THE REFLECTION PERCEPTION

A look into the organisation known as ‘The Little Baby Face Foundation’.

http://www.littlebabyface.org/

What if I were to tell you about a non-profit organisation, based in New York, which provides free corrective surgery to young children born with facial deformities? Sounds great, right?

The ‘Little Baby Face Foundation’ has been transforming children’s lives, as well as their faces, since 2002, but it doesn’t stop there! You see, ‘deformity’ is subjective. According to Doctor Thomas Romo, the foundation’s founder, this could be anything simply uncommon or unappreciated in society. The deformities can range from cleft lips to facial palsy, however the foundation also offers its treatment to “children who feel they do not meet normative standards of beauty”. That is where the problems begin.

A documentary on the foundation begins by introducing us to four applicants, all who have been bullied and blame this on their appearances. Let me make it clear that these are all young teenagers, who are mentally vulnerable and physically still growing, making life changing decisions for themselves. Not even twenty seconds in and the views of the teens shown clearly display their inadequacy of making this decision; they blame their own appearances for the bullying rather than the bullies themselves. However, before jumping to conclusions I decided to give it a chance, and sat down for what would arguably be the most infuriating forty minutes of my life.

The participant most focused on throughout is a fourteen year old girl named Renata. Renata applied to ‘The Little Baby Face Foundation’ due to her oversized and crooked nose, which it was explained had led to years of being bullied by peers and consequently her homeschooling. She became very reclusive, hardly leaving the house or socializing with anyone and eventually came to the conclusion that the only way she was going to feel better about herself was by changing the way she looked. Her statement ‘‘I’m just afraid I’ll never have any friends or anyone to be there for me” emphasizes my idea of their inability to comprehend just what this decision means; this thought is clearly irrational and yet she is being allowed to decide that the surgery is what she needs. This begs the question, why? Why is a young and clearly vulnerable teenager allowed to make this decision? And what do their parents think about it? Well, for most cases – including Renata’s – they are supportive. Unsurprisingly, they just want their child to be happy. I can understand why they may go to such extremes; surely there can be nothing worse than watching your child suffer and not being able to do anything about it. Ah, but there is something they can do – they can tell the truth. They can tell their children that they are perfect just the way they are, that they do not need others to validate them, especially not based on their appearances, and that this surgery is in no way going to make them a better person. However, this is not easy. You see, society has blocked this truth from us and instead we are exposed to pictures of ‘beautiful’ people every day, digitally altered and driven into our minds as the ideal aspiration that is impossible to achieve. This has led not only to furthering the insecurity of young people, but also a twisted perception within their parents, and the bullies themselves.

Renata before and after her surgery. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20789502,00.html

As well as this, these views are clearly shared by Dr. Romo. I struggled to find a single word of his that I agreed with. Call me biased, but I call myself right. His attempt of empowering the children includes changing how they look so that “to anybody who sees them they’re good looking”, clearly implying that they were not previously. But how in any way is giving into the pressure and opinions of the bullies empowering? Are the children supposed to return with a sense of superiority, thinking ‘you told me I was ugly, well I’m prettier than you now’? One way this could end is with the child’s new sense of confidence and importance being used to depreciate that of others, or alternatively with them being further bullied as ‘the kid who had to get surgery because they were so hideous’. So tell me Dr. Romo, which one are you aiming for? This view also neglects any chance of the child finding new faults within themselves, which is virtually inevitable. A 2004 study showed that nine out of ten British girls were unhappy with their body, with 26% of fourteen year olds having considered plastic surgery or diet pills (42% in those who were overweight), mirroring Renata’s case. Dieting itself can be dangerous when the body is still developing, so one can only imagine the effects surgery may have. However, Dr. Romo and his wife who co-founded and co-run the foundation maintain their fantasy of happy endings, with Mrs. Romo even stating that their new looks will help them to “get a job”, meaning there must be some incredibly vain and judgmental employers.

However, you may still be wondering just why this foundation makes me so frustrated; the answer lies within the treatment itself. The process is simple: the individual sends in their application, including a letter detailing their torment and how it has led to this desire for permanent change, then they wait eagerly for the call. The lucky chosen few are then flown to New York to meet Dr. Romo and his team and are sent in for a pre-operation consultation to discuss the surgery. It is in this final phase where Dr. Romo tends to make a few suggestions. Renata’s case may have taken place in early 2014, but ‘The Little Baby Face Foundation’ stepped into media attention mid-2012 with the controversial transformation of another fourteen year old girl, Nadia Ilse. Nadia applied to the foundation with the hopes of having her ears pinned back, however when she met Dr. Romo he told her she would also need a nose realignment and a chin implant. Two. More. Surgeries. It is useless to argue that this is for his benefit, as the organisation is non-profit; he is simply stating these changes as necessary because he believes them to be. Because society would believe them to be. This is not an uncommon occurrence. As seen in the documentary, at Renata’s pre-op consultation she is recommended a chin implant also – two years after Nadia’s case. Dr. Romo states that it is “a doctor’s responsibility to point those out”, ‘those’ being further ‘faults’. I fail to understand how someone who holds this opinion is allowed to be a qualified medical practitioner, imposing these views on young children, and I would argue that a doctor’s responsibility is to cure patients of any problems damaging their health rather than create them. Of course, Renata or Nadia could have denied the extra options – only to look in the mirror every day after their surgery, not at their so called ‘beautiful’ ears or nose, but instead at their chins, thinking of what could have been, and that they are still somehow ‘wrong’. No, instead they both accepted them almost without question, agreeing that it was all part of their quest for beauty. After the surgery, Renata claimed that she goes out of the house more and is more willing to talk to people, however this is not necessarily due to her new appearance meaning others finally accept her because she is ‘pretty’, but because with it she gained a confidence by finally ‘fitting in’.

Nadia before and after her surgery. http://bossip.com/619461/

Instead of focusing on cases like Renata and Nadia, I believe it is more important to look at the transformations within ones like Donovan. As seen in the documentary, Donovan applied to ‘the Little Baby Face Foundation’ for a chin implant, but was rejected. Although, his outcome I would perceive as the most positive. He claimed to have found new friends who like him for who he is – without needing to change at all. The foundation telling him that his problem wasn’t significant enough for their services made him realise just how unimportant it was; he accepted himself and therefore others did too, and he even set up an anti-bullying campaign in his school. This is the response we need to see more of. As psychologist Vivian Diller said, “If you can find a way of enjoying how you look, you can gain the kind of confidence that can last you a lifetime”, rather than the short lived perceived beauty of your face post-surgery, before you find a new issue to fix.

In conclusion, I believe ‘The Little Baby Face Foundation’ needs to seriously reconsider both its aims and morals. While I have no objections to corrective surgery for a health threatening deformity, I believe that not only conforming to but imposing society’s negative views on appearance can have a harmful impact on a child’s perception of themselves. At an age where any child is developing, insecurities come with it and surgery is in no way the solution. However, I do admit that I cannot be ignorant of the prejudices held in this world. People are judged, every day. We are judged on everything from the size of our noses to the way we sound or walk, and while these judgements will continue, so will the bullying. So if anything, this emphasizes the importance in teaching the bullies to stop, rather than teaching the victims to alter their appearance. Society has manipulated both male and female perceptions of the human body, and has caused many children to grow up with unrealistic and unhealthy expectations both of themselves and of others. If everyone not only put aside their differences but accepted them as what makes us who we are, don’t you agree that the world would be a better place? We need people to recognise that we are all equal, all different, and all perfect the way we were born – and to stand up for this belief.

Ultimately, we need to think about what needs fixing here: the appearances of those children, or the views of our society. Because those perceptions will not change unless we do.

#reflection #psychology #perception #beauty #plasticsurgery #physical