Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Black’s music video “ Friday” may be atrocious, but with nearly 65 million views (at last count) it seems a good return on the US$2,000 her parents spent on it to advance her career as a pop singer.

Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Black’s music video “Friday” may be atrocious, but with nearly 65 million views (at last count) it seems a good return on the US$2,000 her parents spent on it to advance her career as a pop singer.

Daniel O’Connor, of the Berman Institute of Bioethics, points out that other parents go further – forcing their children to have medical procedures. Beautician Kerry Campbell, a single mum living in San Francisco, gives her 8-year-old daughter regular Botox injections as well as “virgin body waxes”. Her reasons:

“What I am doing for Britney now will help her become a star. I know one day she will be a model, actress or singer, and having these treatments now will ensure she stays looking younger and baby-faced for longer.”

Even-younger competitors get their eyebrows waxed at 5. Another mother arranged for her daughter to have liposuction, to prevent a future eating disorder. The tabloid Jezebel reported:

“Amanda’s mom explained that everyone in their family has belly fat, so she knew that even though her daughter was ‘eating less and less’ it would never go away. Amanda’s doctor had no problem doing the surgery, since ‘not everyone is blessed with the right looks,’ and he likes to ‘give children who are disadvantaged a chance to look better’.”

These stories are not left of field – a report by the Girl Guides found that up to 48% of girls in the UK aged 16 to 21 would consider cosmetic surgery. Over 300,000 teenagers had non-reconstructive cosmetic surgery in the US last year. The Blacks’ decision to fund their daughter’s video seems reasonable in comparison. ~ Berman Institute of Bioethics, Mar 25

Jared Yee
parenting

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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