Do Men Prefer Breast Augmentation?

"I want some some plastic surgery for Christmas Some 37-Double-D's and then A rhytidectomy And a rhinoplasty You'll slide up next to me Sayin' man those boys are nasty"

"I Want Some Plastic Surgery for Christmas" by Spaff.com Parody song sung to "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" Gayle Peevey Which sex likes the looks of cosmetic breast implants more -- men or women? Of course, good research on this matter is difficult to find and depends upon matters of aesthetics. Admittedly, some cosmetic implant surgeries are performed after careful consideration of the procedure and reasons for altering the appearance. Yet, many surgeries are performed to appease a conception that when it comes to breasts, "more is better," especially in the eyes of men. Consider this information about surgeries and beauty pageants: "According to Keith Lewis, who runs Miss California USA, and has been a high-profile pageant judge for 15 years, an estimated 15 percent of the Miss USA hopefuls have undergone either breast augmentation or rhinoplasty as part of their contest preparation. Lewis said statistics are probably a little higher for the Miss Universe competition, he estimates around 30 percent of contestants. He also estimates 10 percent of Miss Teen USA state titleholders opt for elective surgery." ( Hollie McKay, "Achieving and Maintaining Physical Perfection No Easy Task For Pageant Contestants," Fox News, August 21, 2009) Definite physical risks are involved in breast implant surgery. Here are but a few relating to the procedure and its possible effects on teen girls: 1. Is it even appropriate to perform cosmetic surgery on patients whose bodies are still maturing? Breast development can continue into the late teens and early twenties, so girls who think they need augmentation now might change their mind later. 2. There are no epidemiological studies or clinical trials on the safety and long-term risks of breast implants and liposuction on patients under 18. So, the risks are unknown. 3. Research has shown that of all age groups, teenagers are the most likely to be dissatisfied with their appearance -- and that the dissatisfaction lessens with age. A long-term study conducted on both boys and girls ages 11-18 found that body image satisfaction was highest at age 18 for both boys and girls. In other words, older teens feel better about their bodies than younger teens. (Rauste-von Wright, Maijaliisa. Body Image Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls and Bodys: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1989: Vol 18) 4. Breast augmentation has a very high complication rate that often requires additional surgery within five to ten years. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 5. Based on the implant makers own studies, the FDA concluded that about 40% of augmentation patients have at least one serious complication within three years after getting their saline implants. (breastimplantinfo.org, Feb. 2008)

6. According to research by the National Cancer Institute, breast implant patients are twice as likely to die from brain cancer, three times more likely to die from lung cancer, and four to five times more likely to die from suicide compared to other plastic surgery patients of the same age. And, Breast implants interfere with mammography, obscuring 55% of breast tumors, on average.

7. Women who have breast implants are less likely to have enough milk to be able to breastfeed, compared to women who have not had breast surgery. (Institute of Medicine. Safety of Silicone Implants, 1999; Washington D.C.; National Academy Press) 8. Breast pain, breast hardness, and numbness in the nipple area are common complications that may last for years, and may never go away. Not to mention "stretched-out" and saggy issues of later life. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) All of these risks, yet breast augmentation has become a frequently-requested gift by young girls upon high school graduation. Natural improvement? The more people recognize implants, their natural reaction is that the breasts are less attractive and vulgarly fake. From a distance, the implants may be more attractive than they are closeup. They may stun on first impression, but over time, many people (especially men) view augmentation as gross. The effect soon wears off. Today, it seems to be very common that when women want implants, it's the men in their lives who are trying to talk them out of it, often without success. The old stereotype of men being "big breast lovers" is certainly a view to be challenged. If the assumption is not true, why do women continue to assume men are going to be thrilled by any breast augmentation? This surgery is not much more than a trendy fashion. Wouldn't many men who have a higher opinion of an augmented body probably also have a lower opinion of the mind of someone making such a life-altering decision? If women feel inadequate with small breasts, most of the time the problem to address is in their heads, not in their chests. Self-esteem first, cosmetics after! A beautiful, smart, confident woman presents a far more appealing appearance to others than a fake "double bubble" airhead. When people are in the habit of always finding fault with their body, they will never run out of faults to find... especially as they get older. The only way out of this trap is for people to change the fault-finding way of treating themselves. Most augmentation patients go through a radical post-operative transformation of wardrobe - clothes becoming much tighter and more revealing. They then bask in both the positive attention (he wants me!) and the negative attention (she's jealous because he wants me!). This is not boosted self-esteem when it is dependent upon the increased attention and approval of others. Once more, the artificial body breeds the artificial concept of the intrinsic power of huge breasts to boost confidence. And, as for women with natural, big breasts, many of them wish they had smaller breasts for obvious physical reasons. A lot of these girls want reduction surgery, which also poses big risks, especially in the short term. Making breasts bigger by choice is like hobbling yourself with a too-small pair of shoes because you're embarrassed by big feet. Proper support of fake breasts for physical activity is an even more difficult problem than support of big natural ones because augmented breasts are more rigid. What little research I found on this subject of men's preference for large breasts is this: breast augmentation patients, as compared with other women, have a higher divorce rate. And, don’t think that a breast job looks good just because the doctor tells you it looks good. The doctor is in business to make money. A GQ magazine article (2009) taken from the book Fear of Fake Breasts by novelist Tony Parsons presented an argument that "fake breasts are 'like plastic fruit' - good to look at, but not to touch." Parsons continues:

"They are not there to be fondled, kissed or felt; they are there to be admired, discussed, lusted after and photographed. The moment they are touched - and I mean in the heat of passion, rather than out of curiosity or in the interests of scientific research - then the spell is broken.

And this is true of all fake breasts, no matter how much money has been spent on this act of female self-mutilation"

Jodie Marsh, Reportedly Double G-cup Increase