The Social Construction of Teenage Plastic Surgery
             Liposuction, rhinoplasty, breast implants. These are common procedures... for teenagers? In this paper, I will show how teenage plastic surgery has been constructed as a social problem. Many of the usual elements in problem construction, such as statistics and the quadrangle of claims-makers, have been used in establishing this as a problem. Their significance in establishing this problem will be discussed.
             Claims-makers are essential to constructing a social problem. Claims are made by various people, who for the most part, fall into four categories. This "iron quadrangle" is composed of activists, the experts, media, and the government (Best 63). I did not fully look into it, however I did not find legislation made on teenage plastic surgery. The other three sectors of this quadrangle, however, play active roles in the construction of teenage plastic surgery as a social problem.
             Activists involved in this issue belong to various groups. They include feminists, other advocates of women's rights, and even people who work against domestic abuse. One claims-maker is Joanna Briscoe, a "post-feminist designer dyke babe novelist." She claims that the power of female beauty is fading. She believes "there's this myth about empowerment, but I think that's just internalizing the male message." She sees a huge difference between wearing a Wonderbra and getting implants, and I agree. According to Briscoe, men are behind some of the pressure on women to get cosmetic surgery. She also is appalled that this is still happening after 30 years of work by feminists (Picardie 8). Another activists group, with a less obvious link to the construction of this problem is domestic violence advocates. Psychologist Eileen Bradbury believes that there is a problem because women who are sexually abused as children often go for plastic surgery operations as teens or young women. She sees t...