Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

No Teen Girl Needs Acids or Poisons for Fat Lips to Pose on Social Media

“I was 15 and I was insecure about my lips. I have really small lips. And it was like one of my first kisses and a guy was like, ‘I didn’t think you would be a good kisser because you have such small lips’… I don’t know, it just really affected me. I just didn’t feel desirable or pretty. Kylie Jenner

My 15-year-old niece, Alice, recently asked me a favor, her brown eyes, big and earnest as ever.

“Can you ask my mom so I can get lip injections like Kylie? Or maybe Botox might be better for that upper lip curl. She did when she was 15 and she says it’s easy to be beautiful like her.”

I glanced away knowing the illusion of social media. So many kids didn’t realize those people have been filtered and morphed with Photoshop. That is part of the education and discussion process that teens should go through before anything is done.

She insisted again, “You may not know but it is extremely common for high school girls to have their lips plumped up as a reward for graduating.” I didn’t know that.