Demand for breast enhancements have been growing since the late ’90s

Since 1997, surgery for breast enlargement (including breast lifts) has grown by 257%, reaching 432,403 patients in America in 2005, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Scott Spear, professor and chief of plastic surgery at Georgetown University in Washington, says that women were undeterred by health concerns over silicone implants and the fact that it was not covered by insurance.

“Breast operations are just part of a larger picture,” he says. “All types of plastic surgery were on the upswing during that period of time, partly because a surge in the economy means that people can afford the operations.”

In those days, you got breast implants to make a statement adds Dr. Roxanne Guy, a plastic surgeon in Melbourne, Fla. “It was like getting a tattoo or pierced eyebrow; women felt more empowered,” she said.

However, Dr. Diana Zuckerman, a psychologist and board member of the National Women’s Health Network, was not convinced. “In many cases”, she said, “they reflect an urge to conform to an image of sexiness defined by magazines and lingerie catalogues full of models with implants”.

We have a pathological desire to improve our self-image

Although this trend in surgical enhancement has drastically dropped, even in modern times, we are still bound together by insecurity, with an almost pathological will to “improve” our own self-image, says author and political photographer Zed Nelson.

“The worldwide pursuit of body improvement has become like a new religion,” he says. “Perhaps in the future generation, we will see a point in history where the abnormal will become normal, or at least normalised.”

“Globalisation hasn’t just given us Starbucks in Beijing and shopping malls in Africa,” he said. “It is also creating an eerily homogenised look.”

With  digital alteration becoming so accessible, anyone can create pictures of what we should look like

Author, psychologist and relationship counsellor Alisa Miller agrees that in recent times, with the increased accessibility of digital alteration of images, it is easy to see alteration done by both the media and public in almost every picture to create an idealistic image of what we ought to look like.

“We see digital enhancements in every billboard to the point that we think women in their underwear have bodies made of sleek, taut, fiberglass without an inch of flesh to spare, luminous eyes, flawless skin, legs which go on forever and breasts which defy gravity.”

“Even with Facebook’s stringent rules regarding nudity in photographs there is hardly a girl profile out there where you will not see its owner in her smalls (or without) or low-cut tops leaning into the camera for that bird’s-eye look to a girl’s cleavage.”

In many western countries, breasts are considered taboo

Author Maria Miller writes that in many western countries, a woman’s breasts are a taboo; they are supposed to be hidden and it is because of this that we are so obsessed by them to a point that is unhealthy.

“If young girls and boys continually see this propaganda without a balancing view of natural naked breasts, it is no wonder that women start seriously worrying about the size and shape of their own breasts and that men become conditioned to see breasts purely as objects of sexual arousal and play that automatically ‘clicks’ their brains to the ‘turn-on’ mode”, she said.

Nudity does not equal sexuality

“Naturists from all over the world always emphasise how sexuality does not equal nudity. Nudity is not sexually stimulating if the atmosphere and attitudes are non-sexual.”

“We have a vicious cycle on our hands: the less acceptable it is for women to feel more open about their breasts, the less people get to see the image of real breasts. At the same time media everywhere constantly tout the perverted view of female breasts, which makes people view them as purely sexual,” says Maria.

What type of breasts are acceptable?

It seems that is not only whether to see or not to see breasts we have issues dealing with,  we also have distorted views on what kind of breasts should be publicly seen.

In early 2010, Australia outrightly banned pornography featuring women with small breasts and (putting my prudishness aside) female ejaculation, claiming that such images encourage pedophilia. “This law is not only obscene, it’s insulting,” says adult industry blog Ms Naughty. “Not only does this encourage women to have breast augmentations, it characterises men who think small boobs are sexy as ‘perverts’.”

Recently this month, US television networks Fox and ABC were also publicly criticised for resisting to air a lingerie ad featuring busty plus-sized women claiming they showed too much cleavage.

The label of the lingerie ad Lane Bryant wrote on their blog “while it’s no secret that Victoria’s Secret ‘The Nakeds’ ads are prancing around on major networks leaving little to the imagination, our sultry siren who shows sophisticated sass is somehow deemed inappropriate. Does this smack of a double standard? Yep. It does to us, too.”

Real breasts are becoming fashionable

Although in the past the fashion industry has not been the prime role model for advocating a healthy body image, trends show that the times are changing.

“Boyish figures and clothes that ignore the female figure have long been all the rage among high-fashion designers,” reports fashion and culture website Tressugar. This last season we saw some (relatively) voluptuous catwalkers with brands as high up as Prada flaunting the natural curves of women. Disney Films also made headlines when recently starting their casting for the next Pirates of the Caribbean instalment with casting calls requesting that applicants “must have real breasts” so that they look real when they jiggle (although whether they are trying to actually promote a natural ideal or just want more ‘jiggly’ breasts is still up for debate). Young women of France, traditionally renowned for their summer topless sunbathing, have  also taken a more modest turn shunning the idea of public nudity saying that “the practice has become common, and therefore less compelling as a fashion”.

From the curvaceous, to the natural to the prude, the fashions of the breasts are in deed changing in all directions. What may be appropriate in one culture is never to be sure to be ok in another. What is important though, is that we keep an open mind and no matter big, small, or curvy, breasts will always be a beautiful organ in the female body.

Do you think making public nudity acceptable will change the way we look at bodies? Would men will still find breasts attractive if its association with sexuality was removed? Do women even find it offensive that breasts are objectified and instead find it empowering that they have power over a man through their breasts?

Advertising tells us who we should be

“Advertising tells us who we are, and who we should be in society,” says Jean Kilbourne, author, filmmaker and critique on issues surrounding women in advertising.

“Advertising is a statement of what it means to be a woman in today’s culture. This ideal image influences women’s self-esteem and also influences how men feel about the real women that they are with.”

Only 5% of women the ideal body depicted by the media

According to a research study by BBC’s Money programme, one in three women believe that media images portraying unrealistic, beautiful women make them feel overweight and unattractive.

According to Jean,  statistically only 5% of women have the body type most portrayed in the media - the only one seen as desirable and acceptable.

“This is genetic,” she says. “You cannot diet yourself into this body any more than you can make yourself taller. It is no wonder there is such terrible stress on young girls.”

Beauty products aren’t the only culprits

But beauty products aren’t the only culprits in having negative impacts on body image. From movies to music videos, women are being flooded with depictions of what is meant to the ideal shape.

Dr. Helga Dittmar, a psychologist at the University of Sussex, says music videos in particular have a very big influence on poor body image in young girls.

“Female models in music videos help to promote thinness as desirable – and are often depicted in ways that emphasise this physical ideal. Given that 12-19-year olds are by far the biggest consumers of such videos, now omnipresent in shops, clubs and in the home, through channels such as MTV, it is against this ideal that young girls come to measure themselves, often unfavourably, which can lead to body dissatisfaction and, in turn, unhealthy eating behaviours.”

Should other forms of media have restrictions?

If this is the case, then shouldn’t other types of media, such as music videos, too have some sort restrictions placed upon them? In Australia, a motion to individually rate music video with a PG or M rating is already in progress to highlight those videos with women being portrayed as sex objects during children’s viewing hours.

“It’s more than just sex (being suggested in music videos),” said South Australian MP Amanda Rishworth, also a trained psychologist. “It’s about the role women play in them.”

It’s more complicated than simply blaming the media

Although it is tempting to blame today’s media for perpetuating and glorifying unrealistic standards of physical beauty, the truth is far more complicated says researchers Dr Jennifer Derenne and Dr Eugene Beresin.

“Throughout history, the dominant cultural ideals have always shaped the public’s perception of the ideal female body type. However, today’s culture is unique in that the media (including television, Internet, movies, and print) have a far more powerful presence than ever before.”

In reality, “the standard of female beauty often has been unrealistic and difficult to attain throughout history.”

Banning of Tobacco Advertising

In a similar case, the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act was brought about in 1992 banning all tobacco advertising and sponsorships to stop youth smoking and reduce the health burden of tobacco use in Australia. The Cancer Council of Victoria argued that by prohibiting public promotion of tobacco, it will “reduce tobacco use in both the prevalence and initiation of smoking, and ‘denormalise’ tobacco products”. The tobacco industry argued back saying that they had the ‘freedom of speech’ protection to inform their clients about their products, their product was legal and therefore it should be legal to promote it and that the role of advertising in the tobacco industry was merely to sway customers to switch brands.

Education and parental behaviours a key role

Whether this will be the same story in the beauty industry is yet to be seen. However, Drs Jennifer and Eugene has this bit of insight:

“The media is a formidable force, and one that is not going to change easily. However, it is not the only culprit; parental behaviours and family values play an important role in shaping children’s development. The onus is on adults to find a way to harness media power for good instead of evil.”

Further Information
Jean Kilbourne’s talk on  Advertising’s Image Of Women entitled Killing Us Softly:
Killing Us Softly – Part 1
Killing Us Softly – Part 2
Killing Us Softly – Part 3
Killing Us Softly – Part 4
Killing Us Softly – Part 5

What are your thoughts?

Do you think banning beauty advertising will have an effect on women’s body image? Is it even possible to make a beauty ad that promotes healthy body image?