Another Monday - another "This Makes Me Crazy!"  I have to admit, I really love these Monday posts - it is so much fun to rant!  And today we have a topic that makes a lot of people want to rant - cosmetic surgery.

Now, let me say upfront - I am NOT against cosmetic surgery.  There are obviously times when it is a true necessity.  But beyond that, I have no problem whatsoever with ladies (or gentlemen) getting a little nip and tuck if they think they need it.  What you want to do as a responsible adult is your business; and if having something done is going to make you feel better, hooray for you. 

But today, I'm not talking about the "responsible adults."  No, I'm talking about young women (sorry to be sexist here but I haven't read about this problem with young men,) who at a very young age are altering their faces and bodies, in an attempt to achieve some "ideal."

Now some procedures are pretty obvious, and in those cases are meant to be so.  But there are a number of other "alterations" taking place that are a lot more subtle, including cheekbone implants, chin implants, eye reshaping, and the list goes on.  It's one thing to do this as an adult woman who is old enough to have some life experience and has given some serious thought as to why she wants to change something about her appearance.  But  a girl in her late teens or early twenties?  This is absolutely nuts.

When I was living in the "great state of Texas" going to school,  I learned that there is a contingent of the population there that is all about "being blond."  What does this have to do with cosmetic surgery?  Stick with me for a minute here.

Sally, one of my college roomies (and a Texas native) had beautiful warm, brown hair.  Not nearly as dark as a brunette, but definitely not a blond.  When we were together in NYC about a year ago, I was teasing her about the fact that she's now blonder than I am.  And she then told me an interesting story.

When she was in her twenties, after college and before she was married, the mother of one of her friends kept telling her that she "needed to go blond - that she was never going to find a husband without blond hair - that blond hair would make her stand out - and that blond hair was just SO much more attractive." 

Well, Sally has always been very smart - and very comfortable in her own skin.  And her response to this obnoxious woman was, "oh really?  So I marry this hypothetical guy, and what's going to happen the first time he sees my roots?  The jig will be up - that I'm not a natural blond.  I want the guy to know what he's getting from the beginning.  I don't have blond hair, I have brown hair.  I don't believe in false advertising."

Well, she was just talking about hair color - yes, a minor factor as hair can be changed in practically the blink of an eye.  After all, everyone knows that Marilyn Monroe didn't begin life as a platinum blond.  But Sally's point gets to an issue that's not being discussed: yes, everyone agrees that anyone who's very young and is getting a lot of work done has emotional/psychological issues that need to be addressed and resolved.  But what about the fact that surgical alterations result in a lie?

Do you think there are ethical considerations here?  As in, "oh by the way honey, if we get married and have kids, the kids won't look like me - because I don't look like me!"  Yikes, talk about a sticky situation!

What you think about this?  Do you think it's a problem - or do you think it's "much ado about nothing?"