A new children’s book, My Beautiful Mommy, (being released on Mother’s Day, no less) aims to explain to kids why their mom is getting plastic surgery.
It features a perky mother explaining to her child why she’s having cosmetic surgery (a nose job and tummy tuck). Naturally, it has a happy ending: mommy winds up “even more” beautiful than before, and her daughter is thrilled.
Okay, I can understand the need to explain to children why a parent is getting surgery, but this…well, it’s just ridiculous.
“My Beautiful Mommy” is aimed at kids ages four to seven and features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is getting a smaller tummy: “You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn’t fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better.” Mom comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and around her waist.
Superhero, huh? I suppose that should come as no surprise, given the book is written by a Florida-based plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael Salzhauer. Now, I’m certainly not going to sit in judgment of those who get plastic surgery – but do we really have to teach our kids that we need it to “feel better” and be “beautiful”? Ugh.
Thanks to Alexis for the link.
54 Comments
I read about this already on Salon.
Holy cow…. is the first thought and then comes a long time of thinking how to express my disgust over all this. I was raised in an environment that was trying to kill my self-esteem on daily basis and mommy only explained to me how obese I am and that nobody likes obese people because they lack any strength of will, they sweat all the time and stink of sweat etc.
The message I got was that I’m ugly and nobody likes me and if they seem to do, it’s just mercy. It took me quite a time to figure out that life is a bit different from what mommy says. Luckily it didn’t cost me more than a nervous breakdown and a few little things like this, not having myself cut open to remove some bits and add another to make everybody happy with my looks.
I just cannot get the point of the book. It seems to me that it’s actually creating new customers for aesthetic surgery in a few years time… and patients for shrinks.
Jill Zimon: You stole my comment.
That’s exactly what I heard and from the same source too.
As a wannabe writer, I know that it’s only too easy to get published by vanity presses (if you’re in any doubt about this, google “Atlanta Nights” — different press, same story). I rather think that the author brought it to Newsweek’s attention themselves. Vanity press books are rarely bought by people outside one’s immediate circle of friends and family, so it’s a pretty smart move. 99% of readers will be horrified, but 1% may buy it.
I think we should all email Dr. Micheal and tell him what we think of this book at drmicheal@mybeautifulmommy.com.
You could say something like: “thanks for ruining the minds of young impressionable children. Woman have enough pressure and are not here just to be gawked at to give men constant erections. Mutilating women’s bodies is not an admirable profession.”
This makes me sick. I cannot believe it made it past the publisher. This is teaching or kids that if you are not happy with yourself you can just go get plastic surgery. What is her daughter going to do in 20 years….