Breast Implants and the Quest for Beauty
Throughout the centuries, women have been looking for ways to
improve their appearance. As far back as ancient Egypt, women
have understood the power of looking their best. In the old days
women wore makeup, bleached their skin, dyed their hair, plucked
their eyebrows, painted their lips, cinched their waists,
starved themselves, fattened themselves up, stretched their
legs, and donned elaborate wigs.
If the technology for breast implants had been available to
women 1000 years ago, odds are many of them would have gone
under the knife. Thanks to modern technology, women have many
more options available to them for physical improvement. This
does not come without risks. While makeup can be washed off,
eyebrows can grow back, and weight can be gained or lost, there
is usually no way to reverse the results of plastic surgery.
Having breast augmentation surgery can give a woman increased
self-esteem and confidence if done well. However, if she is
unhappy with the results or there are complications, her life
can be turned upside down. Women are faced with many more
choices in these modern times and with those choices come risks.
Those are risks many women are willing to take in the name of
beauty. The desire for voluptious breasts often overrides the
risks involved in getting them. Japanese prostitutes injected
themselves with industrial silicone liquid in order to appeal to
American GIs. They had no qualms about experimenting on their
own bodies in the name of beauty, especially since beauty for
them meant survival.
Over the rest of the 20th century, breast augmentation
techniques improved and evolved, but even today there are often
complications involved in the surgery. Many women have opted to
have them removed after complications such as leakage or
deflation. Reality shows such as MTV's "I Want a Famous Face"
document the positive and negative aspects of plastic surgery.
Being aware of the negatives doesn't stop new generations of
women from getting breast implants or other plastic surgery.
Because the drive for perfection and beauty in our species is so
strong, it is certain that women (and men) continue to clamor
for plastic surgery as long as there are mirrors in which they
can judge themselves.