O PINION
Mann Continued from Page 14
I would straighten my frizzy,
wavy hair before school,
shave my forearms and, God
knows, avoid showing my
side profi le at all costs. I told
myself I would get a nose job
before college. Maybe then
I would fi nally be pretty
enough to escape the teasing
comments and wear a ponytail
with pride.

But when graduation rolled
around, I thought more about
it and realized that being
Jewish was my favorite part
of being me. And that meant
I was fi nally ready to embrace
any physical attribute that
came along with it.

Th is didn’t happen right
away, of course, and I still
catch myself overthinking it
at times. But at 22 years old, I
no longer entertain the possi-
bility of a nose job, and I found
that learning to love my nose
came with learning to love the
other parts of myself I thought
I needed to “work” on.

Which brings me back to
TikTok. How many girls must
be out there watching these
videos and questioning if they
should join in on the “trend”?
I was shocked and horrifi ed
to fi nd out that “Teenage
Rhinoplasty” exists for kids 15
and older if they want it. Had
I known this at 15, combined
with the infl ux of viral TikTok
videos, I would have found a
way to make it happen. And I
would have missed out on the
self-love and acceptance that
came with time as I got older.

I don’t think that there’s
anything wrong with getting
plastic surgery. If changing a
part of your body will make
you more comfortable in
your own skin, you should
absolutely go for it. But I don’t
think being bombarded with
cute videos of a life-changing
procedure as a child is the right
way to go about making that
kind of decision.

TikTok can be an incredibly
fun outlet for Gen Z kids to
express themselves, but it can
also foster extreme insecurity
and self-doubt. I hope teenage
Jewish girls will scroll past
these videos without a second
thought, loving their amazing
culture and the beautiful
features that come with it. ●
Joanna Mann is a senior at the
University of Oregon studying
journalism and music. This article
originally appeared on Alma.

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JUNE 3, 2021
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