Most silicone implants rupture, experts say

[dArKeR]

In documents made public on Wednesday, US health regulators estimated that up to 93 percent of silicone breast implants ruptured within 10 years. The surprisingly high figure will further roil a debate next week about whether to lift the 13-year-old ban on silicone implants for breast enhancement.

A committee of plastic surgeons and other experts will convene on Monday to sort through studies of the safety and resilience of silicone implants. The panel is also widely expected to hear emotional testimony from scores of women who have had the implants.

The experts are to decide by April 13, the last day of the hearings, whether the implants are safe enough to be approved for wide use. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then decides whether to follow the recommendation.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/04/08/2003249606

Why would a woman do this to herself? Why would a woman insert something into her breasts? What is the thought process? What is the objective?

[zann725]

1. As a fellow Woman, I haven't a clue.

Self-hatred perhaps? Or death wish...or desire for mutilation? Or perhaps just that age-old desire to "please her Man."

[Skittles]

15. I don't get it either

the mentality that would allow a woman to implant BAGS into her chest - I don't get it

[PaulaFarrell]

19. you're clearly not a woman

who's been treated as if she wasn't even there because of a flat chest. I don't think it's the mentality of the women involved as much as the mentality of a society that values women mainly for their sexuality. I mean, I don't think I'd ever do it myself, but it sure would be nice to able to wear somthing low-cut for a change...

[Hello_Kitty]

22. We can't wear everything we want

I'd like to wear shirts with buttons or those cute halter tops that you can't wear a bra with. So sometimes I envy flat chested women. But I'm not about to get my boobs lopped off in order to wear certain things. I just find clothes that suit MY figure. More than one woman I know has justified her implants (not that she needed to because it's her body and her choice but she felt the need to justify it anyway - I wasn't even asking) to me because she wanted to fill out clothes. Ridiculous.

Have you guys heard the latest thing? Supposedly there are women getting their toes shortened via surgery in order to wear stylish shoes! What the hell?! It's so sad that women can think that instead of the clothes being wrong that it's their bodies that are 'wrong'.

[Ms_Mary]

24. Yes, and it's hard to find things that fit well. That suprised

my sister in law when she got her 40DD augmentation. 40DD, I don't know what the heck she was thinking. It looks terrible and now she leans forward when she walks.

[Ilsa]

40. I'm in worse shape...

I'm several sizes smaller in number and one larger in cup. So the clothes I wear (tunics and a-line) all make me look like I must have a large midsection, which I don't. I have smaller waist and hips, fairly athletic build.

[Ms_Mary]

50. Just to clarify, b/c I realized that could be taken wrong

I don't mean to say that women with larger breasts automatically look bad (I'm nearly that size myself) but my sister in law just happened to get a horrible boob job and she had pre-existing back problems. It was her choice and she says she likes it, but I honestly think the dr that did that to her was bordering on negligent. I don't know what she was thinking.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

56. What kind of MD does that surgery on a woman with .......

........ preexisting back problems?

I think it's - at the very least - unethical.

At the worst, misogynistic.

[Ms_Mary]

59. I agree completely.

The guy did breast implants and a tummy tuck, charged her $8,000 and now her entire body is out of proportion. She's actually recommended him to other people, and not to be unkind, but I don't know what the hell she's thinking, she looks horrible.

[Ilsa]

29. I'm with 100% ccbombs, with one exception:

My boobs are giving me backaches and really messing with my posture. They did even when I only weighed 118 pounds. It's really hard to do a thorough BSE every month. So I am considering getting a reduction, perhaps by liposuction to lower their mass. I need to talk to the doctor.

The clothing options will just be the icing on the cake. Let's face it: most racked women's clothing assumes you have something for breasts, but not flat, and not hourglass-shaped.

I keep wondering if I could find clothing (finding a swimsuit is the worst) that fits properly in southern California if there is a disproportionate number of skinny women with enhanced breast size. Can anyone stear me in th eright direction?

[Skittles]

32. I absolutely understand the need for reduction

helped a friend go through the process and she never regretted it. She too had major backaches because she was such a tiny girl otherwise. Please research to find reputable surgeons (make sure they are board-certified in plastic surgery).

[Ilsa]

38. Oh yeah! I have two picked out where I live.

Both are board cert in plastics. One is known as "the boob dr". The other was recommended by someone I know who had the surgery, and both of those drs were working on her at the saem time. She said she preferred the finished product of the one not known as the boob doc.

But yeah, ITA, if I didn't have the back pain and a health risk with this, I wouldn't do it. I have a medium-small frame.

[Skittles]

79. lol

the surgeon we picked was nicknamed "boob man of Texas". :o

[smirkymonkey]

54. I did the same thing for the same reason, in fact

insurance paid for it because I was so disproportionally large on top compared to my small frame & body.

I don't regret it either. There were cosmetic benefits, but I did it because of back pain and there was part of me that felt like I wasn't taken seriously with such a large chest. I never wore tight things, but it was obvious that I was busty.

I feel much more comfortable in my body these days.

[Skittles]

80. what was funny smirky

is I had to make all the arrangements because my friend was so embarrassed. When I first talked to the doctor on the phone I asked if he could send some literature to my friend. He started saying "you need to tell your "friend" - I started insisting HEY I REALLY DO HAVE A FRIEND and MY boobs are not big, etc. In retrospect it was pretty funny. :D

[Castilleja]

39. Absolutely right on...

"It's so sad that women can think that instead of the clothes being wrong that it's their bodies that are 'wrong'."

That is a very good point.

[Skittles]

31. a woman with good self-esteem would not cave

plenty of flat-chested women see themselves as more than an T&A evaluation. And there are plenty of push-up bras available if the urge is there, rather than mutilating one's chest.

I blame not only society but the medical profesison which clearly has never adequately let the public know of the dangers of implants.

[PaulaFarrell]

51. i know what you're saying, but

firstly, I don't think that many people actually have great self-esteem, and maybe it's related - at least in women; women are constantly bombarded with images of what we're supposed to look like, even just going to the grocery stores there's at least half a dozen rags on the shelf with some semi-naked girl on front. I have a sixteen year old daughter and she's extremely pretty, but she is constantly primping, staring in the mirror straightening her hair - she can't have got this obsession with looks at home, it must have come from society, and her friends I guess. I'm against plastic surgery - except where medically necessary - but I can see how people succumb to it. You're right about doctors though - seems some of them will do anything for money.

(ps push-up bras only work if you've got something to push up in the first place)

[MadHound]

49. Don't buy into the hype friend

There are plenty of people out there who really don't give a damn about what size the chest is, they're looking for what is beyond the physical attributes.

That said, there are also a group of people who don't want a woman who is a 38DD, for reasons as varied as personal aesthetics to realizing what those puppies are going to look like when they're forty or so.

I realize we live in a hypermammary society, but really, truly, there are people out there who just don't give a damn.

[dArKeR]

53. I respect your opinion but it's hard to believe that people some how

make fun of girls whose chests are normal. Maybe in grade school you hear this but you also hear kids making fun about eyes, hair, noses...

I also read a report that smaller breasts make sexually activity more enjoyable because all the nerve endings are "normal" close together and inserting sacks of silcone spread out the nerves thus dulling sensation.

[Ms_Mary]

62. I was mocked for early development. Nobody gets spared.

[Maine-ah]

83. I was mocked for non-development. you're right nobody gets

spared.

[PaulaFarrell]

73. not make fun of

but just not really register. I know it's not all men, but there are certainly a good few (I work mainly with guys so I know how they talk) who react that way. I'm not really too worried about it - there are andvatages (like you mentioned) but I'm just saying I can understand how women can be tempted into having implants. There is just a lot of pressure on women to be sexually attractive. Well, there's a lot of perceived pressure. I'm not sure how much comes from men themselves and how much comes from advertising.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

55. Same here

I've been horrified at what some women friends of mine have had done to themselves.

How's this for a sentence I never wanted to hear over lunch: "This infection in my nipple has lasted a year"?

[DustMolecule]

2. Silicone breast implants have been out-of-favor for quite a while now....

As far as 'why would a woman do this?' thought process.....

I guess it would be similar to 'why would a man take viagra?' Things ain't working or looking like they should? Not as young as you used to be? In a woman's case, child-bearing puts wear/tear on the body....

....why would a man go through the pain of hair implants when he finds he's going bald? (I've heard this is particularly painful/long term/ AND expensive.....

why do people do such things....why? why? why???

[jdj]

77. you cannot compare viagra, which is a hard-on drug

to implantation, which is major surgery.

but anyway

reading these quotes I'm struck by how much judgement there is and how we want to deny our own humanity. People have been tatooing piercing and mutilating themselves since the beginning of the human race, it's what we do.

I'm thinking about that quote "everything in life is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power."

I'm not so sure that if I didn't have loads of cash and nothing better to do I wouldn't get some canteloupes myself. If I win the lottery, I'm not ruling it out. Not silicone, but I might consider the ones with just water in them. Probably not, but I certainly understand the motivation. With regards to large breasted women saying "but honey, I understand" to those of us that aren't so well endowed..no, you don't. You couldn't possibly understand just how much RAW POWER is attached to that couple of bosoms, just like I don't understand how it feels to be judged as a wanton woman just based on the size of them. Well, being that I'm bisexual and get treated like a raving slut by men and a pervert by women whenever I come out, I might actually be able to identify with that sentiment.

I don't think people should be judged for being human.

[Carolab]

3. Reconstruction?

Ever heard of a mastectomy?

[Luminous Animal]

7. I've had a mastectomy...

And no reconstruction. Why would I trade one definite health problem with another probable health problem?

And who would I be trying to please with two "normal" breasts?

[Skittles]

16. I would do the same

no way would I consider having something implanted into my chest

[DavidDvorkin]

26. My wife's the same

Mastectomy, no desire at all for reconstruction.

Shameless plug for her forthcoming book, in which she discusses the issue: http://www.dvorkin.com/brcan

[Skittles]

33. WOW!

your wife sounds like a heck of a gal!

[DavidDvorkin]

43. Oh, yeah, she is a heck of a gal. :)

Sadly, she has a friend who will be having a double mastectomy this week and is emotionally devastated and determined to have reconstruction.

Or maybe I mean by contrast, rather than sadly. The contrast being not to the heckness but to the question of reconstruction. The friend is having a terrible time accepting the loss of her breasts. I believe that at one point she talked about preferring to die. Since I'm a man, there's nothing really comparable for me to try to imagine losing, so I have no idea how I'd react personally if I were a woman faced with that situation. The friend's reaction does make me understand, to a degree, why a woman's decision about breast implants or reconstruction go far beyond relatively simple technical/medical questions.

I remember, though, my father telling me about a man he had known who had had testicular cancer in both testicles. Doctors told him that castration was his only option, he had it done, and survived. But he told my father that he regretted the decision and would rather have died. It's easy for me be amazed at such a statement, and yet, again, I don't know how I'd react if I actually faced that choice.

[jmm]

66. My grandfather would probably still be alive if

He had let the doctors amputate his leg. He had Diabetes and his doctors said he'd die if they didn't but he said no because he came into this world with two legs and that was how he intended to go out.

Of course I wish he had made a different decision but I do see a difference between not being able to accept the loss of a body part as opposed to wanting to alter one's body when there is nothing wrong with it.

[Skittles]

81. I imagine the loss of breasts would be quite devastating

I would do the same as your wife did because to me having bags in my chest would feel alien. Some people just don't have self-esteem it would appear.

[Lars39]

65. That looks like an absolutely lovely book! Kudos to your wife!

Would she consider donating a copy to The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation?
A lot of women later buy books that they've first checked out from there.
I believe they have the largest compilation of cancer resources for patients in Middle TN.
www.minniepearl.org

[DavidDvorkin]

72. I'll pass that on to her, Lars39.

I know she's thinking about donating copies to a few places.

Thanks for the suggestion and the URL.

[Lars39]

75. I'll pass the info about the book to them.

They may decide to order it. :)

[DavidDvorkin]

76. Thanks!

[kath]

44. My niece was dx'ed w/ breast CA at 19, had double mastectomy the week

she turned 20. She had reconstruction (I'm not sure what kind of implants though. I would hope noone here would fault her for that decision.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

57. For you .................

:applause:

[shanti]

4. you know

as a woman, i don't get why some women do this...what's wrong with being natural? :shrug: an implant is a foreign body, not hard to understand why the body would reject it.

yet another example of how american's going to hell in a handbasket.

[Ms_Mary]

21. I agree. I really don't get it. I've been told it's b/c I've never been

flat chested, but that hardly affects my opinion on implanting questionable foreign substances into my body. And to be perfectly honest, the majority of women I know who get implants looked a lot better without them. I don't understand this need to be disproportionately large.

[burrowowl]

5. What I thought funny

was on the Amazing Race, they were camping in Iceland and one of the ladies implants froze and made her very cold. Moral: get saline ones with lots of alcohol or anti-freeze and if it becomes too hot?

[NYC]

6. 93% rupture.

...US health regulators estimated that up to 93 percent of silicone breast implants ruptured within 10 years...

Why are they even considering this?

[Festivito]

8. And, what % are made with excess acid, acid causing bad symptoms.

The bad symptoms of those complaining about their silicone breast implants, are symptoms of acid poisoning. And, how is silicone manufactured, with acid, go figure.

Too much acid, and the silicone looks good, but isn't when the plastic shell breaks.

Well? Duh?

[Demonaut]

9. When silicone penis implants rupture that's when they'll be banned

I rather prefer women with natural breasts, big or small....those with smaller breasts usually can have more active lifestyles IMHO.

[Caria]

10. You ask why?

I suppose we should start with the pressures girls face, from a very young age, to conform to unrealistic beauty ideals. My daughter received her first barbie doll as a gift when she was ONE year old (I immediately confiscated it in the name of safety - box had a warning that it was not for children under 3). And have you looked at how the Disney princesses are shaped? Models? Actresses?

Then when a girl hits puberty, guys start staring at her chest all the time. You really do feel like they are having a conversation with your breasts instead of you as a person. Some girls start at a young age to think of their worth as humans to be correlated with the attractiveness of their body parts.

Then there is the widespread advertising for cosmetic surgery. One gets they impression that everybody does it & there is nothing to it.

There's the pressure some men put on their wives & girlfriends. I once knew a woman whose boyfriend who offered her "a boob job" for her birthday.

Are you following me so far? OK Now let's switch to breast cancer. The first time I asked a doctor about getting a biopsy of the lump in my breast, he told me he was sure my lump was not malignant, and that a biopsy would unnecessarily disfigure me.

I eventually did find a doctor who ordered a biopsy, but by then the lump was bigger and breast-conserving surgery was not an option. I decided not to have reconstruction after my mastectomy, but I was in a minority, especially since I was so young. Finding bras that really hold a prosthesis in place is tough. The equipment seems to be designed for sedentary elderly women, not active young women.

While you are still in shock about having cancer at all, you are presented with a list of reconstruction options. Want your stomach muscles pulled under your skin up to your chest? You get a free tummy tuck with that, but the recovery period is long and you may never do another sit-up. Or they can pull one of your back muscles around to the front and make something that looks like a breast out of that. Do you use your back much? Would you really miss that muscle? Or you can keep your muscles where they are and get implants.

You know why I'll never get implants? Because I see how fast a silicon prosthesis - sort of an implant made to be tucked into a bra instead of the chest wall - wears out!

[Skittles]

17. hey, we woman are all under the same pressures

some of us just don't cave in to idiocy

[bunny planet]

20. I think lots of women get implants when they are very young.

Later on in life they might regret it. The entertainment industry absolutely puts pressure on women to look a certain way or they won't get work.

[Fridays Child]

11. It's about believing that self worth is dependent upon the judgments...

... of men who, in Western culture, are obsessed with big breasts.

[truthisfreedom]

12. eww. okay, now i'm grossed out.

if it's illegal to implant silicone leaking silicone bathtub sealer tubes in your body, it should be illegal to use these implants.

[BlueIris]

13. Another thread confirming what I feared was no longer true.

DU members=smart people.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. 2 Strikes: limitations on class action lawsuits and frivolous

personal injury lawsuits that used to be recognized as strict products liability.

[Hekate]

18. Why? Have you ever glanced at "Extreme Makeover"?

I've only watched a couple of times and for me it has the horrid fascination of a train wreck. Apparently nearly every woman in the country wants a boob job out to here -- I say this because one of the lucky ladies actually turned it down and the show's team members had a really hard time accepting it. The woman in question was a cop who had to wear a Kevlar vest much of the time; bigger breasts would have made that difficult and would also have interfered with her physically active job and lifestyle.

As for me, even though I am happily in the third phase of my life, I can still remember the pressure and anxiety that came from being a slender and flat-chested adolescent. I wanted teenaged boys to find me attractive and ask me out, and chest development seemed to be one of the major criteria.

Our American culture worships breasts. Movies, television, advertising -- all sexed up and all saturated with images of breasts. I don't judge women who want to find out what it's like to have men be attracted to them instantly, and some of the accounts I've read are at once thoughtful and hilarious. Between one day and the next you can evidently start getting second interviews for jobs ("You have a terrific - uh - resume!"), have men who never noticed your scintillating conversation before start following you around at parties, and on and on.

There's still plenty of demand for the product, no matter how risky.

I was always just too squeamish about going under the knife to even entertain the thought of implants, although in the back of my mind I always thought it would be nice if I ever had to have a mastectomy. I just kept working on my scintillating conversation ;-) until I met a man (a grown-up man) who seemed to be looking for that. And he liked my body, too. I feel lucky.

Hekate

[GoSolar]

23. Anyone have any idea

of the percentage of American women who get breast implants?

[Vinca]

25. This is the part that confuses me. The primary purpose of boobs

is to nourish the young. How did they become the focus of fantasy in the first place? And since they have, why would anyone get turned on by an implanted bag of goo? It's a mystery. I've had small boobs and big boobs, compliments of Mother Nature, and my preference is small boobs. It's easier to find clothes and more comfortable if you sleep on your stomach. Society shouldn't force young girls into idiotic molds.

[AlCzervik]

27. i think for woman that have had breast cancer i can understand the

want for implants but i don't know why anyone would go for silicone over saline. I'm pretty small and it has never bothered me. I know more women who want a reduction rather than enlargement.

[Caria]

30. Even the saline implants

come in silicone bag. They leak too. One of the women in my breast cancer support group had a lot of trouble with that.

On the subject of breast cancer, it seemed to me that there was a push for reconstruction. My husband & my own docs were fine with my decision not to go that route, but I've read articles and attended various programs in which immediate reconstruction is recommended for women's mental health. The cancer surgeon and plastic surgeon work together in the operating room, so that a new "breast" is being created while the woman is still under anesthetic from the surgery. The idea seems to be that we'll be saner if we never have to experience a minute of single-breastedness or breastlessness.

What does that say about the perception of women?

[Vinca]

67. I'm with you, girl. Women are more than a breast and a

blob of alien stuffing isn't going to make the difference. I understand completely why an implant would be desired after breast cancer surgery, but I know women who opted not to have it done and they're getting along just fine. Why anyone would want those things if they had 2 healthy breasts is beyond me.

[Psephos]

64. Boobs are a secondary sex characteristic as well as baby feeders

(I'm summarizing several books I've read on the subject here.)

Not necessarily big boobs, or little boobs, just boobs. At some point (apparently less than a few million years ago), they became a focus characteristic for potential mates, just the way a bald spot became a secondary sex characteristic for men. Yes, until recently (at least in our culture), having a bald spot helped men get laid. Gorilla males don't develop a bald spot, but they do develop a distinctive silver patch of hair on their backs - serves the same purpose.

Some men are viscerally attracted to full breasts. Not all men, but enough to maintain selection pressure across the generations. Otherwise, the disadvantages of having full boobs would have caused genes for them to have been edited out of the genome long ago. Nature is not political...Nature is ruthlessly, relentlessly efficient at weeding whatever creates a disadvantage, unless there is an offsetting benefit.

It's hardly a coincidence that humans are the only primates whose boobs stay full even when not nursing. Human females are also unique in having a continuous estrus cycle. Both of these are probably related to pair-bonding exigencies caused by extended human childhood (again, unique among primates).

Culture has distorted the significance attached to secondary sex characteristics, including armpit smell, full hips, facial hair, etc. But the mechanism of responsiveness to distinguishing secondary sex characteristics is inscribed in our DNA. The biological mechanisms that underlie the appeal are rooted in emotional brain structures, far deeper than "thinking brain" cortex, down in the regions that all mammals share.

If women have the right of controlling their bodies in matters of pregnancy and abortion, then surely they have the same rights concerning cosmetic surgery. I also believe that women are entitled to the same freedom from judgment in both cases. What a woman does with her body is between her and her doctor.

Peace.

[jdj]

78. I think it all started with similac.

that was the some of the stupidest shit doctors ever pulled, thinking that they could actually mix something in the lab more nourishing than breast milk. Now we have a whole couple of generations with buck teeth and a big round breast right up in your face obsession. Apparently it isn't even that way in some other cultures. some friends of mine went out with one of our Japanese bosses and he was pretty taken aback by their breast obsession (if I had to guess I'd say they went to a nudie bar). he apparently told them "but breasts are for baby", to which my friend replied "no, breasts are for me."

[lildreamer316]

28. Want a stripper's input?

Well, whether you do or not, here it is.

Having worked in the industry for 11 years, I have seen all types of implants/reasons for getting them/states of disrepair. I know that many ppl do not see this as a "career" choice, but many women in the business do. For said women, getting implants is pretty much a requirement,and CAN be written off on your taxes as a business expense. After all of the anthropological and psychological analysis, I am STILL not sure exactly why these women consistently make more money that those of us without implants, but they do. LOTS more. They can go anywhere in the country and walk in the door and go to work and usually make (at the least) $200 for the night. (The low amount of money compared to what I am sure you THOUGHT we were making is another topic for discussion later). That is still (in this economy) nothing to laugh at. The top features, booked by agency, make between $3000-$8000 a week from the club they are featuring at, not including tips and profits from sales of merchandise; they all have implants. Now, don't think I am advocating the idea of implants completely; I am just saying that there are more reasons for getting them than just vanity or complete insecurity. I feel that I am an attractive woman; I did not go into my "career" because of massive feelings of unworth or a drug problem; etc. (I am probably one of the only entertainers you will meet who has NEVER EVER tried cocaine.)However, at this age (31) and point in my life, I have had the experience of dancing without them, and having had a baby (some breastfeeding)with the accompanying sagging and weight gain, would opt to get (SALINE) implants if I decide to really dedicate myself back to my career. My earning potential is pretty good. I hope this helps some of you understand where alot of us are coming from. Sometimes the assumption that any woman who has chosen to do this is suffering from insecurity or was completely overwhelmed by social pressure (indicating to me a weak will/mind) comes across as insulting. Of course many of you think that the very existence of such an industry is an indication of our national state of mind of youth and beauty obsession, and I don't disagree with you. However, in the spirit of survival and capitalism, I took advantage while I could. Not all men who come in to see me are obsessed with youth & beauty, though. Many come in for just companionship and someone who doesn't judge them.

Sorry for the long post; just my .10.

[Skittles]

34. pleading the 5th here

PLEADING THE FIFTH

[lildreamer316]

41. Hmmm...

..why oh why? I wonder! Do pm me!:evilgrin:

[Colorado Blue]

48. I hear ya! I think people are generally right about the

health risks, but judgemental about the motivations.

I was an entertainer, I know what you are saying. I was a belly dancer, so I wasn't topless, but I had a nose job. My own was a real eagle beak:) I was successful with it, but I'd been teased about it all my life, so when I was 27 I took the plunge, so to speak.

A friend had had four children, so she had a tummy tuck. Another had some silicone IN HER FACE.

My nose is great, I will never regret it. The tummy tuck wasn't perfect, there was scarring, but she wore long beads which are traditional anyway, and a net bodystocking as they do in Cairo.

The face - a disaster. And that woman was gorgeous. But the silicone slipped, and now she's scarred and assymetrical. A disaster for an entertainer let alone ANY person.

All of the above were motivated PRIMARILY by professional demands - but also, even though (she says modestly) we were all attractive women I think we all had insecurities, trying to compete, and getting older.

It is ironic, in some parts of the Arab world, among some Bedu tribes for example, women veil when they are young. At menopause (my age) they are considered unlikely to arouse unseemly male interest (oy) and unveil.

At that point they become HONORARY MEN, and acquire rights and respect and freedom unafforded to the younger women. How ironic! In this culture, aging can marginalize a women and certainly DOES result in job discrimination, as young as the mid-thirties.

And I'm not talking entertainers, folks. I mean people in office jobs, professionals, etc., where youth and beauty shouldn't be an issue.

OK, end of rant:)

[Kilroy003]

58. I'm assuming you must have had a pretty full figured chest to begin with.

11 years in the industry and no augmentation is pretty unusual. In my 7 years of experience, I have only known a handful of long-term entertainers who have elected to remain natural. There have been a few who are very petite that make it without enhancement, but they usually rely more on their attractive personalities to compete with the "Barbi's" and "Daisy's" of the world.

I must also mention that I find it quite odd that you are political. I don't mean to stereotype, but almost all the entertainers I know could care less about who runs our country.

[lildreamer316]

85. Thanks!

I take that as a compliment..and somewhat yes to the first,but let's not get into that here.

[Must_B_Free]

68. My wife got them after breastfeeding two kids

she didn't like the "saggy baggies" that she was left with, and wanted to fill out her tops better.

She went to the best doctor in Hawaii, but they still have ripples like a punching balloon or a raisin.

I think its stupid and unattractive (I'm a naturalist), and I told her so, but she did it anyway.

I think it is an issue of vanity and it helps manipulate men on some level. Still I see plastic surgeons as parasites preying on peoples vanity.

[Conscious Confucius]

35. Alright, here's a compromise!

Ok, when you women stop worrying about guy's hair then I'll talk to the male population regarding smaller breasts. I think we can work something out.

[Caria]

42. Are you serious?

Whether a man had hair or was bald was NEVER an issue for me or any of my friends, even when we were young. One of the coolest guys in my high school had a receeding hairline.

[otohara]

47. And What Will You Say

to the male population? Never mind, I don't want to know.

[pelagius]

69. I started going bald in my late teens/early twenties...

...and I'm sure some women wouldn't consider me because of my lack of hair, but it never seemed to be an impediment overall. Some women liked the look more than a full head of hair.

I think height is probably more of a showstopper for many women, if you're going to generalize, but short guys get dates/laid/married/whatever on a regular basis, too.

[Vektor]

82. Hear hear!

From a proudly small-chested, petite woman who is happily married to a beautiful bald stud, I say that works for me!

[entanglement]

36. Implants are ridiculous

They cause all kinds of problems (well documented) and cost a packet, I wonder why women feel the need to implant? Not to mention that fakes are a huge turn off.

[redqueen]

37. Are you SERIOUSLY asking those questions?

FCOL!

This ain't exactly news, here...

Both WOMEN and MEN, by and large, are FOLLOWERS.

That's it, in a nutshell.


and on edit: p.s. to all the guys saying they don't like implants -- I'm glad you exceptions are here to prove the rule!

[Colorado Blue]

45. Didn't one our brilliant Congresspersons say breast...

implants make us HEALTHIER?

Oy.

[Colorado Blue]

46. Hello? Women do these things to please men. Also, the

standards of beauty, via mass media, are impossibly high. We feel totally inadequate most of the time, and it doesn't matter if one is objectively attractive or even better than that.

Also there's discrimination in the job market. Even in the climate where people are not SUPPOSED to discriminate about age, so forth, youth and beauty are powerful inducements to rewards in the paycheck. I actually had a review, at age 34, in which the boss said I wasn't projecting sufficient youth and beauty.

I SHOULD HAVE SUED. But instead, I went home and cried and bought some high-end makeup.

Now, I just wish I could afford a FACE LIFT. Seriously! I know it sucks, but hey, this is the world we live in.

I hate it, I hate that we are so competitive on the basis of external beauty, and other superficial elements of character. Age - real or apparent - is one of the most devastating.

[pelagius]

70. Scott Adams of "Dilbert" fame...

...said the requirement for promotion to management at the large company where he worked before the comic strip made him money appeared to be having good hair and teeth and being tall.

[Colorado Blue]

74. Not surprising. It is ironic, in the land of opportunity, when

brains, character, hard work, are still so limited by external appearance and/or age - let alone race or sex.

There's also STYLE. I used to work (very low on the totem pole!) at a very conservative, very large international corporation with a high public profile. Unfortunately I look like a beatnik even in a pin-striped business suit:)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

52. OK, who else read the title as

"Most silicone implants rapture, experts say"

[rukkyg]

60. Cause it's hot.

[Ms_Mary]

61. Which would be sexist and ignorant to say.

[meppie-meppie not]

63. good to know, I thought I was lactating

;)

[pelagius]

71. LOL. Thx. n/t

[Spider Jerusalem]

84. Implants are stupid, any woman who gets implants is a fool...

and our society is deeply fucked up for sending messages to women saying "but you NEED big tits or you AREN'T ATTRACTIVE".

Yet another sign of the essential shallowness and superficiality of our excuse for a culture.

[todwest]

86. Most saline implants . . .

. . . eventually turn into salt water taffy.