A couple of comments before we go further or someone somewhere is going to take this as personal, and it is not. Firstly, I am talking about the attitudes of society in general, not the individuals. Secondly, my qualifications to speak on the subject – I’m a woman and I’ve had surgery twice for Breast cancer which has left me very much Mrs Lopsided. Do I care – not one jot. Is it noticeable? Ask the people who look at me, no one has mentioned it. Does it cause me an issue? Only when I forget and hang a bag on my left shoulder – it promptly slides off, but that’s a small price to pay for my life.
There has recently been a great deal of publicity over the sub-standard Breast Implant that had been widely used in the UK and France, probably other countries too, but I don’t know for certain. The whole issue over who is responsible for repairing the damage, replacing the implants etc, is a debate I find distasteful on many levels but that’s a different issue. What bugs me is more fundamental, the attitude of the society in which we live that causes women to go through the whole process of having breast implants.
I look at the women who are being interviewed about the current debacle, not one of them would look freakish if they didn’t have artificially enlarged breasts. They would be perfectly normal women living a normal life. The one question that never seems to be asked during the interview is ‘Why?’
I am a fairly self-confident individual with a healthy disregard for most of the norms, unless they suit me and don’t offend anyone else. Despite that, I was amazed at the number of people who asked if I was going to have an implant because of ‘how it will look’. I was appalled.
What kind of society do we live in that we judge a woman by the size of the protuberances on her upper chest. A judgement so severe that perfectly formed women feel compelled to put themselves through surgery to fit in with those expectations, a surgery that will have to be repeated because even the best of implants have a finite life. It horrifies me.
Many women who have had Breast Cancer surgery have implants. I have more empathy with them but I still don’t understand it. They have just had major surgery because of that pernicious disease, and they then undergo more to place a potentially harmful substance in their bodies. Why? To look ‘normal’, where does that come from – the attitude of a bigoted society that says if you are lopsided or flat-chested you are a lesser being. The comment that makes me weep is ‘I don’t feel a proper woman’. Where does that come from – a deeply ingrained belief in a societal prejudice against anything that doesn’t fit the norm. It enrages me.
The whole thing demeans us as human beings. Equality is a myth as long as two bumps mean more than the human mind and spirit. The worst part is that we allow this by pandering to it. We allow ourselves to be judged as what we are rather than who we are. Why?
Will this attitude change? If I am honest, it’s unlikely whilst the current cult of celebrity dominates the media. We should value ourselves for who not what we are. How we contribute to the greater good is far more important than how we fit in with the latest role model, usually a thinly disguised marketing wheeze.
What can we do about it? On a global level, I have no idea but I have always believed that the biggest changes start with the smallest shifts in attitude. If each of us stops to ask ourselves ‘Why?’, making sure that the step we are taking is of our own free will, not at the whim of a faceless, mindless mass then maybe this whole dreadful debacle will go some way towards that. I hope so.
Jocasta January 18, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Just read it Tricia, so agree. It’s also why there are so many young people with eating disorders and a bad work ethic, they just want to be like the celebrities, who are being the worst role models ever.
Kittie Walker January 19, 2012 at 11:55 am
I think as a global society we have gotten ourselves into a very tricky situation. The media and entertainment industries have more influence on kids/adults than they should.
The ever growing trend for breast implants and other cosmetic surgery being one of the most obscene results. I’m not sure what will bring any of this to a halt. It is not the first time that the implants have had issues. The stories of surgery gone wrong and dodgy implants are widely spread but it has no impact on the uptake.
We seem to be in the midst of cycle of superficial life and consumerism, I personally can’t wait for it to come to an end, but I don’t think that it will in my lifetime.
Tricia January 19, 2012 at 9:37 pm
Communication is so much easier these days and we consume information at an incredible rate compared to even a few years ago. Until we learn to be more discerning and not be drawn down to the lowest common denominator level trumpeted by much of the media we are going to be in this vicious loop. I hope we can make some changes soon or we are going to become a very plastic society in more ways than one.
It saddens me because each of us is unique and by definition a rare and precious thing. What does society do to those rare and precious things but try and squeeze them all into the same shape.
Dee January 20, 2012 at 1:29 pm
There was a time when youngsters had ‘proper’ role models. People who had achieved something and were worth idolising.
It’s rare nowadays to come across anyone inspirational and even if they are they don’t get the media exposure they deserve because the media isn’t interested in uplifting or good news.
So the role models are dubious individuals whose only claim to fame appears to be a willingness to expose more of their flesh than is decent or who are infamous for the sexual exploits. These people appear to have it all in return for doing nothing…….The late 20th Century dream. But, it’s all an illusion.
Lots of sweeping generalisations in that comment which are always dangerous, but I do fear for a society that values large fake breasts over good health or a kind nature.