Because they don't have much self-esteem to begin with to resort to this. Why didn't the study delve more into the status of their self-esteem before the procedure? And yes Carol I whole-heartedly agree with you that 3 months is too short of a time to be conducting surveys on the procedure. I'm inclined to think that was purposely done so that results ran a greater chance of being more in favor of breast implants. Btw, every single woman that I've known who's done this procedure had self-esteem and image issues and I've lived in Florida where this procedure is typical. Thankfully, I now live in Canada where boobs come in all shapes and sizes and augmented big breasts are not a status of beauty in mainstream culture here (an irony of some sort considering that Pamela Anderson is Canadian and not that celebrated of a celebrity here). The most shocking viewpoint I found in women who had implants way back in my Florida days was that many of them held the belief that women were "jealous" of their boobs. Such a sad, pitiable belief to resort to. There is nothing that they have that any other woman can't have.

Specifically, what about people who get gender reassignment surgery (GRS)? I'd bet a lot of the people who disapprove of breast implants support people getting GRS. To me though they seem somewhat similar.

In the case of breast implants, someone modifies their body to match society's idea of what an attractive woman looks like, rather than just deciding to reject the conventional standard if it doesn't match who they are.

In the case of GRS, someone feels like their own personality more closely matches society's standard for the opposite gender. Instead of deciding that society's gender roles are just too narrow and rejecting them, they decide they need to modify their body so that their personality and physical form match up according to society's standards.

Both cases seem sad to me. It seems more healthy to me to be able to reject societal standards when you realize they don't match up with reality. However if I'm to accept that people who feel uncomfortable about their gender role are entitled to an operation to "fix" the problem, then I don't see how it's any different for someone who feels uncomfortable about their breast size.

Let me say that, from my experience, cosmetic surgery *can* boost self-esteem. One friend of mine got a nose job. Nothing too extreme—she just had a bump that she didn't care for removed. Another friend of mine recently got breast augmentation that I personally thought was unnecessary (she was a natural C and went up to a D), but she absolutely loves her new girls and, when compared to my natural D ladies, I totally understand why.

Both of these women didn't –need- any of these surgeries (by the difficult standards portrayed in the media) to be beautiful—they were both knockouts before hand, but they were personally unhappy with the little bump or nature's effects on heavy breasts despite what others said to the contrary of their opinions. I have natural Ds but at 25, I'm already seeing nature's effects and know that I will eventually want to undergo some procedure to maintain the bouncy youth of my cherished bosom (and everyone I talk to about this says I'm nuts because they just don't feel what I feel about myself and want me to look the way *I* want to look for *me*.)

The point is that both of these women are very happy with their new and "improved" parts and they did it for no one other than themselves. Because they are happy with the results, they're just a tiny bit happier and more confident about themselves.

Moral of the story: not everyone who gets plastic surgery does it because society has pressured them into it. Sometimes (I'd wager to say most times) women get plastic surgery for themselves; because modern medicine has made these procedures safe, effective, and in most cases affordable enough to serve such common-place vanities.

There is a danger in making steadfast traditional feminist ideology the new "ideal" women have to adhere to. Should a woman not undergo breast augmentation simply because to do so would strip her of feminist cred? Would it make her a sellout? Should she feel bad about it?

I do agree that women - and to a far lesser but still alarming degree, men - are under a lot of pressure to conform to a nonsensical bodily ideal. I hate the thought of people getting so wrapped up in that bad cultural undertow that it moves them to alter themselves simply to escape the misery of being outside the ideal. At the same time, I think we ought to recognize that there may be perfectly good and acceptable motivations for altering oneself.

If a mature and emotionally together flat-chested woman goes out and gets augmented to a B-cup because wants to be able to shop off the rack and have her clothes fit better, I'm not going to knock it, nor am I going to pretend that she's some kind of horrible victim of society's misogynistic bullshit.

I wonder if lesbians get boob jobs - and does it corelate to the rate that heterosexual women get the inserts?

If implants do indeed make women happier about themselves, in and of themself, then I would expect that straight and gay women would seek implants at the same rate.

If implants are more the realm of straight women, well then, I would say that society has implied that boobs that don't look like the women in the magasines (presented mostly as straight women) are defective. And the real reason that women seek boob jobs, is not so much that they want to do it for "themselves" as much as they need to do it to comply with the expected image of a woman wants male attention.

Women get boob jobs because they believe men will want them more and women will envy them more. This is not self-esteem. This is other directed esteem. Self esteem is exactly that - you esteem yourself, unconditionally, as you are, finding intrinsic value and worth.

There is nothing intrinsic about fake books. It's about as extrinsic as you can get. And I have yet to meet a single woman with a breast job who didn't undergo a radical post-operative transformation of her wardrobe - clothes becoming much tighter and more revealing. They then bask in both the positive attention (he wants me!) and the negative attention (she's jealous because he wants me!). It's ridiculous to think of this as boosted self-esteem, when it's entirely bestowed by the perceived or actual increased attention and approval of others.