Michelle Fletcher

S#00878047
Lip Plates
Your new neighbors have just received U.S. citizenship and plan to make their home in your
neighborhood for the rest of their lives. The couple, originally from a small tribe in Africa, have
had plates placed in their lips, which over the years have stretched their lips out about six
inches. In their culture, this is a significant sign of beauty and they therefore wish to pass this
tradition on to their young daughter. https://www.themedicalbag.com/bodymodstory/pucker-uplip-plating-still-in-vogue-in-remote-tribal-villages (Links to an external site.)
Seeing that this might cause their daughter a certain amount of stress as she enters the U.S.
public school system, you suggest that the parents not do this to their daughter. The parents
refuse your advice and proceed with their plans to have the plates placed in their daughters
lips. Could this be construed as child abuse? Defend your response. What would you do?
In the interest of cross-cultural studies, the history of body modification has been prevalent for
the last 10,000 years with cause ranging from physical enhancement to initiatory rite. As each
culture decidedly marks the scope of body modification, what some cultures view as customary,
others have construed as unethical. Although culture, religion, and social context may uphold
certain modifications in some regions, those same modifications in others can be contended as
criminal and grounds for incarceration. As culturally diversity expands, such boundaries grow
increasingly opaque, such as in the case of lip plates. Lip plates, a form of body modification
often associated with aboriginal tribes in Africa, and those who implement them while in the
U.S. may find themselves well within this category.
Contemporarily, body modification in the U.S. has predominately consisted of piercings,
adornment, tattoos, and increasingly so, plastic surgery. While these are all forms of socially
acceptable body modifications in the U.S., things such as full body tattoos, stretched body
piercings, and excessive plastic surgery often deviate from the social norm and in turn, possibly
lead to social rejection.
In early childhood, growth is not only biologically driven but socially guided (Berger, 2016, p.
163) and culture and locale are both influential forces. Despite the cultural back ground,
children follow adult examples and a child belonging to a macrosystem, dissimilar to the
majority culture or language, may feel inclined to adhere to the teachings of his or her caretakers
without the realization that this may serve as a critical disadvantage as they continue to mature
through society. As individuals immigrate from other regions, things which may be regarded as
beautiful or of high social class may not translate as appropriately in other social contexts and
while culture may influence social identity, its effect on cognition should also be regarded.
According to Piagets stage of preoperational thought, those that are within early childhood are
beginning to focus on appearance, assuming that the visible appearance of someone is also
their essence (Berger, 2016, p. 174). As young children operate in an egocentric and static
manner, they pay little attention to role of personality, instead focusing intently on the role of
context (Berger, 2016, p. 179). A child with a lip plate in the U.S., despite their parents intent to

Michelle Fletcher
S#00878047
preserve any cultural bearings, may find that they are excluded by their peers for the mere fact
that they may not likely relate to one another based on appearance or social status. Social play is
one way that children develop their minds and social skills (Berger, 2016, p. 205) and should
this not take effect, children may suffer from lower school achievement because they are less
likely to learn, diminished self-esteem, poor effortful control, and later, inadequate employment.
While drastic body modification may yield unfavorable circumstances in cognitive and
psychosocial aspects, such deliberate alterations also warrant adverse biological effects. The
Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act has had a presence in the U.S. legislative
system since 1997 and all those convicted are found guilty of aggravated battery, assault, and in
the appropriate context, cruelty to children. Mutilation or maiming is defined as the
disfigurement of a limb or other part of the body and while lip plating certainly falls under this
definition, it is not upheld or regarded as illegal in U.S. court of law. However, should the child
exhibit signs of child maltreatment such as delayed development, fearfulness, bruising, and so
on, a case can be assembled and it would be best to contact the authorities.
Just as many egocentric children convince themselves that something is true when it is not
(Berger, 2016, p. 180), the same can be said for parents or caregivers who decide to uphold
radical cultural traditions despite the effect it may have on the child that is maturing in a different
context than that of their parents. The best course of action with immigrant children or children
of immigrant parents or caretakers would be to show appreciation of both cultures (Berger,
2016, p. 186) in order to benefit the child academically, linguistically, socially, and lastly,
cognitively.
Works Cited
Berger, Kathleen Stassen (2016-01-08). Invitation to the Life Span. Worth Publishers. Kindle
Edition.
Word Count: 682