Guest post…a must-read!

HOWDY folks…I’m back, loaded with pics.

OK the pics aren’t uploaded yet but I do have them. I’m guessing many people got sick of waiting and cursed me to the depths of hell and I don’t blame you. Believe me I have my reasons for the delay. Let me say they WILL be posted! I’ve just so much going on. I’m thinking of doing a study on how breast implants affect your whole life in a positive way…because I have never been this confident. 

Anyway, I got a new comment on my ‘Get over it‘ post and I liked so much I decided to post it separately. 

So here you go, courtesy of Beth:

“I know this is an old post, but I’ve got something to say, so I’m saying it…My sister recently got breast enhancement surgery, and she’s still swollen and so afraid that she’s going to look like Pamela Anderson for the rest of her life.  

I was looking for a website or blog that she could read to help her through the emotions of the first few weeks. I think, Alex, that I may have found it, and I commend you for daring to be the voice of these girls, and take the criticism that people just seem to need to load upon others in their quest for perfection.

For unamed “What’s wrong with Natural”… well, nothing is wrong with natural, everyone knows that. But the question for you is, what’s wrong with not natural? Would you condemn a person who lost a limb to life without prosthetics? I know you’re now thinking that a limb is necessary, and breasts, not so.

Well, I challenge you on that. There have been an increasing number of news stories about people with extreme forms of handicap who get by just fine (like that famous woman with no arms who had a baby and takes care of her herself, crazy to watch somone cook dinner and change diapers with their feet)… and breasts are in fact part of the body, they aren’t an outdated relic of the past, they are a part of the woman’s body that makes her uniquely female.

Anthropologically, they are how the male of our species knows that the female is fertile, and as such, have become a big part of sexual desire, not just in the developed world where Hugh Heffner is a household name, but in our entire species, regardless of it’s exposure to airbrushed models. Having your boobs augmented may be a luxury, but it isn’t because having them makes you ’sexy’, it’s becuase not having them makes a woman feel like less of a woman…

Another example… have you ever known a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer? I don’t know if you know this, but in the event of a breast cancer diagnosis, American insurance must pay for any of 3 options… 1) mastectomy of affected breast, 2) full mastectomy (both sides for good measure), or 3) full mastectomy AND breast augmentation… yes, that’s right, it’s considered a part of a woman’s body.

And if you’ve ever known a woman with breast cancer (I’ve had the displeasure of knowing two)… as with any diagnosis that could lead to death, the person is overwhelmed by the thought of dying, but the hope in them that they will live leads one to mourn the loss of the normality that we all live within. For a heterosexual woman, normality is tied into our femininity, and that link is not easily broken, the thought of living on, but without part of that femininity is very depressing for many woman.
Third… what is it with people wanting to tell others how to think and feel? I don’t get it. It’s always been an enigma to me within political and religious context, but this is even worse. How is it anyone’s business, what makes people think they should judge me for my actions which harm none. I wonder if when braces were becoming more popular, people were very judgemental of the desire to have straight teeth? Or if when ED became a diagnosed disorder, if people were judgemental of men who wanted to have sex again?

Sure, I get that everything that we do changes the societal norms, but like Alex said… there are so many more important things to be worrying about… like rape and murder, sex slavery in much of the world, child pornography, people so hungry in haiti that they are rioting for grain, women in africa being infected through rape with HIV, even the unethical practices of big insurance companies in America… there is so much in the world to be preoccupied, why focus on the rightousness of plastic surgery? Especially in such a negative way, even if I was inclined against plastic surgery, such venemous arguments make me disrespect the position.
And that is all.”

See, for every idiot who judges us for choosing to have breast surgery, there are ten people like Beth (and me, and you) who see sense. Go us! 

The right to choose…breast implants

“Does feminist mean a large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings? To me it’s the latter, so I sign up.” — Margaret Atwood

One day over Christmas I was talking to my aunt, who expressed surprise I had had breast surgery, since she “thought I was a feminist”. I asked her what she meant by feminist, and she said, “Well don’t feminists think breast implants are a form of female mutilation with the end goal of pleasing men and fitting into their ideals of women?” I agreed that some people do hold this view, but that clearly, I am not one of them. And yes, I am a feminist, if feminism means equality for women and fighting for (and celebrating) our right to choose after centuries of oppression.

I was interested in what my aunt said because it’s not the first time I’ve heard it. Of course, I respect other people’s opinions and to be honest, I don’t care if people judge me for my choices, although I see that my defending them vigourously seems like I do…but I just wanted to point some things out.

If you agree with the general principle of people’s (not just women’s) right to choose what to do with their own body then you would agree that breast surgery should be as accessible and popular as it is. You may not personally understand why women do it, but unless you are a woman with little or no self-esteem then how would you understand? Self-esteem is tied to different things for different people–some men have no confidence because they have a small penis, some women suffered years of comments about having small boobs, some people feel weird about a big nose or massive feet. I’m no psychologist, but it’s pretty obvious that if any of these things can be altered, it will make a huge difference to someone’s life. Why is that wrong? So what if someone wants to risk surgery and spend money to feel good? Is it jealousy that makes people resent it?

It’s a safe procedure, when done by the right surgeon. Which thankfully most of them are. The risks are for the individual woman to sort through. So what’s left is the tangled feminism argument, which basically says that women who have breast implants are doing it so men will think they look good, or so they fit into society’s warped ‘ideal woman’ mode. What bollocks. Why should men take the credit for women’s self-image? If we see a woman who looks great and has made an effort to feel good and look great, why can’t we accept she did it for herself and not for some man? THAT is sexism, people, a historical stereotype that still lingers on every woman alive. If a girl dresses in a fabulous dress and six inch shoes and gets her hair done, men assume (sorry, some men) she did it for male approval. We all know that women dress to impress other women, since a. most men don’t give a shit about what’s fashionable and b. a lot of women are veerrry competitive. And of course there are women who dress to impress men, but so what? Should we all be labelled as continuous men pleasers because we want to feel good about ourselves?

Another common argument from those who oppose breast implants, after the safety and sexist arguments are dealt with, is that breast augmentation should be reserved for women who have had the traumatic experience of breast cancer or are similary disfigured. I have obviously not had breast cancer and won’t try imagine the pain and suffering these women go through and I’m not comparing my life with those of cancer victims. But breast surgery is an elective procedure done by choice, is it not a medical neccessity. For anyone. A woman who chooses to have breast implants put in after breast cancer surgery is doing it for the same reasons as a woman with tiny, or no, breasts. Those reasons are for a personal desire for self-confidence and self-esteem, to regain and to have what they believe is and should be their natural right. They, we, do it because they want to look different. Again, someone with breast cancer is of course different to your average plastic surgery patient and I am not taking away from their suffering. But saying breast implants are only OK for women emotionally scarred because of cancer is a flawed argument.

Women who already have big boobs, and have surgery for their own personal reasons–be it their job, because they’ve always wanted bigger boobs–may be coming from a different place but have just as much right. We all have the right to choose. So make your choice and hold your head up high.

What risks?

From the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK:

“The risks associated with silicone gel breast implants have been investigated on three occasions by independent expert groups working on behalf of the Department of Health. The latest of these, the Independent Review Group, concluded that the risks were no greater than for other implants, such as hip joints. MHRA is not aware of any evidence suggesting that saline used to fill saline breast implants presents any hazards.”

“…there is no evidence of a causal link between the implantation of silicones and connective tissue disease.”

“..silicone gel breast implants are not associated with any greater health risk than other surgical implants, and that silicone induces a conventional biological response, rather than an unusual toxic reaction.”

“In their 1998 report, the IRG said that “analyses of large groups of women both with and without breast implants have shown that there is a slightly reduced incidence of breast cancer in women with breast implants. Studies looking at the incidence of other cancers have failed to demonstrate a statistically significant increase among women with breast implants.”

So, OK, obviously there ARE risks, it’s surgery. But I’ve seen websites saying things like “You could die!!” etc. The breast cancer thing, breastfeeding thing and the stuff about leakage are not a worry for me.
I think the only risk comes from the surgeon who performs the op. If s/he is a good surgeon there will be nothing to worry about. The horror stories, the poor women who have gone through the surgery and come out deformed and ruined (I can’t imagine what I would do if that happened) most likely had their surgery done by an inexperienced hack who is not a specialised surgeon. I am choosing my surgeon very, very carefully. My consultation on Monday is mainly so I can get the surgeon’s name and look him or her up. I’ll also be asking if they are registered with the Medical Council, how many ops they have done and what level of aftercare they provide. I’ll let you all know the answers!