Well, if I got breast cancer, I'd probably pursue breast reconstruction--which might include implants, but I'd get saline, not silicone due to the health risks. Breast implants help transgender people become on the outside who they really are on the inside and they can help breast cancer survivors. It is important to remember that not all cosmetic surgery is "optional" but in some ways, life-saving--quality of life saving. Lets have some compassion.

Heather

Regardless of the politics, the whole silicone ban doesn't seem to have much scientific basis to it.

"Regardless of the politics, the whole silicone ban doesn't seem to have much scientific basis to it."

That's true.

From what I know, there have been no reputable scientific studies proving a health risk from silicone implants.

Many medical groups around the world have stated that there is no evidence of health risks, and some have flat out denied any connection at all.

Yet many women have been awarded damages against companies that manufacture silicone implants.

How is that right?

RM:

If you know of studies refuting the FDA's rupture studies, I'd like to know about them. The majority of silicone breast implants rupture within 10 years, and about 20% of women end up with uncorrectable silicone gel migration.

"If you know of studies refuting the FDA's rupture studies, I'd like to know about them."

I don't know of any such study.

But I do know that studies have been unable to show a link between these ruptures and the health problems that women were awarded damages for.

I have no problem with women winning lawsuits pertaining to ruptured implants.

But I do have a problem when they win lawsuits about the health problems associated with the ruptures when there is no proof that they caused the health problems.

Shouldn't you have to prove your case in order to prevail in court?

rm, these studies say rupturing and leaking are a huge problem.

"Breast implants help transgender people become on the outside who they really are on the inside"

Because feeling like a woman is all about having breasts!!!

What's sad is the fact that y'all are attacking these women for their "choices" instead of attacking the society that makes women feel like they have to have big breasts (or breasts at all) in order to be a 'real' woman (or trans-woman).

Chem_fem's comment is particularly offensive because it lacks understanding that, for trannies, there is a great emphasis on the body and one's outward expression/appearance of sex and gender. And the same goes for women who have mastectomies. So yes, sometimes feeling like a woman is about having breasts.

If you're gonna hate, hate on the institutions, not on individual women.

sassylee, if you read what jessica posted...or actually just go and read it now cuz its obvious you didnt.

now...whose attacking the women?

its really weird how true it is that people only hear what they want to hear. now people only read what they want to read!

im in a bad mood today

Sassylee if it is our evil culture that makes women feel like they need breasts (or even better big breasts) to be women then why is it offensive to say that what you look like physically is not a big deal.
If a trans-sexual feels so much like a woman on the inside then why do they need to look like a 'super' woman on the outside?

The fact is many women don't have much in the way of breasts I find it offensive that they are 'less' female somehow.

Chop of my hair, chop off my breasts but I'm still a woman.

"The fact is many women don't have much in the way of breasts I find it offensive that they are 'less' female somehow." Yep. Thank you for that cuz I am one of those small breasted women who's been sometimes made to feel like she's less of a woman.

yep it definatly is a lose lose situation. having large breasts, some people have told me that somehow makes me less of a feminist. and for some reason random guys on the street think that i grew them just so they could harrass me.

There is a big difference between those who require recostructive surgery following a mastectomy and the complaints of the itty-bitty-titty-committee that seems to be offended by my comments regarding transgender individuals (trannies ladies? Can we show some class?).
Listen, it doesn't make you "less of a woman" to wear an A-cup or no-cup, but regardless of the over-arching infrastructure of patriachial oppression, the fact that we can help reconstruct or construct in the first place secondary sexual characteristics of the female body for those in need IS (in my humble opinion) a good thing.
If a man got esphogal cancer and it spread to his jaw and had to have his lower jaw bone removed and then there were replacement options, there wouldn't be any arguement on this or any other website about the "essentialism" of this act. But, because this is about the breast, a sexualized feature of general female anatomy, we and others are quick to equate reconstruction with bowing down to patriarchal constructions of gender and sexuality. This is very sad because denies the breast non-sexual or even sex-positive status. Women are not their breasts--they aren't rendered non-women when they lose their breasts (unless they want to reconstruct their bodies into masculine forms and therefore take on that identity). Breasts are not always about pleasing others--so a little less judgement and bitterness toward others who have to make these choices.

Heather

i got what you said heather, i just dont really know what the confusion is. a masectomy and then a breast replacement is a medically necessary surgery (or i think so cuz...shit im a woman and part of that is having breast tissue) just like i dunno, replacing a hip or something. granted you dont NEED breasts to live but i dont really consider them expendable (its apart of my body for chrissake!)

cosmetic breast implants are a totally diffrent ballpark

what elektrodot said....

Also while having the option of having breats reconstructed is a great thing, I would also want to draw a distinction that many women don't want to have them reconstructed and putting such a large emphasis (not saying you did rather there is in general) on the need to do so is not positive. I wouldn't replace mine if I was unfortunate to suffer breast cancer.

i've got to say, that before i got breast cancer myself, i thought implants were deplorable. staring down the barrel of a future mastectomy has certainly changed my opinion.

i realize that breast reconstruction can be considered an entirely different animal than purely "cosmetic" breast augmentation, however the truth is regarless of the reason, it is a cosmetic procedure. the technology behind it is the same, unless it's a very involoved natural reconstruction. if the possibility of breast augmentation exists, who am i to regulate how it's used? implants are only okay for breast cancer survivors? i may not think that getting one's perfectly fine, but small breasts augmented is a good idea, but i don't have to live in anyone else's skin either.

is it really just a cosmetic precedure in either respect though? small boobs or big ones if you are a woman they are part of your body, not just asthetically. just because your not gonna die or even be worse off with out them (not socially speaking tho) it just feels wrong to me to say even after a masectomy it trully is for cosmetic reasons that women get the replacement implants.

because breasts aren't medically necessary breast reconstruction/augmentation fits the very definition of cosmetic surgery.

before i ever got breast cancer i thought for sure that if i ever neeeded a mastectomy i wouldn't consider reconstruction because i don't need breasts to live, they're not necessary, etc. but when my radiologist asked me if i'd consider a mastectomy (it's not absoultely necessary for me at the moment but might be a good idea) i said not unless i absolutely had to - and then i wanted implants. it was a firm snap decision, and one that was radically different from the one i anticipated i'd make in that situation. so i feel like breasts are a necessary part of me, but in reality, because a reconstructed breast can't function as a natural breast, it's a cosmetic procedure. i'd get them to make me feel better. i think one can argue that it's a psychological necessity (note the 1998 Federal Breast Reconstruction Law), but not a medical one.

I dislike the idea of patronizing women to the extent of telling them that we won't allow them to make a medical/cosmetic decision (saline v. silicone). Considering that saline implants are on the market, there's little reason to throw a fit over silicone.

Women dye their hair; both men and women get waxed; laser hair removal is becoming quite popular. No one throws a fit over that... so why get upset over implants?

While I really deplore how our society sexualizes breasts, I cannot criticize women who choose this route. There was something about having a lumpectomy as a teenager (with subsequent scarring & assymetries) that makes me understand how self-conscious women can feel. Given that, why not allow women to have medically acceptable options?

in regards to what moose said, i know that boobs arent medically necessary (im pretty sure i mentioned it) but that i just didnt feel comfortable with the way people acted like they were expendable or something. the phsycological thing was what i was getting at (but without the link...thanks!)

elektrodot - i completely agree, but i have to admit that i think i would have felt like breasts were far more expendable until i was faced with the prospect of needing them removed.

elektrodot - you know, it's funny, because just the other day, I was asked by this girl- "Uh, what exactly is feminist about the way you present yourself?" and when I asked her what she meant, she said "well, you're pretty, you have boobs..." I nearly started throwing things, let me tell you. Now- I have to say, considering my own back problems, issues with trying to buy clothes that fit right- and major irritation with not being taken seriously, it's often hard for me to understand why anyone would want fake boobs (if they already have some to begin with). But at the same time, I hate the idea of telling anyone what to do with their bodies. I think that, with all the information out there about the risks of silicone, women can clearly make educated decisions about what's best for them- and hopefully they'll keep coming up with safer techniques in the meantime.

Well said MissRobyn.

I'm just aware of a 'raising' of the bar with what is considered an acceptable minimum of the female appearance.

Wouldn't it suck if cosmetic surgery was as expected of for women as having your hair cut or shaving your legs.

the depressing part is in some ways, thats becoming true chem fem. having done nude photography, people are like, surprised that my boobs arent resting on my clavicles..i then explain, um well im a natural c cup so...i have the normal human form (which is of course looked down upon) for a woman with out breast implants. so in that line of work if you have little boobs your okay (and actually given the "classier" jobs in my opinion) and if you have big ones they better be fake...unless your doing some big boob fetish thing of course.

I can't say I'm thrilled about the news one way or the other. After living in Florida for 6 years and being bombarded by the sight of breast implants (always extremely large) all over the place, it is disheartening. There was a direct relationship between beauty and big breasts and as someone with small breasts it made me feel uncomfortable. What I did find interesting was that the few women who got implants for reconstructive reasons (as opposed to the MANY who got them for aesthetic reasons) they would get them very large. Truth be told, they did not look natural and most just seemed to believe the Barbie-look was the way to beauty. I think the mere popularity of implants does have a lot to do with self-esteem. It'd be interesting to see a study on that. As for me, well I live in Canada now where I don't get the "bigger breasts are always beautiful" ideal... refreshing for a change I must say. That's my 2 cents on the whole topic.

I use silicone to fill the rust holes in the roof of my truck.

I think it is important to note that the silcone implants they are now using are not the same ones that they used years ago. Changes have been made to them to prevent some of the problems seen in the past. These newer types have been used successfully in the past several years as corrective implantation (ie, breast reconstruction, breast asymmetry).

I do think it is sad though that many women feel they MUST have larger breasts to be accepted. Honestly, they are nothing but trouble... shirts fit poorly and forget anything with buttons. And the stress on your back is awful. I can't wait for the day I am out of graduate school and in a job with insurance... then it is breast reduction time!

I'm a transsexual and I have had a fair bit of work done including a breast augmentation with silicone implants. The new generation implants like the ones I have use a cohesive silicone gel filling that can't leak out. My surgeon had an implant that he had cut in half that he showed me when I went in for my pre-op assessment. The filling is very malliable but not liquid.

As for why I did it, It was about altering my body so that it is right for me. I'm definitely not doing anything for other people.

It's very wrong if people feel that they have to have surgery to live up to societies arbitrary standards, but at the same time it's important in a free society to respect peoples choices. I don't understand women who want to be larger than a C cup but I wouldn't think less of a person for doing it.

elektrodot- actually it was Samhita that posted this piece, but i won't hold that little slip against you. ;) i hope your day and mood is better today.

Chem- i never said our culture was evil, just influential... and sometimes that influence has negative consequences.

i think it's important for all of us to realize that we each do things to feel more 'like a woman' and not belittle each other for the choices that we make. demonizing individual women for their choices won't create systemic change. it will, however, create divisions among women.

breast implants are not inherently 'good' or 'bad' and we shouldn't act as though one who makes the decision to get breast implants (for whatever reason - cosmetic, reconstructive, or otherwise) is inferior/weak or that one who eschews societal expectations and proudly goes about life with small or no breasts is somehow the stronger/superior woman. a more interesting path (in my opinion) is where one accepts the decisions that others make without the value judgements.

sassylee,

I am not gonna say that a woman who gets (cosmetic) breast implants is inferior. To me feminism is not exactly a blueprint. But, there are those who follow trends set by (patriarchal) society and there are those who don’t; I think there is something to be said for them, at least that they think critically and act boldly. So yes, there is a judgment to be made. I am not sure I would call it a “moral� judgment though. I shave my legs but when I see women who walk around with hairy legs I think of them as bolder than me and less bound by conventions. It doesn’t mean that I am week or stupid or should fell inferior.

“a more interesting path (in my opinion) is where one accepts the decisions that others make without the value judgements.� Yep. It’s called choice feminism.