I was left rather speechless after last Thursday's class. This was one of the best documentaries I think I've ever seen. From the second Gerren was introduced on screen I was shocked. She is such a beautiful girl, but was so young. I think its great that mothers like hers allow their children to follow their dreams, even if they are as big as modeling but I think that mothers also need to draw the lines. The young girl who wanted to model, but felt she needed plastic surgery to do it not only made me sad, but the fact that her mother told her that they would do whatever it took for her to be a model, infuriated me. I understand plastic surgery in an effort to "fix" ones body after something drastic has happened to it; for example, a friend of mine has two children and she said that after having her kids, she felt that her breasts would never be the same, so she had a breast augmentation. I understand breast reductions, and even "nose jobs" for someone who has trouble breathing due to a deviated septum...but cosmetic surgery, just so you can look like someone you see on television or a magazine, is absolutely heartbreaking to me. A friend of mine and I recently had a conversation about high school girls who get breast implants for a high school graduation present. One, I can't believe parents actually buy this for their kids, and two, if these girls would simply give it a few years, they would grow out of their insecurities. At least, I hope so...
I don't know what it would take for people to begin seeing themselves as beautiful, but something does need to change. If the standard of beauty changes to larger women or something like that, I'm afraid that the cycle will just continue and companies will continue to make money off anything and everyone they can. I do think that documentaries like this, and classes like this one, are a step in the right direction though.
