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The Lowdown on Breast Enlargement

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Why are we obsessed with breasts?

"They're real ... and they're spectacular!" — my favorite line from what may be one of the best half-hour episodes in sitcom history. It was season 4, episode 19, and aired on Februrary 25, 1993.

Jerry (Seinfeld) is interested in Cidra (played by Teri Hatcher), but is afraid her breasts might not be real. Apparently, this is a deal-breaker for him, so he sends his friend Elaine into the locker room at the gym to try to find out the truth. Elaine thinks they're fake too, until she (accidentally) gets a handful and decides they're real. When Cidra eventually uncovers the ugly truth about their plot, she breaks up with Jerry and makes her "spectacular" pronouncement.

This blog is no easy task. Writing about breasts, especially breast augmentation, in the region of the country where it seems it’s the norm, is not for the weak hearted. No, it takes a strong, confident writer to tackle this topic. We’ll see if I’m up for the task. After all, there were 355,671 breast augmentation procedures performed last year according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and that’s a lot of people I don’t want to offend.

Breast augmentation is most popular in the Mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming) and Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington), with 36 percent of cosmetic surgery patients in those states undergoing breast augmentation. Breast augmentation in the South Central, North Central, and New England/Middle Atlantic regions accounts for 17 percent, 15 percent, and 13 percent of cosmetic surgery procedures, respectively.

What is it about large breasts that captivate so much attention? Rita Rudner noted, “Some people think having large breasts makes a woman stupid. Actually, it’s quite the opposite: A woman having large breasts makes MEN stupid!”

Women have long complained that their faces are often the last thing men look at. Remember Seinfeld’s line, “Looking at cleavage is like looking at the sun. It’s too risky. You don’t stare at it, you get a sense of it and look away”? Men listen to Jerry’s advice, but it seems breasts are still the first body parts they “get a sense of.”

A scientific study has proved women right. Researchers have found that nearly 50 percent of men first glance at a woman’s chest. A third of the so-called “first fixations” are on their waist and hips, while fewer than 20 percent look at the face. But not only are breasts often the first thing men “get a sense of,” they stare at them for longer than any other body part, according to the researchers. Guess it’s not as blinding as the sun for some.

Until very recently, it was a mystery to evolutionary psychologists why men prefer women with large breasts, since the size of a woman's breasts has no relationship to her ability to lactate. But Harvard anthropologist Frank Marlowe contends that larger, and hence heavier, breasts sag more conspicuously with age than do smaller breasts. Thus they make it easier for men to judge a woman's age (and her reproductive value) by sight — suggesting why men find women with large breasts more attractive.

Alternatively, men may prefer women with large breasts for the same reason they prefer women with small waists. A new study of Polish women shows that women with large breasts and tight waists have the greatest fecundity, indicated by their levels of two reproductive hormones (estradiol and progesterone).

“Nonsense,” says one FBF (duh, that’s “Facebook friend”), “they are nothing but inflatable toys for men who have been bombarded by the porn industry and childishly believe breasts are toys.” She goes on to theorize, “Large, enhanced breasts represent everything that is immediate, instant and now, with absolutely no thought about consequences. It looks good now; it looks healthy and vibrant now. Reproduction is no longer an objective. Sex is.” Whew.

Other FBFs commented, “I am happy with who I am inside and out and don’t feel the need for any addition enhancements to make me happy or to encourage attention from others.” “I’m in the minority of not having them ... each to their own.” “Breastfeed babies and then you’ll understand.” And my favorite, “The Mantell girls never needed them!!! LOL!”

It appears that the average cup size has grown from a B cup to a whopping C cup, but why do women go under the knife to increase their size to even beyond that? Here are some of the most common reasons:
• To feel good about their appearance.
• To boost their self-esteem and confidence.
• To be the desire of most men.

Cosmetic surgery patients do not have a poorer overall self-image, nor are they more self-critical and preoccupied with appearance than other individuals. Instead, it appears to be a significant dissatisfaction with a specific body part that serves as the motivation for surgery — not a poorer overall body image.

The female breast is one of the prime symbols of femininity, motherhood and sensuality. A woman views her breasts as a vital component of her gender identity and generally treasures them above other body parts. However, women are also notoriously critical of their bodies and might be especially judgmental of their breasts. Many women are unhappy not with themselves, as research suggests, but with the size, shape, placement or symmetry of their breasts.

The story of breast augmentation began in 1890, when Austrian doctor Robert Gersuny kicked things off by injecting paraffin into women’s chests. The results looked fine for a while, but over time grew hard and lumpy. With infection rates alarmingly high, the procedure had been totally abandoned by the 1920s, replaced by transplanting fatty tissue from the abdomen and buttocks to the breasts. As the body reabsorbed this fat, asymmetrical breasts and unsightly scars resulted.

Still, America worshipped the “well-endowed” woman, and Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner and Lana Turner only solidified the gravity-defying bombshell-shaped breast as the de rigueur look of the ’40s and’50s. From bra stuffing and various types of synthetic and polyvinyl sponge implants to ivory balls, wool or ox cartilage, women tried everything. And then in 1961 Dow Corning came along with its silicone breast prosthetic, and even more currently, saline sacs to entice girls as young as 16 to want to augment their natural beauty.

“No one who has seen a baby sinking back satiated from the breast and falling asleep with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile can escape the reflection that this picture persists as a prototype of the expression of sexual satisfaction in later life.” So said Sigmund Freud. Maybe in the end, that’s all it really is.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Mantell has successfully been bringing upbeat, friendly and helpful psychological insights to individuals, families and businesses in San Diego as a clinical and corporate psychologist in private practice. He's been a regular on Good Morning America, KFMB-TV News 8, has appeared on Oprah, Larry King Live, the Today show, authored two best-selling books and speaks regularly for audiences throughout the country. He can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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