interview are going to think, "I want to be that happy."

But Gray says her question for Jennifer would be: "What was happening for you that was so difficult in life that you were unable to manage it without having breast implants?" Gray says it's a question parents should ask instead of buying their daughters what they hope will be a quick fix.

"What I see today a lot is parents who cannot bear for their kids to be uncomfortable. They do not want them to suffer. They don't want them to struggle," she said. Why should they suffer, if their parents can afford to give them things, like implants, that will make them happy? Jennifer said she was unhappy and didn't feel good about herself with her size A breasts.

"I would have to say, let's talk about that or what's that like for you. That's what I would encourage a parent to do instead of immediately jumping to their checkbook and saying, 'Let me fix this for you,' " Gray said.



Gray says when parents try to fix everything, kids don't develop resilience and coping skills. "Later in life, my hope is they'll draw on some of those skills and say, 'You know what? I remember a time when things were really hard or really awful or I felt terrible about myself. But I got through it and I did OK,' " she said.
Last year about 4,000 girls 18 and under had breast augmentation surgery. Dr. Stephen Greenberg, who performed Catherine and Jennifer's surgeries, won't operate on kids under 18. "We have to be the ones to say, 'No, you're not ready â?? psychologically, you're not old enough. Let's just wait,' " he said. Peers Differ on Implants and Self-Confidence


Curious what other teens would think about getting the gift of new breasts, we played a clip of my interview with Jennifer for some students at a suburban high school. "That is saying to your child, well, maybe you aren't as beautiful as you are," one boy said. "I think it's really sad that our society has come to the place where to make a teenage girl happy, you need to spend thousands of dollars increasing her breast size. When she was obviously a beautiful girl before," a girl in the group told us.

Another girl agreed, saying, "I think she should have had a little more confidence. Breast implants should not change your life that drastically."

On the other hand, some of the kids thought it was just fine. "That feeling of confidence could stay with her," one girl said. Another girl told us she thought the girls' surgeries were OK since their parents could afford it. "They have the money to do so and the means to do so and there's really nothing wrong about giving their child what they want," she said. Kara, who had had a nose job â?? told us she understands why implants would make a girl more confident. "I had plastic surgery. So I know that it made me happy inside," she said. Jennifer admits it's difficult to describe why breast implants would boost her confidence. "It's something so hard to explain, how something so materialistic and stupid can just make someone feel so much better about themselves," she said. Materialistic and stupid sounds right to me.
"But it's what I wanted," Jennifer said. "And it's something that's going to make me happy, and I don't have any regrets at all."

XTC Reviewed by XTC on 07-02-2005. A Good reason for young men to go to College Posted: Jul 1, 2005 9:30 PM Commentary By JOHN STOSSEL June 24, 2005 â?? Lulu Diaz is excited to show her friends the high school graduation present she got from her parents â?? her new breasts. At Lulu's high school and at the beauty school she now attends on New York's Long Island, she says the talk among her friends is about how they look, and getting breast implants. Some of Lulu's friends have gotten them. Rating: 5

[BluntArtist]

10 minutes of my life I want back. Everyone loves boobs, what a novel idea. A good reason to go to college? I'll get back to ya...

[SomeDude]

that makes me sick. I couldn't be with a chick that was so insecure about the way she is to get totally unessary plastic surgery. I can understand if you get it cuz you had a mastectomy, or a car wreck, or maybe if you had absolutely no breasts at all, etc., but most people just get them because they are really insecure people. Besides, fake boobs don't feel good.

[muncheemama]

its a good thing that these responsible parents are around to reinforce their daughters insecurities.

[Leftover Crack]

Yeah those parents are fucking weird. I cannot ever imagine my dad agreeing that i can get breast implants. I don't see the point in implants anyway, only for the situations that Somedude mentioned.

If everyones getting fake titties i must be an outcast, but i like mine just the way they are.

[slipknotpsycho]

that makes me sick. I couldn't be with a chick that was so insecure about the way she is to get totally unessary plastic surgery. I can understand if you get it cuz you had a mastectomy, or a car wreck, or maybe if you had absolutely no breasts at all, etc., but most people just get them because they are really insecure people. Besides, fake boobs don't feel good.

yea, it's just sad that a girl is so unconfident and "material" (if that will work..i can't think of another word) that she has to get bigger tits to shove in guys faces to get attention, or atleast feel comfterable with attention......i'm willing to lay down 10000 bux i'd find the chick with "small breasts" more attractive then the one that got them done.....and she's stupid for trading in the jag for a boobjob for real..how stupid is she? i woulda sold the car got the tits done (if i was in her shoes and acting just like her) and kept the rest of the money from the car.....jags 100k + boob job...no more then 10k

[DonnieDarko]

I might be strange, but I like imperfect natural breasts. Breast implants were invented for women with masectomys, but now it is on the christmas list for every 18 year old girl. As far as girls being unconfident about their bodies, the media and alot of teenage guys have to take some of the responsibility for that.

Gimme naturals any day.

[HaZarD]

man i hate fake tits they are so boring they just sit their, not fun to grab or squeeze, i get rock hard from touching tits but grasping fake tits doesnt excite me at all

[daZenfmeister]

Seriously my stupid g/f wants to get them because her boobs are small, but she wont believe me that i like them better that way!

I really do like her boobs any idea how to convince her not to get surgery?

[mlleyeuxbleus]

Ick. Though I have several friends with implants, I am convinced it's completely unhealthy. I have done more research on the subject than most of my friends who have 'em, sadly. A few years ago I considered it, then started doing some digging... boy am I glad I never went down that road! Mine were (& are) perfect, but seeing my friends get them planted that idea in my head. Yikes.

There's one site (can't find the link now, sorry), that discusses all the risks, & sums up that the only way to guarantee a long, healthy life is just not get implants of any kind. I find it reprehensible that these parents are playing into their children's insecurities in such a way. Sounds like a series of therapy sessions working on self-worth would be a better present for these girls.

daZen... here are a few links you may want to show your g/f. Also, if you'd like to help convince her you really like 'em as nature intended, make sure to lavish them with plenty of attention. I've noticed that while many guys may *say* they prefer natural &/or small, they tend to pay much less time & attention to smaller than to big'uns. (Not that I blame y'all too much... there's something rather fascinating, almost hypnotic, about a big set of tatas.)

http://www.talkaboutsupport.com/grou...ges/16822.html

http://www.aimforperfection.com/pros-and-cons/cons.html

http://www.sickofdoctors.addr.com/ar...d_implants.htm