Plastic surgery and teens.

[truthbetold]

Blah, I just read another one of those "teens getting breast implants as graduation gifts" article, and I feel need to rant about it.
I don't understand why so many girls feel like their quest for being a better person is only going to be measured by the size of their breasts, the shape of their nose, their weight etc. More so, I don't understand why the parents would pay for such a thing. For me, this seems to speak volumes about their self-esteem and self-image and if you think two bags of saline are going to fix that, then that's some wishful thinking right there.
I'm 18 and I don't have a big bust or even feel the need to have it. I couldn't live with feeling fake or knowing I went out of my way and put myself in danger just to be another Barbie doll. The guy I spend my life with will want to be with me, not my breasts, so why should it matter?
I guess I'm just frustrated with today's teens and the conformity that has overtaken America's culture. I wish the fact that everyone is different could be celebrated, not seen as "if you don't look this way, there's something wrong with you."
What does everyone else think? I'm interested to know.

[ET Awful]

1. Agreed, but still, if I'd had the chance when I was a kid

I woulda gotten a nose job instead of the schnozz I carry with me today :). And, believe it or not, it's not entirely for cosmetic reasons. It also has to do with the fact that my nose has caused me breathing problems for decades (I can rarely breath through my left nostril).

[Lavender Brown]

6. I can't breathe with my left nostril either

AND we had the same lunchbox? Weird. :tinfoilhat: ;)

[ET Awful]

8. Weird.

It's fate, we must meet :)

[Lavender Brown]

11. Have your cats call my cat

:)

[ET Awful]

13. Hehehe

I'll have Althea get right on it (she's the only one with any clerical/secretarial skills, Quinn is more of a bruiser/meathead type) :).

[Left Is Write]

10. Breathing problems sound like a good reason for a nose job.

[ET Awful]

14. I always thought so, but I never had the money around to do it,

and just try convincing an insurance company that rhinoplasty is a necessary procedure :)

[Left Is Write]

15. That sucks.

Some insurance providers cover breast reductions for medical reasons (and well they should). They should cover rhinoplasty for medical reasons also, and I would think difficulty breathing should qualify.

[ET Awful]

17. Perhaps I'll check into it again, I haven't really inquired for many

years. I've changed carriers a few times since then too :)

[yellowdogintexas]

49. unless deviated septum is specifically excluded, you should

be able to get it covered. Get out your policy and check the exclusions and limitations. Then send me an IM.

I worked in medical insurance for 25+ years, and can help you figure it out.

How long have you had this plan and what state are you in?

[KinkyDem]

2. YAY!

Fake boobs are gross. I'm, sorry, they are.

I can understand in the case of disfigurment or some other calamity but just cause you were born with A cups doesn't mean there is something wrong with you.

Some men actualy like small chested women.

I hope some day, truthbetold that you find a man who loves you AND your breasts.

[arcane1]

5. agreed

:thumbsup:

[NewJeffCT]

7. that's the truth

Plenty of guys out there don't have a problem with small chested women - many Asian women certainly are considered attractive & desirable by men, yet many Asian women are not exactly busty. If men were really that into big breasts, I'm sure that wouldn't be the case...

[ET Awful]

16. Anything over a handful is a waste. . . well not a waste, but certainly

not a necessity :)

[Florida_Geek]

18. I like small breasted women but

if the girl was a 31AAAAAAAAAAAA then I could understand it.

[maveric]

35. "Any more than a handful is a waste"

I happen to love A-B cups.

[primavera]

37. He's absolutely right

Fake boobs invariably look... well, fake. Regardless of whether one's personal tastes gravitate towards large or small, artificial and plastic are never a good look for anyone. Take my word for it: any guy who thinks disfiguring rubber balloons are preferable to the genuine article is not anyone whose opinion you need to be concerned about.

[Liberal Veteran]

3. Do implants and breast-feeding work together?

Just wondering.

That seems like it would be a bad idea.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

28. My guess

Would be that the sort of woman who is going to get implants isn't likely to "damage" her figure and breasts by having children, and certainly wouldn't breastfeed.

[Left Is Write]

33. I know several women with implants who had children.

One of whom is still nursing her youngest right now.

[LeftyMom]

48. Sometimes, depends on the entry method

As long as the ducts aren't damaged it's not supposed to be a problem. Breast reduction is more likely to pose a problem but most women can still nurse after breast reduction (although many don't produce a full supply and need to supplement a bit.)

[arcane1]

4. watch 5 minutes of tv and you'll understand perfectly

feminism is over... now they market 'empowerment' as taking control over your own objectification

[Nalgenelover Snort]

19. EXACTLY

I feel like throwing up when I hear these women say, "I'm excersizing my right to better myself!" The only way for women to "better themselves" these days is to buy bigger boobs?! Disgusting.

[Left Is Write]

9. Rampant plastic surgery bothers me entirely, and not just for teens.

I find it frightening that huge numbers of people are willing to undergo completely elective surgery in order to achieve some perceived ideal.

I'm not talking about people who want reconstructive surgery, or people who want cosmetic dentistry or some such to feel "normal." I'm talking about people who want to alter their looks and/or their bodies because the Hollywood culture tells them they aren't good enough the way they are. I'm especially appalled by shows like "The Swan" that not only encourage the complete alteration of the participants' looks, but hold a "beauty contest" afterward. As if their self-esteem isn't wretched enough already.

What's really scary about these Swans is that they all come out looking the same. Same face, same teeth, same mouth, same nose, same bodies. It's like a manufacturing plant for Stepford wives.

So many celebrities have gone so far with plastic surgery that they don't even look like themselves anymore. They look like tight, garish, bizarre caricatures of themselves, and I think that's sad. I'd rather be a little saggy, a little wrinkly, and look my age than look like an unreal version of myself because my "real" self isn't good enough.

I think we all want to look our best - but does looking our best really have to involve knives and injections and poison?

It pains me that young women measure their worth by the size of their breasts.

[Liberal Veteran]

12. I got two emails today "Lose inches now!" and "Gain more inches!"

It's all too much for me.

[eleonora]

20. talking about the swan

some girls were actually prettier BEFORE like Cinnamon S, just give them a good haircut and fitting clothes...but what do you know, we all have to look like drag queens now to be attractive.

[u4ic]

23. Reminds me of that Twilight Zone

The young girl was turning 16, and she had 8 different bodies to choose from, as did all those turning 16. She was then to have surgery. She kept on resisting, saying she wanted to look like herself, which was both horrifying and disobedient according to her parents, and the state. In the end, she was brainwashed into picking one and changing.

[KurtNYC]

32. Exactly

Hair and clothes make 80% of the difference on those shows (which is why they do them last).

A big part of "sexy" is self-confidence and that's all in the head. When I see fake hair, fake boobs, etc. I find it a turnoff because it seems to say here is a person who was not happy with nature (and might never be).

[LynzM]

21. Media and lack of good parenting, IMO

"I don't understand why so many girls feel like their quest for being a better person is only going to be measured by the size of their breasts, the shape of their nose, their weight etc. "

I think a lot of this had to do with the continued promotion of the 'perfect woman' on TV and in the media in general, combined with parents who encourage working on your looks, as noted in your first post. Why not at least try to teach your kids that their value is in their character, their heart and soul, being kind people, etc....

This is not to say that these teens have no responsibility for their own actions and decisions, of course. But I think if our media put more focus on the things that people did (not the 'who is dating who', part of what they did...), and less emphasis on physical appearances, then this would be less common. JMHO :)

[amazona]

26. kids got to compete in the marketplace that exists...

...not in the marketplace we wish would exist.

Yes, parents want their kids to be taller, to be prettier, etc. WHy wouldn't they? Study after study proves that beautiful people get higher salaries and have more opportunities in life. I don't blame parents who can afford it for doing whatever they feel is necessary to give their daughters an advantage. Sure, I wish the world was different. But we live in a visual society.

I reserve the right to get cosmetic surgery as needed. The fact is, all these people saying that women should age naturally are not speaking truth. Our society does not celebrate or even care to offer jobs to women who age naturally. The people who complain about stars getting plastic surgery are being unfair. You wouldn't like them any better or go to see their movies if they were all fat and wrinkled up and looked like the fat lady from the trailer park. It's a matter of financial and social survival.

I don't want to get into my personal experience because the pain is too great. Suffice it to say that I learned early as a child that if you look different, you will be despised. I wouldn't want anyone to go through the pain of being physically un-attractive when there was a technological alternative.

[HEAVYHEART]

22. What do I think?

You pretty much said it for me. I too think that we should all celebrate the fact that we're all different. Me, I'm Asian and I have small breasts. I'm not gonna lie and say that I wasn't a little envious when I was younger, when guys would drool over other girls with big boobs. I even wore padded bras when I was a teen. But it was a phase & I got over it soon enough..I love my breasts now.. :-)

[NewJeffCT]

24. cultural difference story on this

My wife was born in China and is not exactly busty. Something like a 32A.

However, right after she gave birth to our daughter in early 2003, she temporarily 'ballooned' up to a huge 34C...

She was looking at herself in the mirror one day and said something like, "Oh my breasts look so huge. I'm so embarrassed."

I can't imagine a young woman raised in this country saying that...

[truthbetold]

25. Wow.

That is amazing. Perhaps I should move to China, LOL

[NewJeffCT]

29. well, right after that...

Right after that, my wife said that all the American women were going to be jealous.


And, if you move to Shanghai, the men there are expected to do all the housework...

[Left Is Write]

27. You know, I can actually understand that.

I am a 32A. When I was pregnant and nursing, I got "huge" too - 36C for a while there. I didn't like it. I felt like I looked big and bulky, and they didn't "fit" the rest of my shape.

[HEAVYHEART]

31. I felt the opposite

I loved the way my breasts looked when they got bigger, when I was nursing! lol. I was happilly surprised to say the least, even if only temporary. hehe.. I do know what you mean about feeling big. I wasn't used to having big boobs, felt weird being in public..

[HEAVYHEART]

30. haha!

Funny story! :D

[NewJeffCT]

36. I saw your story, too

I take it you were born here...

[HEAVYHEART]

40. No

I was born in the Philippines. My family came here in 1975, I was in elementary school, so I pretty much grew up here and became an American citizen in my teens. Do you have children? My ex husband (American) and I have two beautiful daughters and they were born here.

[NewJeffCT]

42. Yes, we have one daughter

I dated a few Filipino women prior to my getting married (my ethnic dating history could rival the UN!)- but, they all came here after graduating from nursing school in their 20s.

My daughter is a very active 22 month old now.

[HEAVYHEART]

43. Funny!

Filipinos and nurses. hehe.. I think I have about 15 cousins who are nurses. lol. I'm laughing because my parents wanted me to be a nurse, so to appease them, I finally took classes and floundered around the college, but ended up majoring in Computer Science, became an network engineer and did that for 8 years, got laid off, then I became a starving musician! hehe.. My poor parents.. They wanted me to be a nurse so bad. I never got the nurses and filipinos thing..

I would love to see a picture of your daughter if you have one! If you don't want to post here, you can PM me, or you don't have to if you don't want to. I bet she's all over the place walking everywhere. My kids are 9 and 11 and I remember 22 months. Enjoy your daughter, they really do grow up fast. Too damn fast for me. :-)

Gotta go make dinner.. brb..

[NewJeffCT]

47. I went to one birthday party

One of the Filipino nurses I dated went to a birthday party of a Filipino friend of hers... I think all the Filipinos there were nurses, and it was over 20. Even the guys.

Then, when we were selling our house ourselves this past summer, we had a Filipino couple come to see the house and they were both nurses.

[yellowdogintexas]

51. My Filipino friend was a nurse too.

[Nikia]

45. I felt that way when I was a pre teen

I went through puberty early. I was self conscious and teased as a 100 pound 11 year old with 34B breasts.

[NewJeffCT]

46. I wish my wife weighed 100 pounds

She is 5'4" and about 95 pounds soaking wet (and only when she had long hair and it was wet...)

[prole_for_peace]

34. My chest didn't reach its "final" size until I was in my mid 20s

I can't imagine what would have happened if I had had implants at eighteen. I would be freakishly huge now.

[yellowdogintexas]

50. I thought I was the only one who didn't finish "blooming

until mid 20's..of course after my daughter was born, I never lost the boobs I gained then, either.

38 quad D here

I want a breast reduction, one of these days I will get one.

[prole_for_peace]

52. I'm "just" a 38 single D

but I would like a little off the top too. And maybe a little lift.

[yellowdogintexas]

53. getting down to a D would be an improvement,

but I would really ask for a 36 C..

thinking about how nice my neck and shoulders would feel

[Placebo]

38. If someone's crooked nose is making them depressed...

and getting a nose job would truly be a life improving thing, then who cares?

[SarahB]

39. It depends on the surgery.

If a young person had a very large nose with difficulty breathing, a cleft palate, a young man with gynomastia (males who develop extra breast tissue), or something else that was either painful, made life difficult physically, or something more necessary, no problem. A boob job? Uh, no.

Besides, you are correct in your statement that if a woman is more built, there's a certain element of men who notice their breasts rather than their being. Ideally, they'd like a whole package in a women (mental, physical, and emotional), but sadly, shallow cretins remain a staple to much of the male gender.

[CO Liberal]

41. When I Was in High School (1968 - 1971)....

...this was the time of year when we learned which of our classmates got nose jobs over the Christmas Break. You could always tell - they were the ones with huge honkers in December, and Band-Aids over their much smaller noses in January.

[Nikia]

44. It would be easy for me to criticize

But I have always had above averaged sized breasts for my weight. It would be stupid for me to have implants. Women my weight with bigger or equal sized breasts are more likely to get reductions.
Really, it is good to be happy with what you have and who you are. Men don't worry as much about their body shape. Why do we?