Perfection, a scalpel away

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JAN. 6. Fifteen-year old Jenna Franklin is among the hundreds of British teenagers who feel inadequate because their ``looks'' don't quite match the image of the ``perfect Miss'' they see in fashion magazines and on television. And, when she decided on a breast implant, she was simply following into the footsteps of her peers who are flocking to plastic surgeons in droves to get their appearance ``right''.

Her parents agreed that on her 16th birthday this summer, Jenna can have œ3000 to spend on the surgery that she thinks is necessary to make her more acceptable socially: a new, more ``breasty'' look. ``You've got to have breasts to be successful,'' she said citing T.V. stars and models as an example.

But the doctor said no. Dr. Anthony Erian, whom the parents approached for a surgery, said she was too young to cope with the physical and psychological effects of such an operation. The family accepted his advice but maintained that there was nothing wrong about agreeing to have their daughter put under the knife in the first place.

However, behaviour experts and psychiatrists have attacked the parents - Martin and KayFranklin who themselves run a plastic surgery company - for their ``irresponsible'' behaviour.

They said the parents were giving out a ``wrong message'' by accepting the consumerist notion of perfection and beauty. One of them said that the mother should have told the daughter: ``You are beautiful already and I love you unconditionally.''

Ms. Christine Williamson of the Silicone Support Group said by agreeing to a breast implant for a 15-year old girl her parents risked buying their daughter ``a lifetime of misery.'' ``Girls with small breasts are made to feel inadequate but they don't realise implants can make them ill.''

The incident has raised disturbing questions about the sort of fashion and beauty messages that teenagers are exposed to everyday.

There has been a sharp increase in cases of anorexia as more and more girls starve to give themselves the ``slim and mean'' look, considered the ``in'' thing in ``beautiful'' circles.

There is pressure on girls from employers to look more ``presentable'', resulting in a scramble for beauty aids, and often dangerous surgical operations.

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