Transgender

While at work, I stumbled upon an article about mother who got her 7-year old plastic surgery for having large ears. Knowing the intensity and damage bullying could do to her daughter, she felt the need to have her daughter's ears pinned back. The daughter received bullying from children as well as adults. According to the article, plastic surgery among children has gone up about 30 percent in the last decade to prevent bullying(Moss). Surprisingly, I found other articles about mothers giving their children Botox!

These articles made me question: If you were born a certain way that was susceptible to bullying, and not acceptable to the social norms- is it justifiable to change what you look like, talk like, wear just to avoid the bullying?

Some transgenders have had to hide and change themselves to become more acceptable to the world-to their family, friends who didn't understand why they were "different". Why is it ok, for these mothers to willingly change their children in hopes to "save" them from bullying. Does that just encourage and invite hatred? Why are we ok with hiding who we really are, and afraid of our children being bullied!? That in itself says enough: the fact we are pressured to conform and identify ourselves with a particular group,sex, and lifestyle shows a pivotal problem!

For me, its unsettling to think people still believe they know it all-and this happens even as science, psychology.. and all realms of education progress proving what we thought we understood and knew is not all the same anymore. As an example, some psychologists who study cults have become a member for about two months (participant observer). Their leader had proclaimed they would be evacuated by a flying saucer at 4 pm to pick up "chosen ones" to another planet. At 4 pm, nothing happened- and the members did not loose faith but reinterpreted their experience as a drill for the real pickup(Festinger,Schchter, and Rieken, 1956). We do this all the time! Psychologist, Leon Festinger, described this as cognitive dissonance, showing "how people cling to beliefs even in the face of dis confirmation by, for example, seeking out a new reason to justify their beliefs".

Is this not what happens to people who continue to enforce hatred despite proven educational evidence?