Don't want to be bullied get breast recuction at 13

[doggie]

Well this is a bit cray and no way to deal with bullying. But as usual it is the easy way out of the school.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/2 ... 26710.html

A Moline Acres, Mo., mother is furious with her daughter's school for allegedly suggesting that her sixth grader get a breast reduction to avoid chronic bullying.

Tammie Jackson tells KTVI that her 13-year-old daughter Gabrielle has been harassed by peers since last semester, particularly for her large breasts. When she called the Riverview Gardens School District to complain about the problem, the woman on the other end said the girl could be transferred to another school from Central Middle School, or go under the knife.

"It makes me feel like now you are telling me it's my fault, it's God's fault the way he made her." Jackson told KTVI. "[The school should] talk with the kids, let them know, you know, people's bodies are changing, everybody's body is different but God made us all great."

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Is it recommended for people to get breast resizing (in either direction) before the breasts are fully developed as far as they're going to naturally go?

I have small breasts myself and am quite happy with the situation, I'm sure I would not have wanted large ones and I've felt sorry for some young people who really do have too large of breasts to the point it causes physical problems, and I know people do reduce them (remember Soleil Moon Frye?) but I sort of always thought they were supposed to wait (and suffer) until they were finished developing first...

[ILoveJellybeans]

Thats awful. She is the way she is, its terrible for the school to suggest a child get surgery to stop her from being bullied for the way she looks. Wouldnt it be better to actually punish the bullies and try and change the attitudes of kids in the school to be more accepting.

If she chooses to get surgery when she is older, for her own reasons or because theyve grown so big she gets back problems, fine. Her breasts havent even finished developing yet, so surely having breast surgery at 13 is a bad idea.

[BoomerLynn]

Well that's not going to cause that poor girl any psychological problems at all. /sarcasm :roll: What a horrible message to give young girls, that painful plastic surgery is the only way to get people to respect you. Like girls that age aren't dealing with enough pressure from society for how they look as it is. God forbid they actually teach their students to treat other people how they would wish to be treated.

[micatite]

Whatever school official(s) came up with that line need a very hard smack with a Clue Stick, 'cause clearly they haven't got a clue right now. Baring medical necessity, something that would be determined between the girl, her parents, and her doctors, she doesn't need surgery. What she needs is school officials who act like the adults they're supposed to be and take a no excuses, no exceptions stance on bullying.

Maybe someday she will want or need breast reduction surgery, but that's not now (as was pointed out upthread, she's not done growing yet.) Right now should be the school making it crystal clear that taunting someone for physical characteristics is cruel, bullying, against the rules, that it will not be tolerated, and that violators of the rules will be punished.

[rewoodley]

wow... yikes... at that age most girls have body image issues any way, way to go really mess someone up ... sigh

Why is it that most stories I hear of bullying (even if the school says they have zero tolerance) nothing is done, or whatever is done just makes it worse for the victim?

[Bloo]

I have a good friend who had disproportionately large breasts as a teenager. They caused her some pretty bad back problems- otherwise, she was quite tiny. She had them reduced to a B cup soon after high school.

Even though it was absolutely the right choice for her and she's never regretted it, it was an expensive procedure even with insurance, and as with any surgery there was recovery time. I can't imagine putting a middle schooler through that.

The school needs to reexamine its priorities, pronto.

[Claddagh]

There needs to be a zero tolerance stupidity policy for these school administrators.

Some girls develop early and sometimes quickly. Instead of blaming her for the bully issue why not tell the bullies don't be assholes?

[asinglevoice]

To be honest, a large part of why I got a breast reduction (I was 20 when I had mine, however, NOT 13) was because I literally could. not. handle. the way people felt entitled to talk to me/at me/about me based on nothing but my breast size. Like this young woman, I started getting attention at an extremely early age.

But to suggest such a thing to a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD? What the fuck?

[Kitty]

Breast surgery of any sort is not recommended until the breasts are fully developed. Often, surgeons will not perform breast surgeries on women under 21. Oh, plenty will operate on 18-year-olds, but many will wait until the patients are 21 because they might still be physically developing (though the changes aren't nearly as drastic).

Few reputable plastic surgeons would think it was a good idea to perform any sort of breast surgery on a 13-year-old girl. Reductions, implants, doesn't matter. Her body is still growing and changing. It is risky physically. And the poor girl's SCHOOL telling her to go under the knife so bullies would back off?! Holy fucking shit. That's appalling. Someone needs to get fired and blacklisted from ever working in a school again. If you are not willing to help someone who is so obviously hurting, and correct people who so obviously need it, you should not be working in a school.

Treating women like whores just because of their physical attributes is evil, and needs to stop. Anyone who knows anything about human development should agree. Anyone who does not, again, should not be working in a school.

[Eoywin]

That pisses me off - I'd be furious with the school too.

When I was in school, I got bullied a lot. Once of the reason I got bullied was because I was (and am) short. But thankfully my school didn't suggest that I do something to increase my height. Though my parents did look into medical ways to make me taller because they thought I wasn't going to reach 5 ft (which I did, barely). But now as an adult, I'm glad they weren't able to stretch me.

[Abi]

I would be so fucking angry with that school if I was her Mother. What the hell were they thinking?!

[SquirrelySquirrel]

So, do they tell flat chested girls who get bullied to go get augmentations done? I somehow doubt it. Breast reductions are not something to take lightly, nor are they appropriate for young teens, as many of you have already pointed out.

[NurseNell]

No reputable plastic surgeon will do a breast reduction at 13. The breasts are not done developing. A friend's daughter wanted it done at 16 but was told no, not until she was older. She ended up waiting until she was about 30.

For a school to recommend this is totally uncalled for. I'd be asking for n investigation into the person who offered that as a suggestion.

[JesusFightClub]

So, do they tell flat chested girls who get bullied to go get augmentations done? I somehow doubt it. Breast reductions are not something to take lightly, nor are they appropriate for young teens, as many of you have already pointed out.

This - one of my best friends at school was nicknamed "ironing board". It would have been wrong for the school to say "Well, go and buy yourself a pair of big titties then" and also counterproductive as I guarantee even if she could ever have done this it would have increased the bullying fivefold (kid was anorexic and having a pair of fake plastic tits would have looked, shall we say, disproportionate.)

I honestly wonder if some people ever think before they speak.

[SoybeanQueen]

I had a reduction as an adult, when I thought I was done having kids. Then surprise baby came along. I'm not back to my original size, but did get the usual inflate and deflate that comes with pregnancy. It was also really hard to breastfeed my youngest. That may not seem like a huge deal to some people, but it was to me.

I don't think a 13 year old has the ability to make a good decision on whether or not she wants this type of surgery. For one thing, it's not an easy surgery. For another, at 13 you have no idea how many kids you will want to have or whether or not breastfeeding is important to you. I would never have guessed how sad I was about not being able to nurse my baby as much as I wanted to. Plus, someone who has the surgery before any pregnancies could easily end up back where they started.

[DarkAnts]

I could see doing it if the girl was having physical problems like back problems due to her cup size. Otherwise, I think 13 is too young. I have large breasts and developed at a young age. It's hard to deal with. There is bullying and teasing. It sucks. But, at age 13 you go to counseling to help deal with the body image problems.

[miffy]

I used to get teased for having much larger breasts than my classmates, people would accuse me of getting breast implants(i was 13-14!!!)

They weren't that huge really, its just that i developed early & was otherwise rail thin.

[roddma]

Are kids not taught anything about growth and devlopment these days? It seems you can't win either way. Thin people get teased. Overweight get teased. Big-breast-tease Small breast-tease -sigh.

I read girls are developing really fast these days and menstruaiton is starting 2-3 yrs earlier..

[veron1que]

I can tell you this goes beyond ignorant middle school educators. People often view breast reduction as like going to the dentist for a cavity, as if a major surgery is nbd.

Speaking from personal experience as someone who developed early and still maintain a fairly oversized chest (yet to step in a department store, even plus size, that stocks my size), whenever I make a comment about back pain or them getting in the way or my difficulty finding things that fit I often get a "why don't you get a breast reduction?" Honestly, I don't understand why people think that's an appropriate suggestion. When my friends complain about their body proportions, I don't suggest they go get liposuction.

I also hate that people recommend procedures when they don't know anything of the downsides. What I wish people understood when they ask me about getting a breast reduction is that they are asking me to risk surgical complications (blot clots, damage from anesthesia), damage to the sensitivity of my nipples, reduce my ability to breastfeed any future kids, acquire scar tissue, risk having asymmetrical boobs (which I imagine is a hassle when searching for bras), spent much time & money on the procedure, and that the surgery may be nullified by hormonal changes during a future pregnancy.

I'm not knocking the procedure for people who truly suffer, but it's not a simple fix. :/ (sorry rant over, clearly I'm too close to the issue)

Aside from the specific issue, shame on the administration for victim blaming. disgusting.

[Stickers]

Breast reduction surgery can be a godsend for those who need, but the thought of it makes me dizzy. Nothing a 13 year old should do unless they're really disabled by them. And it's stupid and out of line to recommend it.

And who would pay for it anyways? It's not cheap.

[hearyoume08]

I started developing breasts at 7 and they grew quickly. I was sexually assaulted ,sexually harassed , physically, emotionally and verbally abused by my classmates starting in elementary school because of this among other things. I was told that this was normal and that I should just get used to it because it was my fault anyway by school officials ( and my parents didn't believe that kids would do something like this and minimized it) and this was the mid to late 90's. I see things haven't changed much.

[bbtlover]

I started developing breasts at 7 and they grew quickly. I was sexually assaulted ,sexually harassed , physically, emotionally and verbally abused by my classmates starting in elementary school because of this among other things. I was told that this was normal and that I should just get used to it because it was my fault anyway by school officials ( and my parents didn't believe that kids would do something like this and minimized it) and this was the mid to late 90's. I see things haven't changed much.

I'm sorry you had to go through that. :( It is appalling to think that so called Administrators and Parents can think that it is ok to tell a 13 yrold girl to have her breasts reduced and that it is possibly her fault because she developed early. I guess it may be time for a new school administration. Zero tolerance policies only work if they are actually used appropriately. I can't believe that the school would take sexual harassment so lightly.