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"\"I had no social life. Some people wouldn't even speak to me, unless they were pulling on my ears or telling me I looked like an elephant,\" says Nadia, 16. The Georgia native was born without folds in both of her ears, which caused them to protrude, and the condition put her on the receiving end of cruel taunts from the time she was just 6 years old. \"I was afraid to talk to people because I thought they'd be mean to me, so I isolated myself,\" she confides. In 2012 she decided to do something about her situation. With her mom's support, Nadia went under the knife: She got her ears pinned back, and at the same time had rhinoplasty and a chin implant. \"Today I do lots of stuff I wouldn't have done before, like joining the soccer team or getting a job that requires me to put my hair up,\" she says. \"Except for one girl who told me I looked prettier before the surgery, all the kids who were mean to me have said they're happy for me now.\"\n\n Nadia's decision to turn to a surgeon's scalpel may seem extreme, but she's definitely not alone. In 2012 more than 76,000 surgical cosmetic procedures were performed on patients between the ages of 13 and 19, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. And a recent survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that 76 percent of facial plastic surgeons believe children and teens who opt for surgery do so as a result of being bullied. \"I consistently see more teens who are seeking plastic surgery to deal with something they're being teased about,\" says Jennifer L. Walden, M.D., a plastic surgeon based in Austin, Texas.\n\n Twenty-year-old Washington native Sasha knows all too well what it feels like to be ridiculed for her body. With a natural chest size of 32DDD, she has had to deal with a constant torrent of crude comments from friends, boys, and even random strangers. \"All throughout middle school and high school, my friends would laugh at me about having big boobs,\" she shares. \"At the pool, guys would stare at my chest, and I'd hear that they were calling me 'the girl with the big rack.' Some girls may say I'm lucky that I have a full chest, but it's not something I like at all. I'd rather be known for my acting ability or artistic side.\" After seriously contemplating a breast reduction and discussing it at length with her family, she decided to meet with a plastic surgeon; Sasha just completed her operation a few months ago.\n\n While it's normal to feel the urge to change something about yourself that looks different from other girls, Manhattan psychologist Vivian Diller, Ph.D., says it's vital to remember that plastic surgery is not a magic bullet. \"In some cases, for a teen who has fought long and hard to deal with teasing and has talked about it with her family and a doctor, surgery might be a possible solution\u2014we shouldn't outright condemn it,\" she stresses. \"But we do need to separate discomfort about being different from the deeper reasons that may lead to surgery.\"\n\n The simple fact is that life post-surgery isn't suddenly going to become picture-perfect. \"It won't get you the boyfriend you want or make you head cheerleader. It won't fix any of those things,\" explains Dr. Walden. That's part of the reason 16-year-old Tess, from California, took a different path: After considering surgery to correct her protruding ribs, she chose instead to accept herself the way she is. \"Lots of people have told me I look unnatural and weird,\" she says, \"but it's not worth changing myself for someone else.\"\n\n In deciding to stand up for herself and her body, Tess joins the ranks of outspoken natural beauties like Lea Michele and Lena Dunham, who are leading the movement to love the way you were made no matter what the rest of the world says you should look like. \"If girls band together in their determination to see beauty as being about variety, there will be less pressure to look a certain way,\" Dr. Diller says. \"When you realize you're more than just a collection of physical features, and when you don't give the mean girls too much power over you, you're setting yourself up to have confidence for the rest of your life.\" And if that doesn't have you sitting pretty, nothing will.\n\nPick up our April issue on newsstands March 25. And to have Teen Vogue delivered every month, subscribe here!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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