Fw: From Womenswire ~ Sizing Up Breasts

[Guest guest]

The following has been sent to us by Chris. . .Thank you for sending

our way. I thought the factiod: About 38,000 sets of implants are removed

each year, 68% of which are being replaced, was interesting.

Myrl

http://womenswire.com/image/breasts.html

Sizing Up Breasts

by M A R Y P E A C O C K

" Babies see food. Men see sex. Doctors see disease. Businessmen see dollar

signs. " -- Marilyn Yalom, " A History of the Breast "

Women see yet another body part they don't like, according to Self

magazine's 1996 survey. Of the 4,000 readers who responded, 35% think their

breasts are too small, and 26% think theirs are too big. Among

large-breasted women, 63% feel self-conscious; 35% of small-breasted women

feel less confident.

But maybe some women who read a magazine called Self are just looking for

trouble. In 1995, 79% of Mademoiselle readers filling out a poll thought

their breasts were ok. That figure (so to speak) tallies with the 75%

satisfaction reported by at least three other, more broadly based, studies.

Still, three-quarters of those Mademoiselle readers believe the ideal breast

size is either bigger or smaller than their own.

In other words, most of us tolerate our breasts, but don't love 'em.

Maybe that's because we firmly believe -- like 96% of the Mademoiselle

women -- that size is very important to men. Male fixation on breasts fuels

enterprises as diverse as Freudian analysis and Hooters restaurants.

Pictures of busty young women are used to sell boy stuff like wrenches and

tires. Listen to Seinfeld -- he's obsessed -- or just follow the average

guy's eye movements as he checks out your chest while you're being

introduced.

But most men get real when they get serious. (Otherwise, those small-breast

genes would never get passed along, right?) Even college-age guys put

breasts after butt, hips and legs in a ranking of body parts that matter.

BREASTS

In a study that should be posted prominently in the offices of all doctors

offering breast augmentations, it was found that Americans greatly

overestimate the importance of breast size. Some facts:

.. Both men and women believe that their peers prefer very large breasts.

.. Their own concept of the ideal size is considerably smaller (though --

surprise! -- men's ideal is larger than women's).

.. Yet those personal ideals are bigger than the statistically average breast

size. (The average American woman is 5'4 " , weighs 135, and wears a 36B bra.)

So, although we are unrealistic, we don't actually believe in Barbie. (If

Barbie were real, her measurements would be 36-18-33).

Size, in our culture, implies traits that couldn't possibly be dictated by

physiology: Big boobs shout sexy -- and dumb. Modest mounds say

intellectual, not sensual. Teenagers, especially, can feel tormented by very

large breasts (some girls say they never stand up straight) or agonize over

an A-minus (it's hard not to feel cheated when the bust is referred to as

your " endowment " ). Lucky is the girl whose size is currently in style.

It's fascinating that these handy baby feeders have gathered so much erotic,

artistic, political, commercial and psychological baggage. And we women have

to carry it!

Are you satisfied with your breast size? How important is the approval you

get -- or don't get -- because of your breast size?

BREASTS

Measurements

.. About 40,000 women a year get implants, at an average surgeon's fee (add

hospital and anesthesia bills) of $2,700.*

.. About 36,000 get breast reductions; average fee: $4,700.*

.. About 38,000 sets of implants are removed each year, 68% of which are

being replaced.*

.. American women buy well over 300,000,000 bras a year, at a total cost of

close to $3 billion.

.. 70% buy the wrong size or style bra for their bodies, according to a

Playtex survey.

About 40% of women have different-sized breasts; most of the variations are

minor. Any doctor can legally perform plastic surgery. But since breast

operations are trickier than liposuction, lifts or nose jobs, most patients

end up with a doctor who has completed a plastic surgery residency and whose

malpractice insurance therefore covers breast procedures. In other words,

the numbers of procedures -- from surveys of " real " plastic surgeons -- are

low, but probably not by more than 10%, according to doctors' estimates.

* Figures from the American Society of Plastic and

Reconstr uctive Surgeons.