The story of a mother who had her daughter get double eyelid plastic surgery, saying she would make her class rise with her beautiful appearance, is causing controversy.
According to an online community on the 7th, a video titled “Japanese Children Undergoing Plastic Surgery” was shared on the YouTube channel of New Media Vice in the United States. The video was first uploaded in October 2022, but it is spreading belatedly.
When the video is played, a Japanese mother and daughter living in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, appear. The names are Lucci and Mitch. Lucci had double eyelid plastic surgery when Mitch turned 9. Initially, the surgery had to end within 20 minutes, but it took two hours because the anesthesia was not working well. The video also showed Mitch bursting into tears while undergoing surgery. Mitch’s double eyelid surgery cost 400,000 yen.
Lucci said, “I thought it would be better to get plastic surgery quickly. People say ‘I got plastic surgery’ when I get old, but when I get surgery when I’m young, they think my face is already like that,” adding, “I didn’t want my daughter to grow up with a complex. I’m so sorry to make you suffer.”
The host, who came to interview Lucci and Mitch from Vice’s headquarters, asked, “What do you think makes a beautiful person?”
Mitch responded, “Being a beautiful person by enduring the pain of plastic surgery.”
“It’s a really mature answer,” Lucci said. “Men need inner strength and economic power, but women need more appearance than inner strength,” Lucci said. “It’s the world we live in that people forgive women even if they are cute and have a bad attitude.”
Dr. Gary Linkov, a plastic surgeon, said, “Young children continue to grow. Their faces have not yet reached their full condition, and plastic surgery can cause various types of problems,” adding, “I am shocked that Japan allows this. I think stricter rules should be applied.”
Netizens responded variously, such as “I have serious lookism,” “Isn’t there a lot of double eyelids when I grow up?” “I think it’s a mom who becomes a complex for children,” “I saw them do it in middle and high school, but it was severe in elementary school,” “There is a high possibility that these children will suffer from a sad compulsion to repeat plastic surgery,” and “Korea’s plastic surgery culture is also overwhelming.”
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
