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Roses, Teddy Bears and Boobs?

Written by Susan Tallant

Tuesday, 05 February 2008 06:49 PM

Have we stooped to a new low in Valentine’s Day advertising? After reading an ad touting breast implants as “eye candy for your sweetheart,” I believe so. The obvious reason the ad is appalling? It’s sexist. Here we go again. Society dictates women should look like Barbie, so we try our best to mirror her. And frankly, that’s hard to do. The average size woman is 14. According to the Media Awareness Network, a non-profit organization that develops media literacy programs, Barbie is a size four with FF breasts. Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie doll proportions found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition, according to MNet’s Web site. But beyond the sex, for a medical practitioner to condone getting them as a gift is unprofessional. And who’s giving the gift, the one who will enjoy the eye candy or the one having the surgery? For most women, receiving a gift certificate to a plastic surgeon’s office would infuriate them. One friend said if her husband offered such a gift she would first be hurt, and then mad. Then she would punch his lights out. I’d probably do the same thing. I’m not anti-cosmetic surgery. But an ad like this one trivializes the surgery. And with any kind of surgery, there are serious risks involved. For starters, women can expect at least one complication within the first three years after breast implant surgery and 40 percent of reconstruction patients can expect to have additional surgery within the first three years, according to the National Research Center for Women and Families. The Food and Drug Administration states because of complications such as rupture, scar tissue or infections, many patients have their implants removed. Upon removal, patients could experience unacceptable dimpling, puckering, wrinkling, breast tissue loss, or other undesirable cosmetic changes of the breasts. Thanks for the suggestion, Doc. But I prefer my hubby’s usual Valentine’s Day treats — a cute little bear, a beautiful bouquet of flowers and, of course, chocolates. —­Susan Tallant is a journalism junior and columnist for The Shorthorn Views: 1875 | E-mail   Comments (3)  1  Thank you! Written by Rogene , on 02-06-2008 15:43 Thanks for one of the best articles I've seen about breast implants! Women are not told about the downside of implants. . . not the multiple surgeries . .. the expense . .. the health problems . . . or the possibility they may harm their future children.    Implants are marketed like cosmetic devices. They are far from that. They are a life-changing decision - that may not turn out to have a "happy ever after ending".     If you'll visit SalineSupport . . . or it's sister group, SiliconeKids, you'll get the true picture! Report Abuse  2  Written by Robert Whiddon, on 02-06-2008 21:03 Good story and thoughtful comments from Rogene. I think cosmetic surgery could fall under the general category of "impulsive decisions one might regret later." (I would include tattoos in a similar category as well, substituting the word "will" for "might.")     Getting a boob job is not automatically a bad idea, but IMO, you should be aware of all the potential problems and give it a lot of thought before letting anyone cut on your body. And I would not presume to surprise someone with a "gift" of plastic surgery. How vulgar! Report Abuse  3  Written by kerry, on 02-07-2008 07:08 Its very ...AWSOME to hear a report done on the downside of breast implants!THANK YOU!!!I almost died from breast implants, and they harmed my daughter w trace amount of platnium in her urine test.ALOT of people, women have no idea why they are sick, tired,dry eyes,hair loss, I could go on and on ,much deeper,but the medical community, not all, state to the patient its no way your breast implants!it must be some rare infectionous desease,or maybe lukemia,? 100 percent it was my breast implants and after having them removed i came out of anaphlactic shock!my feet and ankles swelled 3 full shoe sizes.im very lucky to be here today!!!!!!!The 37 chemicals in ALL breast implants, you would not drink!the silicone leaked outside the scar tissue(the capsule) and was on my arotic arch and on my lungs!ITS NOT WORTH THE PAIN Report Abuse Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com All right reserved

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 March 2008 02:39 PM )

 

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