Bust Actress
I was considering breast implants until I read your column on the potential side-effects. Recently, I read that casting directors are seeking actresses without plastic surgery. Does this mark a new trend?
--Inherited My Dad's Rack
There were some stories about a Pirates of the Caribbean casting call for extras with breasts that came from Mother Nature instead of Dr. Finkelstein. A handful of casting directors then chimed in that plastic surgery is out. Of course, it's always been out for some (picture Meryl Streep and Judi Dench sitting around pondering, "To DDD or not to DDD...")
While this reported trend in looking natural seems part of the trend toward grass-fed beef, hemp lingerie, and "Hey, you crashed your Prius into my electric golf cart!" it's good to remember that there's a trend in the media to come up with trends. The truth is, the really scary women -- those who look like they couldn't get in to see Dr. Finkelstein so they booked Dr. Frankenstein instead -- are mostly found at Hollywood parties. (You don't see women going into the feed store in Montana with trout pouts.)
I'd say what's out everywhere is visible plastic surgery -- the kind that makes you notice the surgery instead of the girl. But, contrast those tiny little things who look like they had two rogue planets bolted to their ribcage with Kate Hudson, who recently went from pretty-well flat to a politely perky C. You'd really never know, but for the fact she's a movie star, not a salesclerk at JCPenney: "Breaking news...massive oil spill in the Gulf, and Kate Hudson has new boobs."
Boy, I don't know...chances are if you have actual, natural breasts you probably have an actual body to go with them as opposed to a famine-victim frame. I don't know if today's Hollywood is ready for that.
Pricklypear at June 22, 2010 4:56 PM
One casting call, widely reported...and suddenly we have a trend. Yeah, right.
Yes, I'm sure that lots of directors would love to cast actors who haven't had plastic surgery - provided you look exactly the way they want without it. If not, I suspect their fleeting interest will move on very quickly.
Amy is right though, the obvious surgery is what you want to avoid. Enhancement is fine, trying to completely change the way you look won't work.
Ltw at June 23, 2010 5:13 AM
Me and my guy friends realize that big boobs turn heads, but none of us like the way they feel.
Also we have found that most women who need fake boobs have some kind of emotional issues "low self-esteem" that you want to avoid.
Give me a confident woman with naturals any day.
David M. at June 23, 2010 6:59 AM
Can a woman witht he implants still breast feed and how does the baby like them (and not just the husband - as opposed to the "boy friend" who just wants to be seen escorting the results).
Sabba Hillel at June 23, 2010 7:46 AM
What level of cosmetic improvement is acceptable nearly always reflects convention, not necessarily wisdom. If indeed wisdom even applies to female vanity.
Color your hair? Okay, though not in Sante Fe.
Shave your legs? Yes, but not in the 1960-70s.
Armpits? Okay in USA, not Europe.
Girdle? Yes, but not for the last few decades.
Facial make-up? Unheard only a few decades back, now necessary.
Padded bra? Okay, sort of, push-up is better.
Contact lenses? Generally okay.
Laser removal of facial hair? Okay
Laser removal of varicose veins? Okay.
Neck rings to extend neck? No, except in northern Thailand, where it is okay.
Boob jobs? Okay in most circles.
Hair implants? Okay.
Tattoos? Good now, used to be bad.
High heels? Generally okay, but not too high.
Chemical peel on face? Generally okay.
Pierced ears? Good.
Toe nail polich? Good.
Fingernail polish/treatments? Necessary.
I don't know why boob jobs arouse such emotions. Sheesh, women alter, color and festoon nearly every square inch of their bodies. If a women was suffering from thin-hair baldness, whould anybody begrudge her implants? So why the poo-poo over breast implants?
Live and let live. In general, a well-done boob job enhances a woman's appearance. Who cares?
BOTU at June 23, 2010 9:20 AM
Actually, the casting calls for the new HBO Game of Throne series specifies no plastic surgery AND long hair, never been colored.
Omnibus Driver at June 23, 2010 12:22 PM
The circle of girls I hang out with, there are only two of us that have not went under the knife. I have absolutely no need for bigger ones and she has no money for them.
But 20-somethings lost in the rural mid-west are not known for being necessarily as trendy as women on either coast. (I am the exception...with a giggle at my narcissism)
Cat at June 23, 2010 12:38 PM
Chronic back pain, anyone? 'Nuf said.
Ms.Strange at June 23, 2010 3:31 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/ag-column-archives/2010/06/bust-actress.html#comment-1726161">comment from Ms.StrangeI don't know if the fakeuns are heavy like the real ones. If they're GINORMOUS, maybe.
Amy Alkon at June 23, 2010 3:41 PM
FWIW, I cocktailed in a strip club in college, and know lots of women with implants... both stippers AND socialite-types. Generally, with the non-strippers, I had no idea they were fake until they told me.
In my conversations with the ladies who've had it done, results vary. I know at least 3 who have had to have corrective surgery, and their original surgeons were very reputable. Some women lost sensitivity, but just as many claim that their nipples are much MORE sensitive than they were before.
I've actually done quite a bit of research, and will probably get implants after I have my tubes tied. (We have one child and will probably have a second within 5 years.) Most of the ladies who've got 'em were able to breast feed if they wanted to... but frankly, pregnancy and nursing are hard on boobs, whether they're fake or not. Mine don't look like pancakes or tube socks or anything like that, but I do miss my nice, perky boobs. I want silicone gel, over the muscle, big C's or small D's.
Anyway, I know that lots of guys claim that they don't like fake boobs, but from my observation, the strippers who made the most money were the skinny bitches with the big fake tits.
ahw at June 23, 2010 4:29 PM
I think people respond emotionally to implants and other procedures because of the surgery. Going under general in order to acheive a look strikes me as a little preoccupied. I would not condemn anyone for doing it, but I would know that they are probably not very deep. The women I've met who I know have had boob jobs are a bit on the shallow, neurotic side. The two exceptions to that are a friend who had post breast cancer reconstruction, and another friend who had a breast reduction on the advice of her doctor because her back was in constant pain. Speaking for myself, I have very small breasts and I dig them. I'd never want large breasts. Yuk.
Bridget at June 23, 2010 4:29 PM
I'll echo ahw's comment . . . when I worked in a strip club ages ago, I was always amazed by the guys who would go on about how they hated fake boobs, and then drool over the girls who weighed 98 pounds and looked like they had volleyballs stuck to their chests. "See those?" they'd say, "Those are beautiful natural breasts." I guess people see what they want to see . . .
anathema at June 23, 2010 5:02 PM
ahw:
I think most guys say that because they figure its what women want to hear, like somewhere they're deeper for preferring natural women and they're afraid they'll sound shallow if they admit they go for the Barbie treatment. Although it could also be some of them mean that they don't like the feel of fake tits - they're perfectly okay with throwing money at strippers with volleyballs for breasts since they don't have to deal with the unnatural way such breasts often feel, they just don't want to date chicks with similar chests.
Lauren at June 23, 2010 5:25 PM
If you wind up with watter ballon lines while on all fours you've gone too big, no matter what size they are
lujlp at June 23, 2010 6:09 PM
Yes, I'm sure that lots of directors would love to cast actors who haven't had plastic surgery - provided you look exactly the way they want without it.
That's a good point, Ltw. I think I mentioned something like that in the previous thread on this subject. The Pirates movie is not the first time this has happened. Casting directors want actors and extras who fit in with the movie. It would look ridiculous for a skinny woman to have huge fake breasts in a period movie. If they were setting a movie in a world of Amazons, I would not get to be an extra, seeing as how I'm only 5'1. If the movie were to be in a place populated with people who looked more like me, I'd have a better chance. That doesn't mean that there's all of a sudden a trend in hiring short, very fair, very British-looking people. Casting directors have been asking for natural breasts long before this sequel.
I think I mentioned this before, but I'm reminded of Suzanne Sugarbaker saying she thought it was racist that someone wouldn't hire Dustin Hoffman to play Martin Luther King if he was the best actor for the part. If there's any sort of specificity in a role, you do have to look the part.
NumberSix at June 23, 2010 10:52 PM
"I know that lots of guys claim that they don't like fake boobs, but from my observation, the strippers who made the most money were the skinny bitches with the big fake tits."
But there's a difference between what's nice to look at from a stageside chair, and what's nice to fondle.
Treadwell at June 24, 2010 7:46 AM
The thing is...when you see a really bad boob job, you think "wow, that's a really bad boob job." When you see a really good boob job, you think, "wow, she has really nice boobs." You probably don't even register them as being fake. This is likely why most guys think and say that they don't like boob jobs-they're only thinking about the obvious, unnatural, and bad examples. Same reason that guys say that they don't like women wearing makeup-they're thinking clown makeup, not makeup so well applied that you don't notice it's there.
Shannon at June 24, 2010 3:52 PM
I always laugh when I hear men say they don't like their women to wear makeup. Most of the time, they don't like no makeup, they like the no makeup look. There's a wide range in between no makeup and showgirl makeup, as there is with breasts, I imagine. I've known a few women with enhanced breasts that I didn't know had them enhanced until they told me. They just had nice figures. I've also known a few women with breasts I could spot as fake from a hundred yards away out of the corner of my eye in San Fransisco fog.
NumberSix at June 24, 2010 8:26 PM
And then there are men and women who like the big fake boobs look.
ErikZ at June 25, 2010 3:55 PM
Women whose makeup looks like it was applied with a black Magic Marker tend to have equally-jarring boobs. Maybe it's intentional.
Steve H at June 27, 2010 9:50 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/ag-column-archives/2010/06/bust-actress.html#comment-1727292">comment from Steve HFunny, Steve H.
Amy Alkon at June 27, 2010 9:57 AM
Giant boobs are like a car with a super loud stereo,forces you to look,grabs your attention,even if you hate that music.According to me:balance is everything,boobs shouldn't project forward more than butt sticks out rearward.I really,really HATE silicon tits.
kermitt at July 3, 2010 5:09 PM
Absolutely the best boob job I ever saw (admittedly a small sample) was a reduction: fortyish woman, tired of backaches, traded in DD's for a pair of extremely well-crafted C's - and shortly thereafter, married a guy in his twenties. Still together, I am told.
CGHill at July 4, 2010 9:59 PM
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