Fw: McCalls February 2001

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From our good friend Zuckerman,PhD in Washington...

----- Original Message ----- From: CPR4WandF@...

Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 8:02 AM

Subject: McCalls February 2001

Dear Friends, In the February 2001 issue, McCalls has published a "first person account" entitled "My Brand New Breasts" by Sharp, "mother of three [who] decided it was the right choice for her." In it, talks about finally doing something just for her -- getting breast implants. She and her husband decided that "Paying off MasterCard might make more fiscal sense, but the investment in my self-esteem would pay bigger dividends." Despite the fact that she was very embarrassed about her breasts before the surgery, permits the magazine to show before photos of her "sagging and misshapen breasts", which she refers to as "Hoss and Little Joe", named after the two brothers on the TV show Bonanza. She has had her new breasts for 2 years and describes being "still thrilled" even though she acknowledges that "my decision might not be right for every woman and that breast augmentation is basically a vanity-driven operation...and I could very well experience problems down the road." The magazine also devotes almost a page to a box entitled "Breast implants: what you must know" which includes warnings about rupture, interference with mammograms and breast feeding, the need to chose an experienced doctor, and the statement "long-term risks aren't known." Unlike the article, which was written by the satisfied implant customer, the box of warnings was written by Macht Felgran, who interviewed me and two plastic surgeons, including the president ofn the Amerrcan Society of Plastic Surgeons. She did a good job of presenting the warnings, but of course, the warnings are overshadowed by the enthusiasm of the much longer article written by a woman who is very happy with her implants. The warnings also fail to mention the economic costs of implant problems for many women. It is unfortunate that the magazine only told one side of the story in one implant patient's own words. You might want to take a look at this article while it is still available on the news stands, or find it in your local library (it's the one with Fergie on the cover). If you would like to write a letter to the editor briefly telling your own story, that could help provide more balanced coverage for the readers. I suggest that if you write to criticize their coverage, you might want to praise them for including the box of warnings. You might also suggest that they write another article interviewing some of the women with much different implant experiences. If you want to be effective, I suggest writing a relatively short letter, sound as reasonable as possible, and do a spell check and punctuation check before you send it. Using short paragraphs also improves the chances that your letter will be read. Letters can be sent to Sally Koslow, Editor-in-Chief, at sally@... or at McCall's, 375 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10017. Sincerely, Zuckerman, Ph.D. Executive Director National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families 1444 Eye Street, NW Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005 www.cpr4womenandfamilies.org