A male friend of mine told me the other night that it wasn't the look, it was the attitude.

It has ever been thus-, that the ladies have toyed with and sought to deceive we mere males and all our shallow weaknesses. :-D When like Bob Rogers writes, it's really way more simple.

Though actually, I think, it is really more a competition between the ladies themselves. And it must be fierce.

I couldn't even read this entire article as it sickened me so much. I got through the first 4 paragraphs and had to stop.

There are more and more woman that are accepting the body that God gave them and they are saying NO to breast implants.

In my opinion, articles like this are written so that the BI manufacturers and the PS's can make their wallet fatter than it already is.

Beauty is NOT measured by the size of a woman's breasts!

I had salines for 8 years and it was the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life. I've created a website to educate women on the dangers of these toxic bags. Read it and find out what can happen to you if you go ahead with this unnecessary procedure!

toxicbreastimplants.org

I think that more people should be reading about what breast implants can do you your health and not what it can do for your beauty as in the long run, you will lose that beauty because of how sick they can make you. Check out what the FDA has to say about implants.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/indexbip.html

Do you really want to risk an auto-immune disease?

the only difference sexually between a large breasted woman and a small breasted one is whether or not you can have breast sex. If your whole relationship is dependent on that single item you're in a whole lot of trouble.

My wife just had a breast reduction. The surgeon removed a little over 10 pounds of tissue. Best thing that happened for her health-wise in a long time. No sore back, shoulders don't ache, arm doesn't fall asleep in the middle of the night. And it hasn't harmed our sexlife one little bit.

And she's still the same great lady I knew before the operation.

what's the old saying, " More than a mouthful is a waste anyway"?

In the long term it's really what's between a woman's ears that makes for the best sex. It doesn't matter if she's small, large, short, tall, round, flat, green, blue, red, or whatever. Men love them all.

If women look like the one in that picture above what will result will be chaos and disorder. There will fighting in the streets and the sound of crashing cars.

Nobody mentions what a damn nuisance breasts are. Brassieres hurt (shoulders, ribs). Jogging hurts.

I've dreamt of having them flattened and achieving the Nineteen-Twenties flapper look. Now that was emancipation!

God forbid, that I should ever be forced to have those Dolly Parton soccer-balls stitched into my front.

If you were to ask me if I agree with this article more than 3 months ago....I probably would have.

I was implanted in the year 2000 with saline implants. I never regreted that decision. However, last year I started developing symptoms similiar to an auto-immune reaction. I had severe muscle pain, weakness, fatigue and tremmers. I was tired all the time and could not function as a normal human. I had to quit working in the job I loved and had to stop attending my nursing classes. I could no longer be the mother, care-giver, wife, and lover to my husband. I needed someone to cook for me, do laundry for me, and clean the house. I went to many doctors and no one could tell me why I was so sick. One doctor told me to see a psychiatrist. I wasn't crazy...I was in pain.

I came apon a saline support group on yahoo for women who had the same story as me. These strong women gently explained that my problem wasn't in my head...it was in my boobs! I may have had saline inside my implants...but the shell is silicone. There are risks involved with implants, ones that may not surface for many years.

So, now after having them in my body almost 6 years....I had them taken out. That was the best thing I could have done for me and my family. I have a long road to recovery, but now I can go back to being the strong, healthy, and beautiful lover for my husband.

In response to the sub-headline "Who really yearns for 'enhanced' boobs?", just allow me to say......I do, I do, I do.

There's another side to breast implants that wasn't really addressed in this article. I got implants in 2005 and within 6 months had them removed. From day one, I hated them. I hated how they felt, hated how they looked, and felt like the creature from "Alien" had inhabited my body.

Aside from hating the implants themselves, within a few weeks I started having strange symptoms - joint swelling, swollen lymph nodes, anxiety - and it seemed my symptoms got worse as time went by. I consider getting implants as the biggest mistake of my life, if I could turn the clock back one year, I would not repeat this. I think stories such as this one only tell the happy tale, they don't tell the whole story.

After I got implants, I started noticing how great the small breasted women looked, and realized that it really didn't matter to me that I had previously been small breasted. I never had problems attracting men, and I wasn't insecure about my body. Lord knows why I did something as impulsive as getting breast implants, because my whole life was turned upside down by them.

Cute little breasts are way more beautiful than big, fake breasts.

Big fake breasts defy gravity, feel hard to the touch and aren't particularly attractive. When I see a pair, I always wonder why.

my $0.02

Well my wife does not need breast enhancements and in fact is considering a reduction, which is fine by me.

I had a girlfriend that went for the implants (before I met her) and she complained of a lost of sensation in the nipples, but never had any of the other symptoms.

I also dated a model for a short bit, it was clear there was a lifestyle clash, why anyone would want to apply makeup when camping is beyond me. Plus I think my Landrover wasn’t upscale enough for her. My wife is lucky she has the completion and look naturally that most woman spend big bucks and lots of time trying to achieve.

The women in my life have varied from large to very small, each was different and I enjoyed them as they were. I would never ask someone to change their body in an artificial way, except to tell them I like long hair. To be honest I prefer the natural look.

Men are so much wiser than we women often give them credit for...as so many of the comments reveal here.

Too funny, jesterjogger. I think that is Victoria's secret...she's a closet revolutionary at heart.

I'm shuddering to think what's coming tomorrow... Penis enlargements with graphic pictures no doubt. Oh please Beers no... The horror the horror

That eases my mind. Now when I look at that pic I'll just think of Che :-)

Lynn, thanks for the compliment - I'll take it. But never let your lover see it because he'll never let you forget it! I sure wouldn't.

Bolt-ons might be useful for Hollywood stars, who are scrutinized remorselessly for their acquiesence with whatever beauty standard is in vogue, but they are basically trashy and a turnoff.

They also interfere with milk production, supposedly, which is a consideration if the angle for getting them is mating with the right purveyor of baby batter.

Can a feminist have a boob job ?

IMHO - prosthetic breasts, artificially inflated, go right along with oversize SUV's, undersized pets as fashion accessories and diet pills --- people are trying to compensate for something; WHAT THE HELL IS IT ???

rockerbiff, it depends on how one defines "feminist". As to your second query, I have to say it is a pretty good one. I've noticed that we tend to be looking for that sustenance (whatever it is - peace with oneself, perhaps - contentment? a reason for being here?) from something outside of ourselves and expecting to find it - like looking for that elusive WMD in Iraq before trashing the place.
Being a runner myself, I give BC Mary a high five. Being a gal myself, I always felt grateful that I'm not encumbered with two massive weights on my chest when I'm running or playing hockey etc - and I definitely didn't need them to get through university. Anyone who does is using the wrong fat mass for that purpose.

Breast implants are to our era what the corset was to the Victorians. See Valerie Steele's "The Corset: A cultural history" Yale University Press, 2001.

The naturally small waist was prized as feminine beauty, but the corset was a visible sign that few women could actually measure up to that ideal. Doctors wrote about the health hazards of corsetry (though they were concerned more about endangering women's reproductive capacity than their overall health.) Dress reformers saw them as hobbling women's physical abilities, while corset advertisements emphasized the comfort and ease of their wares.

Visible corsets, instead of corsets worn discretely under clothes, were the mark of the courtesan and the only slightly more respectable actress. Magazines mocked the corset for buttressing womens' flawed bodies into acceptable shapes, making them walking falsehoods. The corset was seen as a sign of women's vanity and foolishness for inflicting such constriction on themselves willingly in the name of fashion.

What killed the corset, except as an item of costume, was changing fashion. The slimmed down flapper of the 1920s had the opposite problem of mashing down her breasts and getting that long, shallow curve from armpit to hip.

Good point MightyfastPig!

Wonder if anyone died from health complications from too tight corsets like they have from breast implants!

I think of them too as similar to the mutilation done with footbinding in China for so long. Women were basically crippled ... I read accounts of them several times having their feet slit and re-bound.

Ilena Rose
BreastImplantAwareness.org

Hi Beth:

I had to write after I saw your comment. If you’d read on past the first 4 paragraphs, you’d see that the article comes out very strongly against plastic surgery. Many of my female friends and relatives have undergone the procedure or seriously contemplated it. I was a teacher for 6 years and heard many of my teenage students talk about how much they wanted them (and was devastated when several did get them). For all the women I’ve spoken to, their main argument was that it made them (or would make them) feel “sexier,” and would make men be more attracted to them. Even though I’ve seen lots of column inches devoted to the health aspect, I haven’t seen much that addresses this emotional argument and it’s the one I wanted to take on. I hope you’ll read to the end.

Thanks for your comment.

Vanessa

_____________________________________
Hello Vanessa,

I took your advice and read the entire article. The only anti-implant related information I see in the article is the comments made from the men or as you put it 'what the men think'. The rest of the article seems very pro-implant to me and does not address the health related issues associated with getting breast implants. Although you say you've seen many addressing that issue, in my opinion there isn't enough.

I did not get my implants to please any man. I got them as I had self esteem issues and felt that I was much too thin for my near 5'8" frame. I weighed only 117 pounds. I learned my lesson. I learned it the hard way. I came close to losing my life because of one very uninformed decision that had absolutely nothing to do with what I thought any man would think about me.

My suggestion would be to re-write the entire article and focus on the health related issues of getting breast implants and how women should be thankful for the body that God has given them! You've hit on some of the self esteem issues but most of the women that I've spoken to did not get their implants to please any man!

I must say that I love some of the comments made by men that don't need a woman with breast implants to feel attracted to them.

toxicbreastimplants.org

As a practicing artist, I have drawn painted and photographed the nude female figure since my artschool days in 1949. Including yesterday with a beautiful, small breasted Oriental model.

Breast implants look silly, ugly and deforming. I only had one model who had them, a very nice lady and good friend. She must be about 70 by now. I hope she's healthy and OK, but must look silly with her breasts sticking out. If she still has the implants.

Big breasts are a North American hysteria, going back to the economic desire for energy control. Rich people are supposed to have big houses, big cars and limos, big planes and big breasted wives, or girlfriends. Then they feed their babies from bottles.

Bloody stupid, artificially implanted desires.

Ed Deak, Big Lake.

my comment is no comment more than it's soooooooo silly.

To Spindy:

.

Funny, I thought the same thing too. I feel that some of the most beautiful women in the world are small breasted. The size of your breasts has nothing to do with beauty.

Well said!!!!!!!!!

Nicely said:

A friend of mine said just today...."you can wrap the gift in anything, but it is what is inside the box that counts."

Acouple of thoughts. First, it seems to be the unanimous reaction from men that bigger breasts are not more attractive. Precisely my own personal feelings.

Secondly, I wonder if the male equivalent to breast implants is some of the body building that goes on. The general idea being that bigger is better when it comes to being attractive to the opposite sex.

Cassandra, you are right on that last one.

Don't know about your e-mail, but mine is often full of offers to extend my penis up to three inches.

And just what would I do with that monstrosity besides having to explain how much it costs and hurt?

Do you tie it down or up?

mightyfastpig wrote...

I think what is needed is to dig a little deeper into the real root cause of all this madness. We need to ask ourselves who "prizes" this look as feminine beauty?

Us men, that's who!

Men are the one's who have been portraying this image of woman for years. Hell my girlfriend would give me a smack if my eyes drifted too far to the left or to the right through the grocery checkout isles. It's a good thing those magazine shelves filled with the Vogue and Cosmopolitan of yesteryear are only two dimensional or we may have thousands of onlookers with eye injuries. I would estimate at the very least it is 90% men who are the editors of these magazines.

My girlfriend got caught up in the hype. She would buy up those magazines with a lusting desire. "It is for the fashion" she would convincingly relay.

Then the day came when a combination of her man-made insecurities coupled with her desire to "properly" portray (otherwise read as fill-out) the "fashion", she announced to me that she was getting breast implants.

I urged her not to do it. "They are beautiful the way they are" I would tell her, and they were too. "But one nipple doesn't look the same and one is bigger then the other" she would insist. Hmmmm, it would take a lot of precise measurements to back up those insecurities of hers, but she had it in her head and there was nothing I could do about it.

The next thing I knew I was holding her forehead while she was puking in the toilet from the site of me emptying those blood and pus-filled drainage bags that were connected by hoses into her breasts. Ya, that was a real turn-on (rolls eyes). If I could have got my hands on those magazine editors at that point, God help me and them.

After a while the hoses were out but they were sore and swollen, and before I could even touch them the transformation happened. No not the one weeks ago to her chest, but the newly formed one in the grey matter between her ears. The closet was quickly filled with a new wardrobe and our nights were planned out on the town. I could not sit at a bar together with her having a drink without every dick looking for a good time hitting on her or passing her the wink. She loved the attention and I didn't let it bother me because I new who she was going home with.

And that's the way it was for about a year until I started to find business cards from men, with inviting comments written on the backside, hidden in her college books. But when I asked her about it I was the evil bad guy for looking in her books and not trusting her. Ahhhh who can blame her anyway, all those college guys with their rich parents buying them Beamers and Jags. Who was I to hold her back...so I didn't.

Am I bitter...nope, not at all. I do think of her though and see her around once in awhile. I do feel sorry for her. It's been a few years, and she has had more boyfriends since then I can count on both hands. I guess once they get down to it, they see that little fair-skinned cutie with all the red veined stretch marks all over her breasts, the scaring and the feel of the one that is harder than the other. They probably decided like one other poster above eluded to, it was fun for awhile but I'm out'a here! Shame when you think that most men don't think of her for more then the bar stool they found her on.

If there is one girl out there that does not get implants because of reading this true story, it will be well worth the years of pain I had to go through dealing with the crap.

Don't Do It! And be happy with what God gave you. Your decision will change your life, and it may not be for the better.

"I would estimate at the very least it is 90% men who are the editors of these magazines."

i'm sorry for your relationship/breast troubles and glad you've found your way thru it, but I think your quote above would be about fifty percent wrong. It was Helen Gurley Brown as the editor of Cosmo who practically defined the modern womens' mag for starters....

I read this article and was like usual disgusted but then I look at why an article like this is written and it is to just stir the pot up. It made me want to throw up actually. I am posting a site where after I had a bilateral mastectomy when I was 28, and implanted for reconstruction I was totally mutilated. There was nothing beautiful about this surgery which has resulted in me having to endure 19 totally the last this past April.
It has been a very long 17 years of ongoing operations constant new illnesses including multiple sclerosis, meniers disease, granuloma annulare to name a couple.Neurogenic bladder requiring me to be cathed is the latest and now possibly diebeties. So do I think implants are great not a chance that was the line I was sold by my surgeon just like women today are being told. I can tell you a few years from now the same women from today will be contacting women like me who are very involved with getting the info out and we will hear the same things we were saying. Here is the site with photos and my story.
http://www.info-implants.com/SAK/intro.html

I only have to look at myself to know that what I was told is a lie I don't even debate this anymore because I simply feel there is to many of me out there for it to not matter and the few who are lucky to not become ill or mutilated does not justify to me the implants being on the market.

Sandra

Stump wrote...

I would say that you are are likely right to a point, BUT as much as I hate "man bashing" I am at least man enough to admit that we are somewhat responsible for the busty images displayed to young woman today. And if you go through the 100's of young girl and woman's fashion magazines I think you'll find that there are many of us men that pull the strings on what does and does not end up on the cutting room floor. All I am trying to say is that it is the image that we as a society portray to our youth, and we are around 50% male in society but play a somewhat larger role in the media. Yes arguably there are more woman now but for how long has that really been the case?

Why do we not glamorize the athletic woman more regardless of their breast size. Maybe we could help curb the obesity and anorexic abnormalities that are plaguing North America. Hmmmm, more emphasis on health and fitness, what a great thought.

Now all what we have to do is break the barrier of the no-minds that say physical competition with our school kids is a bad thing. "Everyone run together now and don't anyone run past fat Johnny or you'll make him feel bad." Gimme a break! Let's bring back the Awards of Excellence, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Participation button of those days gone by. You know...like the real world. But I guess that's another story. (Or tomorrow's topic :) )

I'm amazed the author had no idea what "real" men think of this whole issue. I can think of about 5 male friends off the top of my head who have mentioned, at some point (and for whatever reason the topic came up), that they prefer small- breasted women (more than a handful is wasted), or think fake breasts are disgusting. My brother talked his girlfriend years ago into getting a breast reduction and seeing if health care would cover it (they did) because she was experiencing back pain already, in her early 20s. She later thanked him for encouraging and supporting her decision- which she never would have followed through with on her own. She loves her smaller breasts.
I also have to agree with the woman who mentioned how DAMN uncomfortable bras are... my favourite time of day is when I come home and whip that baby off (if I wear one at all, as I can get away with not doing so :) A very disturbing trend I've noticed is the lack of unpadded bras available in stores these days- unless they are sports bras they no longer seem to exist!
I'll just add that I get comments (in summer, on nearly a daily basis) from women and men alike, on my sculpted arms- and I got them NATURALLY! Why is it that in so many cultures, toned/muscular arms are considered masculine, yet are relatively easily aquired by women through training and focus, yet something like huge balloon-breasts (often aquired through unnatural means) have come to represent some epitome of femininity?
All I have to say to women out there who think injecting a foreign substance into their body (what horror stories!) is going to make them feel sexier- carve up those triceps and sculpt those anterior deltoids, and find out what sexy really feels like!

What happens when the body ages and these big boobies are still there standing proud? It will look odd, to say the least.

Same with guys body building, and also with tattoos.

There aren't as many 'real' men out there as this skewed sampling would suggest Fii. Let's face it, most men are as subject to the same beauty myth marketing as the women who get their breasts 'enhanced'. If it were otherwise, there'd be no market for these products and procedures.

Your point is taken Average Joe, but remember that a lot of the 'media' targeted to women and designed to play on their inherent fears and insecurities. The media use focus groups and such to find out what those are. I don't think any male-driven agenda is being imposed, but rather the messages reflect the fashion du jour. That's one reason why the favoured size and shape of breasts has changed over time and will change again.

a lot of the 'media' IS targeted to women.... My coffee hasn't kicked in yet!

Hi Victoria,

How true this is. Just a shame that more women can't realize this before they make such drastic and deadly decisions like I did and thousands and thousands of other women.

Beth

Hi my name is Dawn Beaven and i run siliconesurvivors.co.uk in the UK WE HAVE 65,000 women and children sick from breast implants a lot of them in wheelchairs with ms i had mine in for twelve years and have been diagnosed with lupus among many other awful illnesses. The Americans know they are toxic as they took silicone off the market yet in the UK WE STILL TURN OUT 10,000 breasast implants a year at the rate of 70o/o rupturing within 7 years we will have thousands of more sick women it is disgusting that anyone with a conscious can promote a deadly device which can cause cancer and other life threatening diseases and thats only the tip of the ice berg it then goes on into the children thru the placental barrier and the kids end up with the life threatening illnesses as well I have spoken to some families and it has passed thru three generations of chronic illness mainly because of vanity. Is your looks and vanity really worth your health or even your life every women shoulc ask themselves this question I was a healthy kick boxer and stunt women before implants now I am on disability with a life threatening illness which will probably end my 44year old life short now some days I cannot walk and am sick 24/7 !! look at my self and see the evidence for yourselves most of the info came from the chemical companies which make silicone breast implants Dawn Beaven siliconesurvivors.co.uk

Fii

Fii,

I'll say this much. I love seeing sculpted arms and shoulders, because I know about all the hard work needed for them. Without a doubt, the nicest body I ever seen on a woman was an ex who had two kids, but was an athlete extraordinaire. She had small breasts, but she had the nicest toned legs and arms. Funny thing is, she hated her arms and legs and wanted a breast job. I could never quite understand that.

I probably sound like a deviant for writing all this, but I enjoy seeing the sculpted arms more than fake boobs.

I just visted the siliconesurvivors.co.uk
site, I would suggest in the strongest terms for any woman considering getting breast implants to PLEASE view this site.

I have to admit that women that swim have the nicest looking shoulders.

Of course if you want all and out stunning, just watch Bollywood movies, not to mention the absolutely perfect chorography, except of course when they hire the “token white girl” who can’t dance.

This article is so timely for me. I have recently lost a considerable amount of weight, and at 37, my breasts are no where near as full or as "high" as they used to be. I've been considering a breast lift, but was told that I would likely need implants as well, as once the excess skin was removed, there may not be much breast tissue left. I've been debating this issue in my head for at least a year. Part of me wants my perky 21 year old breasts back, while the rest of me feels conned by the whole beauty myth/industry. I'm NOT 21 any more, why do I feel the need to pretend I am? I am self concious about the way my breasts look, but wondered if the expense and pain of surgery is worth it. Apparently not! Thank you all so much for helping to clarify this issue for me. Maybe it's time to hit Wreck Beach and remind myself that we come in all sizes, shapes and colours, and are all beautiful in our own way.

To Curling Dervish

I was reading what you wrote here is a good site on breast lift operations I know alot of women who opted for this instead of any implants and were very happy with the results.Like anything else it has alot to do with the surgeon you choose as you really want one who does the new technique. Make sure you ask alot of questions and ask how many he or she has performed and if you can talk to any of there patients who they did this on.
Site address: http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/breast_ptosis_surgery3.html

I am glad you are opting to not get implants but like any operation it has risks as well, good luck in what yuou choose to do.

Sandra

There is something about the accompanying picture for this article that is strangely compelling yet I can't quite put my finger on what it is...

Anyhoo, the girl in the photo could have a chest like the prairie around Climax, Saskatchewan and she'd still be very pretty, I just don't see the point of implants. I bet 9 guys out of 10 would never base their impressions of a woman on her bust. Outside of a strip bar or rock video. But then who would use that as the cultural standard?

And I really appreciate all the great posts and links on this topic. I can honestly say I had only a faint idea that it was so prevalent or so problematic.

And Allan, its not up or down. You fold it, and oil it once every couple of days to keep it shiny.

Frank to Allan

gasp!, sputter, arrgh must burn image out of my eyes!

I feel the author of the article took a light tone about a very serious topic. Thank you to all the posters who provided vital and heart wrenching insight about this issue. Have any of you wondered why there have been no reports in the media about famous people and Hollywood stars suffering the ill effects and threats to health caused by breast implants? Is there a massive cover-up happening here? If even one famous woman spoke out about her mutilation it would help greatly to educate the general public. I recently filled out an on-line survey about attitudes toward breast implants and all the questions were designed as if to minimize the seriousness of the topic. Calling major surgery to the breasts a "cosmetic" procedure is outrageous and implies it is as safe as, say..... applying lipstick.

Hi Canuck ...

Yes, indeed there has been and continues to be an enormous cover-up as to the very real dangers of breast implants.

Here's an article that links the Burson Marsteller / Dow Corning mention that the "cover up is going well" from 1992 under "internal memo."

http://breakfornews.com/articles/Breast-Implants.htm

13 years later and the pr teams pervade the internet.

BreastImplantAwareness.org

Canuck_Cougar included within the following site is a story by a Hollywood actress having dealt with a Breast Implant.

http://www.siliconeholocaust.org/

Wow!
An excellent comments section!

I must say that I agree with most everyone.
Big fake breasts are not a turn-on for me!
If I want to play with a ball it is much more fun with a real football/soccer ball!

I live in Asia (South Korea to be exact) and the phrase "a large breasted Asian/Korean woman" is almost never heard! No complaints!
The women here (including my Vietnamese girlfriend) look great and are very kind!

Oh, I should add that I once had an adult student in Canada who was a Canadian-Filipino mix. She was very very very beautiful and had the best legs I have ever seen on a woman. Sadly, she got breast implants and never looked as good as she did before!

The natural look is best!

Kevan Hudson
Suncheon, South Korea

Yet another side to this subject “implants”

I have had my saline implants for almost 4yrs now with no regrets…the best decision I ever made for myself. I did this for ME, not to seek attention from men or glamorized by the media.

Why, let me tell you why, my breasts were so small that “A” cup bra was to big. Darn right I was self-conscious, so much that my boyfriend of 3yrs never saw my breasts or anyone else. All my bras were padded, they had to be – a bikini top look ridiculous or clothing was so limited. There are no clothing retail dept. stores that specialize in the extra small breasted department.

I did my research on breast augmentation - risks and plastic surgeons in my area. On my 6th consultation I found my doctor, he answered all my numerous questions and I felt confident in the results I wanted to achieve - adequately proportioned… Although he was the most expensive doctor $6500.00, my surgery was done in a hospital, amazingly after surgery I had no sever pain, I only experienced a heavy pressure, there was no bleeding, no tubes, no stretch marks, no veins and 6 months later no scars and complete feeling around my breasts and nipples – no numbness what so ever.
I love my breasts, I now feel like a woman
I’m a perfect C cup and my SEX life is awesome –

Many of you MEN say a handful is just enough
what if NO hand full… too small to be a hand full…
I want to know,

To Boogie,

You sound just like I did. I was nearly an A cup and went to a perfect C. I understand your frustration with finding a bra. I could not go bra shopping before implantation without leaving in tears empty handed. And yes, I did it for me. It really didn't help me attract any new men. I really didn't go out to nightclubs or anything like that. I was a single mom and dedicated to my job and my kids. When I met my husband, he was impressed with my hands (of all things). I did my research and got a great doctor. I had no problems with the surgery and no tubes, etc. If you were to ask me at year no. 4 if I regreted it...I still would have said "NO." However, I started having severe pain and tingling in my arms in the start of my 5th year. It moved to my legs within a month of that. Not a single doctor could tell me what was wrong with me and all my tests rulled out all serious illnesses including MS. Now, I am forever plagued with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. My explanting surgeon stated that the style of implants I had were common for breakdown. I had saline filled tectured. I wish this infomation was availiable to me at implantation.

I am glad that you have had a good experience thus far, but....Please...please...please keep an open mind, if you start getting any confusing health concerns it may be realated to your implancts. What ever you have inside your implant, it is still silicone and can be breaking down inside your body.

Also, I know a woman who replaces her implants every 3-4 years to prevent shell breakdown and leakage. She is on her 3rd pair, and has had no adverse health issues. I am sure this is the secret the celebrities use to keep from getting sick.

Thanks Frank. Can I staple it too?

I am a "real" male and had often wondered what the heck women were doing to themselves in order to look "good".

I've never liked the look or feel of bolt ons.

I clued in that it was the North American "industry of desire for what you don't have but if you pay me lots of money everything will be perfect from now on" that's driving the whole thing. Most women don't look like the models in magazines but are brainwashed into aspiring to such. The consumerist industry makes you feel inadequate and then supplies you with the solution.

Sweeet.

And now men are getting sucked in too. What's with all these Maxim type magazines that are full of these young guys with washboard stomachs living in fancy pads with thousands of dollars worth of stereo equipment, etc?

They're trying to suck us in the same way women have been for so long.

What's with the crap about power and size in our automobiles? Who needs 400 hp and 5000 lbs of metal to get to the Mall?

The list goes on. People still have a ways to go to understand what's really driving them.

It's all about buying happiness. Which we all know in our hearts is just b.s.

I sharepeefer's view that this is all about buying happiness. I've even had to admit to myself that the impulse to purchase the magazines which promote these skewed values is all about buying happiness for $ 4.99.

Like the author of the article, I have what could be considered "medium" breasts. I wouldn't get implants because of the health risks and the expense. I wouldn't jeopardize my health for vanity's sake. And there are so many other practical uses I could find for six grand.

I am also very uncomfortable with the idea that women & children in the Third World are dying for lack of the most basic healthcare and here in the West we expend resources for all these cosmetic procedures. Not to mention the worldwide shortage of skilled doctors & nurses. I can understand plastic surgery for burn & accident victims and those born with congenital defects, but all the rest is a waste of precious talent, IMHO.

They may not be worthy of a magazine cover, but I adore my breasts. They've given me ( and my husband!) a tremendous amount of sexual pleasure and produced an ample supply of milk which nourished our three lovely babies. And that my friends, is truly beautiful!

Website's like Dawn B's and the siliconeholocaust site should really make people realize just how much of an impact it would make if silicone would be approved and put back on the market.

Also, breast cancer patients should really read this information as it is very alarming. We need to be informed about the decisions we make and we can't be informed when we aren't given all the facts.

These two sites speak volumes for what a silicone gel implant can do to a woman.

http://www.siliconeholocaust.org/
siliconesurvivors.co.uk

There are also many health related risks associated with saline implants. I created toxicbreastimplants.org in an attempt to educate women of those dangers. Implant Info Net is also a wealth of information and support for women that have been effected by silicone or saline implants.

beth

It saddens me the lengths to which so many women go to acquire a particular look. To me, there's no substitute for the natural look, nor for the natural aroma. On his return to Paris from a military campaign--a journey of several days--Napoleon wrote to Josephine imploring her not to bathe. I don't recall reading if he also asked her not to shave. In his shoes, I'd have said legs please, armpits if you like, but nothing else. As a homage to his campaign in Egypt, Napoleon might have asked her to leave be her inverted pyramid.

Real Big Boobies.

The thing is these big fake boobs have become an item all on their own. Their feel, look, and shape has nothing to do with the breasts of women who actually have very large breasts.

I was serious with a woman who was rather well endowed (ended on v-day : ( ), and do be honest I liked them, alot. I liked the way the fealt when she hugged me - which appherently the fake ones don't even do (the military officers quote took my eye). They looked nothing like the fake ones also, they did not defy gravity.

So presents the other ironic side of the story. The women that do have the real large breasts often don't like them. They don't resemble at all the large breasts being glamourized. They garner *unwanted* attention. In the end the big boobed women get the worst of both words just as much as the small boobed women do..... when what the men want, is just someone to hold.

Ah, Deadend- here's to you finding a new woman "to hold"- soon :)

I skipped the comments of the people who hide their real names, as usual.

The others haven't brought up the point that a society that restricts breastfeeding as much as ours does is naturally going to have many men and women with life-long boob hang-ups. The ultimate cure is a real relationship with breasts based on their real function.

In the short run, public eduction. And maybe a 200% tax on implants-- a "flat" tax. (Sort of joking.)

I'll put more about this on my Web site in Part 1 korky.ca

Korky Day

Women get breast enlargement so as to enhance their sexual status. This also enables them to get a better looking and/or wealthier mate, better job opportunities etc.

If I only knew... I like thousands and thousands more, would like my life back the way is was before the implants before the strokes before the maybe it's MS you have. Sjogrens syndrome Menieres, V-tach you have these you don't have those days. You will probably have balance problems for the rest of your life. Yor memory especially the short term is bad, somedays I can't remember how to turn on the oven or where I parked the car. All this for 65 CC's of silicone. Yeah I looked better in clothes and unclothed with those rocks in my chest. Looks a trade off for your health ?? I felt better after the explant in 04-03 I have some good days now infact I think I have more good days than bad now. I felt less than attractive for awhile. It is a extremely dark place when you are being poisoned. You age 10 years for every one and no one has the anwsers not one not for the constant pain or anything else. They weren't me they probably aren't for anybody. Think about it put a foriegn object into your body and your body begins to defend itself against it. The silicones leaks and gets into your blood stream. You think saline is the anwser. I know women have problems with them too. You think life will be any less important to you in one year two, five, or 10 years. You can never go back to the way is was before. It happens slow one day you wake up and nothing is ever the same again. Regrets yeah I have hundreds. The biggest one is I actually made myself sick. They told us they were safe. They told us they would last a lifetime. I believed them. I thought I would be fine after all it was only 65 cc's from an a to b cup if it can happen to that many women why would anyone think that it won't happen to them?? Can we learn nothing from our mistakes??

Deb