Continued: Boys On Boob Jobs
Talk to me, boys. Doing a little research for the ole column -- the kind that I can't get out of some wonky journal.
The question: What do you think of a girl with surgically installed pontoons?
1. At first, from afar, when you just see that they're bigguns? (In other words, you just notice that they're big, and aren't close enough to see whether they're factory installed or aftermarket.)2. When you're talking to a woman in a bar and you're sure or pretty sure they're fake'uns?
3. When you're fooling around with a woman: How do they feel?
Girls can feel free to respond, too. Even better if you're a girl who's into girls. Or even a retired lesbohemian.
1. Doesn't really register on me. I don't find large breasts, in and of themselves, especially attractive (I'm not saying that I can't find women with large breasts attractive, just that I don't fetishize breast size). If I had to choose, I'd say that I find a somewhat flat chest more appealing.
2. I think she's probably a superficial idiot (women who've had reconstructive surgery obviously excepted, but that probably wouldn't be so noticeable).
3. I haven't had that much experience. There was one woman I knew well enough to know how her breasts felt, but she fell into the reconstructive surgery category. One was real, the other wasn't. The difference to the touch was quite perceptible.
Larry McKenna at April 9, 2008 12:42 PM
1) Curious but trying not to stare at them to conspicuously.
2) Might be fun for the night beyond I'd have to know what her motivations for getting them are before I judge one way or the other.
3) Never felt fake one.
vlad at April 9, 2008 12:50 PM
1. They definitly catch the eye.
2. I wonder if some schmuck bought them for her, and she dumped him, or wether she bought them for her own self image reasons. If the former, I am out, does not matter if she tries to rip my clothes off. If she bought them because she wanted to feel better about herself, then you go girl.
3. They definitly feel too hard, like you dont want to squeeze or you may break em. With the real thing, there is none of that concern....and the feedback on sensitivity is quick and clear from women with real breasts. You know right away wether thats a zone to pay attention to or go elsewhere. Fake you have no idea, and women who have them seem, to me at least, think they need to over compensate in that area because well they spent the money, it must be for more then eye candy right??
Jim at April 9, 2008 1:17 PM
1&2: No difference from natural ones. I'm checking them out if they look good regardless of size. I don't judge a woman as superficial for getting them. I'm kind of with Larry though. I don't have a size preference so all else being equal I'd prefer a natural look especially if the women's past her mid 30s or so. A 40-something woman with a super-perky rack looks more silly than sexy.
3: Only one pair to go on. Firm, but not unnaturally so.
SeanH at April 9, 2008 1:50 PM
1. Attention grabbers -- just like real ones.
2. Fake pontoons look best under clothes. A garish display makes the woman seem insecure and tawdry. Obviously fake, inflated boobs have all the charm of the front end of a '56 Buick. Think "attention whore."
3. No thanks! Too big, too firm, no nipple sensitivity (usually) all is a big turn-off. At the end of the day, nipples are more interesting and sexy than just big feed bags. Give me small and natural over big and fake every time!
Jay R at April 9, 2008 2:26 PM
My previous girlfriend had them installed, and for her they were perfect. She's muscular, wide in the trunk, tiny waist, but small-chested. The implants gave her appropriate proportions.
As to feel, well, everyone else I've been with has been naturally ample and the firmness of her implants was disconcerting at first.
But I got used to them. Fast.
O ma oui, did I ever!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 9, 2008 2:28 PM
I enjoy the low self-esteem they indicate.
Jim Treacher at April 9, 2008 2:29 PM
Oh, sorry, I skipped the questionnaire.
(1) From afar: "Wow. Nice rack!"
(2) From close up: "Wow. Shiny hair, pretty eyes! Keep looking at her face. Keep looking at her face."
(3) Hands on: "Hmmm. Firm. Very firm. Is she feeling this? How about this? How about THIS?"
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 9, 2008 2:32 PM
- Probably attract attention
- A turn-off.
- No direct experience.
.Ron at April 9, 2008 2:54 PM
Thanks - really appreciate this. Keep 'em coming.
Anybody got any experience on silicone versus saline for the hardness factor?
Gog, interesting that you say you got used to the firmness fast. So, you weren't bothered by it after a while? And do you know if they were silicone or saline?
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2008 3:14 PM
Jim, *snork!* One time I was on a bike ride with a group of people where we rode through a town with a women's correctional facility. One of the guys in the group got all excited, saying it was great to go through a town with a substantial population of women with low self-esteem who had a history of making bad decisions. Yes, I laughed. I took it as self-deprecating humor, not a slam on women.
A friend of mine got fake boobs, and I thought they looked great. (Haven't seen her in a few years, so I don't know what effect having two kids had.) She is six feet tall and skinny as a rail, but was totally flat-chested. She got between a C and a D cup size, and her surgeon did a very nice job of making them look real, and they were proportionate to her height. She let me squeeze one, and they definitely felt harder than natural boobs. I don't think she had low self-esteem, but maybe had an inflated sense of the importance men place on breast size. She viewed her flat chest as unattractive.
1. From afar, you couldn't tell she had fake ones.
2. From up close, they looked full-sized, but you still couldn't tell they were fake. (She still dressed the same way she did before, which wasn't the least bit tawdry.)
3. Feeling them, then you could tell. I'm not into women, so there was no turn-on factor to consider.
She said one time she was making out with a new boyfriend, and he could tell, so he asked her what had made her decide to enhance herself. They talked about it, and then I don't think it was ever an issue. He wasn't turned off by it - more like curious because he had never been with someone who had fake ones before.
Pirate Jo at April 9, 2008 3:36 PM
"Gog, interesting that you say you got used to the firmness fast. So, you weren't bothered by it after a while? And do you know if they were silicone or saline?"
Not bothered, just curious at first about the firmness.
She was really self-conscious due to some scarring, which was a great excuse for me to blow bundles of cash on her at various lingerie stores. "No, really, I only want you to squeeze into this to help you feel better about yourself."
It took some hands-on field work to figure out her sensitivity/manhandling levels, but that's okay. Anything for science.
I never asked if they were silicone or saline. They passed the taste test for three and a half years.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 9, 2008 3:37 PM
Whoops, just reminded me, Pirate Jo, shoulda asked girls who have 'em about loss of sensitivity. Nipple and otherwise. Or if any of you boys have any reports.
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2008 3:39 PM
1) From across the room, they may or may not catch my eye. I'm with the several other guys who say that breast size is not NEARLY as important to attractiveness as some people seem to believe.
2) When I get closer and they seem likely to be fake: A definite turn-off. Not a deal-breaker if I am otherwise attracted and interested, but a definite turn-off. (Back when I was younger and more of a horn-dog: I'll second Jim's self esteem comment. Still a turn-off, but an excellent indicator that I could get the woman in bed by giving the type of attention she was looking for).
3) Once you get "up close and personal": still a turn-off. They don't feel right. They don't look right. There are usually some scars on the skin, and some scar tissue in the breasts. You adapt; I had a four year long, live-in relationship with a woman with implants, and when you are in love, "lumpy and not right-feeling" is not a deal breaker. But given a choice between natural and fake, I'll take natural 100% of the time.
I'm not sure why it's such a myth that men like the fake ones. They basically only look good with clothes on, and even then only if very well done and not over-sized. Of other men that have expressed opinions to me, they are pretty much universally negative. I'm convinced that most women who get them, get them to impress other women.
Quint at April 9, 2008 3:49 PM
"I'm convinced that most women who get them, get them to impress other women."
I think alot of things women do is more to impress other women than men. Especially when it comes to fashion.
A close friend is getting them next next week. The thought of getting them myself has crossed my mind (never seriously, just as one of those passing thoughts one gets). Then I remember every man I have been with cant stop grabbing my ass. I personally always notice legs but I'm not a man.
PurplePen at April 9, 2008 4:34 PM
1.) Wow! Nice rack!
2.) Wow! Nice rack!
3.) Two intimate experiences: One set felt perfectly natural, and they looked great in a nightgown. The other set had one implant that had gotten hard like a softball, and it sorta spooked me. The woman was someone I really was attracted to for a hundred other reasons, so it was pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.
(Ultimate turnoff as far as I am concerned though is hairy nipples. Hair under the armpits though can be a whole 'nother thing...)
>> I'm convinced that most women who get them, get them to impress other women.
Truer words have not been spoken.
eric at April 9, 2008 4:38 PM
PS- LOVED the Urban Dictionary link! You made me smile after a really crappy day.
eric at April 9, 2008 4:41 PM
1. All large boobs have the same effect on me from a distance, sort of like an invisible string that pulls my eyes in their direction. I'm not even particularly attracted to large boobs (perky with big nipples is my ideal), but they're like a car wreck - you can't help but look.
2. Maybe what Jim said and tentatively allows me to infer "I know what men like and I'm happy to give it to them," which is sexy. On the other hand, it tends to push a woman towards the whore side of my Madonna/whore complex.
3. I don't like them. They don't feel good. I'm worried that if I play rough, they'll pop or something. Also, I tend to wonder if the woman is actually enjoying me playing with them or if the nerve damage from having them installed is preventing that.
Shawn at April 9, 2008 4:51 PM
I've got a few friends who have them, and I'll say they feel funny. And it's much easier to cross the line into trashy with them, which falls along the same lines for me as wearing tons of lipstick on DSLs. I'd rather be under that line than over it. I personally think there are a few that look great (Heidi Montag from The Hills) and they're generally really effing expensive and C or smaller. The rest have issues (ripples, scarring, bulging, etc.)So, my philosophy is go big (money) or go home.
Christina at April 9, 2008 5:35 PM
Shawn said:
"2. Maybe what Jim said and tentatively allows me to infer "I know what men like and I'm happy to give it to them," which is sexy. On the other hand, it tends to push a woman towards the whore side of my Madonna/whore complex."
Disclaimer: I totally disown the words I'm about to say, as I'm not the guy I used to be 10 years ago.
What I meant by my point #2, and I think what Jim meant, was that a boob job is *almost* always a sign low self esteem and self doubt. A woman with implants is generally looking for 1) a lot of attention and 2) a lot of external approval/validation. It's not so much that they know what a man wants and will give it to them, it's that with the right mix of giving/withholding the attention/validation they seek, you can get them to go to bed with you with a *remarkably* high success rate. (And I'm really talking about one-night-to-a-couple-weeks of sex, not the beginning of a relationship. Forgive me my past).
Quint at April 9, 2008 5:48 PM
I’ve had a bit of brushes with the fake boobies, (as often as I can get away with without getting slapped). I can almost always tell right off the bat. The movement or lack thereof usually will tell. There’s nothing sexier than a woman coming at you down the street and she has these large breasts that are swaying just a little bit. Those have to be real, even if there not so large and they still sway, that’s still sexy. I don’t think breast have to be large to be attractive at all. I find a woman with a pair of 34B’s can be much hotter than a woman with 44EE’s. Bigger is not necessarily better. It’s a matter of proportion. If a woman is tall and curvy, she would look odd flat chested, better with a matching set of curvy boobs. I could see where that would be a reason to get the boob job done.
I came from a family of large breasted women, usually 44EE’s when they are mature. My niece had reduction surgery at sixteen to save her back. My sister had to stop playing the accordion at twelve. I am always drawn to women with large breasts, (Freudian, yeah, but what ya gonna do?) I can’t stand it when I’m talking to some woman with beautiful big boobs and I can’t stop checking them out. And boy, do they know. Sometimes they get offended, sometimes not so much.
As far as feel, I picked up a woman in Palm Springs and took here for a ride up in the hills. It felt like two big rocks hitting me in the back. That was just weird, real turn off. Too bad too, otherwise she was a really hot 40 year old MILF. My friends wife just got a boob job, she had cancer and actually had to have her real breast removed, they did a real good job it looks like. She is a taller thin girl and they make her right. She doesn't feel anything in them because she had a mastectomy. I used to date a girl from Vegas who paid a LOT of money for her boob job and they looked and felt great, but if she picked her arms up naked in the light, you could tell they weren’t natural, but I didn’t care. She still had a lot of sensitivity. I know this other girl who’s boyfriend inherited some money and bought her a nice boob job. She showed them to me about two days after she got them done and they were too hard. She said the doc told her she had to squeeze them several times a day to soften them up. That sounded odd to me. I’ve seen her recently and they do seem to have softened up some. Still a little stiff.
Quality of boob jobs varies so much. I go to bike meets and they have wet t-shirt contests and have seen some real bad boob jobs. We call them “bolt-ons”. (A quick and easy modification of varying performance. ) Nipples mean everything. They should be in some proportion to the breast. I like larger nips on big boobies myself. I’ve seen some women with real large boobs and penny size nipples. Looks off to me but YMMV. I’ll say this, I don’t think it’s really possible to have a boob job that isn’t detectable under the touch or the eye. But that’s ok. Nobody’s body is perfect, if they make you feel you look better, you probably do. But I don't like it when a woman comes on with an attitude like, "I paid a lot for these things, you're going to pay a lot more to see them!"
Sorry for going on so long, but this is one of my favorites subjects!
Bikerken at April 9, 2008 5:53 PM
1] from afar, you get to take it the whole woman, for that there is the aesthetic pleasure of someone who falls into the category of an ideal, if she looks proportionate.
2] When you get close enough to tell if they are real or fake, you are also close enough to get an idea of if the person is real or fake. Is she more concerned with how you view her body, your reaction? Or is she sure within her body, how you view it being secondary? At that point it doesn't matter if they are real or not, because it is the overall person you are meeting.
3]Never had the chance to contemplate the enhanced versions, but have had the chance to hold various sizes of real ones, and the potential for how women view themselves. This always seems to be a concern for validation in some way, as an external show of attractiveness. The continuum seems pretty easy to understand though. Women with small to normal chests seem concerned that it is enough. Those with large chests want to know that ISN'T the only thing you find interesting. I know 2 women that were so large they had reductions, and their concerns went from one end of the spectrum to the other based on size, immediately.
Ultimately when you are close to an individual it is the whole pcakege you deal with. How they feel about their body in general, and their brains, their situation and so on, really pervades them. Someone who is constantly in need of everybody in the room to be looking their direction, will always need that. Their security is built on that. Someone who walks into the room and turns everybody's head just by being, will be like that, large rack or no. They may make their own decisions about what they want to see, and be seen like, but it is an additive to a whole person, not the definition of them. Most people will fall into the middle, insecure about some things, happy with others. Since augmentation IS a bit risky, and does have some downsides, there is a decision gate about accepting yourself involved. I have known one who had augmentation, but I didn't actually touch because she was the grilfriend of a friend. Even WITH that large rack, and the excercize, and everything else, she was never happy. It was just never enough, even though she had a great bod. She was an attention sponge, and eventually my friend figured that out, after he was exhausted by it. If you can never accept yourself, how will you accept someone else?
SwissArmyD at April 9, 2008 7:13 PM
1. They never fail to get my attention, real or otherwise.
2. When talking in social situations, I have to work very hard to look a woman in the eye if she has large breasts. And it still doesn't matter if they are real or factory.
3. I've never had the opportunity to check out fake one's. But I will say that I've always felt that breasts are only as good as the woman they're attached to.
RA in Kennewick WA at April 9, 2008 8:07 PM
1 From a distance, and standing with clothes on, is more or less how they're designed to look. Oversize doesn't do as much for me. Hard nipples do, tho. I'm more attracted to smaller women with slimmer builds, tho. I don't know why short women (and freckles!) click the "YEAH BABY!" switch in the old reptile brain, but it does, and enough to make me overcome a crushing shyness to stammer my way into a conversation.
2 They don't seem to move right. I tend to notice other things when I'm closer. Pretty eyes, or hair that glows in the sun gets more of my attention, as does someone who moves gracefully.
3 They feel off, don't sit right when the owner is laying down, and I'd rather have someone who hasn't lost sensitivity. I can understand if someone gets a reduction, or isn't happy with what happened after a child or nursing, but that's usually one thing to just leave alone. You're better off getting lasik. Even tho I think glasses are sexy, too, you'll get more use out of better eyesight, than you will with implants.
Gretz at April 9, 2008 8:08 PM
Don't like 'em. Don't want 'em.
I can accept that a woman would want them if she was small breasted and self-conscious about it. But if she were with me, I would move heaven and earth to make her understand that I'd rather have her the way she is.
I've seen lovely large breasted women and equally lovely women who, well, who would never *need* to wear a bra.
All in all, I'm much more concerned with what's between the ears than what's in the cups.
BlogDog at April 9, 2008 8:25 PM
I just had a great idea for a new product. A big waterbed with two big boob bags instead of one water mattress. You could have the waterbags made up to look like boobs with big rubbery nipples and everything and sleep in the cleavage. I'd bet Woody Allen would buy one and yes, I have been hitting the Bacardi.
Bikerken at April 9, 2008 9:06 PM
1. Not a big boob guy, but I'd still look.
2. Obvious fakes are bad. They strike me as low class, but I'm a bit of an elitist.
3. They don't feel right (only experience with one person and saline implants); too firm, don't sit quite the same on the chest.
That said - and I haven't seen these in person - a friend who is an aspiring actress and is very slim has small implants that took her from a B cup to small C. In clothes, her breasts look great - where one can't quite guess if they're real cause they look a little too perfect. But you don't see that look very much.
justin case at April 9, 2008 11:00 PM
1. I wonder where she gets clothes that fit over them.
2. I wonder if she got them for the attention, or genuinely to feel better about herself. It's usually obvious which pretty quickly.
3. Only felt one set, they seemed pretty hard, but they were a reconstruction after mastectomy.
Really, I just don't get it. I'm a 38G. It is an incredible pain in the ass to find bras and clothes that fit. I simply don't get why anyone gets the giant fakes on purpose. They're easy to spot, especially when the woman then wears only low-cut clothes to show them off. I think the big fake ones look...tacky, I guess.
That said, I lived in Vegas for a while, and many men seemed just fine with all the silicon and saline floating around.
Kimberly at April 9, 2008 11:28 PM
Thanks for invited the girls to join in, Amy. Thought you'd never ask.
I'd just like to add that there's something wrong with the assumption that all breast enhancement surgery yields huge breasts. This automatic association of breast enhancement > huge jugs just isn't true. There are also small-sized implants on the market. Very small ones. The size of, say, a dainty teacup. You might ask whether anyone would bother, but they evidently do.
In fact, I did. Well, it was for partially medical reasons. Sort of. I'm naturally very tall and slender, with a B-cup. It's all in proportion. About 10 years ago, I had a benign cyst removed from one breast. This left me with a B-cup on one side and, oh, about an AA on the other side. So I had them balanced with the smallest size available. I suppose you could argue that this was reconstructive surgery of sorts.
It's also pretty presumptuous to make a sweeping claim that it necessarily indicates low self-esteem or any other psychological problem. I don't have low self-esteem at all. Hell, I'm a Leo. Just kidding Amy. I mean, I am supposedly a Leo, but I believe in that stuff about as much as you do. Anyway, although my goal was not to get large, impressive breasts, I was not willing to have no breasts. Now I have my dainty teacups back.
For the record, I experienced no loss of sensitivity nor hardening, and my man doesn't mind in the least. But then, he knows his way around a woman.
Marie L at April 9, 2008 11:34 PM
It spooks me. It's just such an aggressive expression of vanity. Y'know, it's surgery. Surgery means that they put you to sleep with intense drugs which sometimes kill people. And sometimes it just doesn't work so well, so that people wake up during procedures. And sometimes they're just drugged enough that they can't communicate their distress. No shit, this really happens.
Surgery also means that they cut into your flesh. They use knives. Knives are technology from the 30th century before Christ. They're shinier nowadays, and sometimes cleaner, but the technology is basically unimproved. After they cut you, they stitch your pelt, and that's about like it was ten millenia ago, too. Lots of times people get infections.
As evidenced in this message stack, getting a boob job will give a lot of people strong and negative ideas about the goings-on within your immortal soul.
And the thing people don't talk about is that implants almost always have to get replaced or removed after a few years. So it's a commitment.
Even with the best intentions of pleasing others aesthetically, boob jobs seem like weird behavior.
Also, they cost money.
I like a nice rack, though. Hell, I like a mediocre one.
Crid at April 9, 2008 11:53 PM
It is true that the one seventeen yr old girl recently died getting a boob job. And there was Kanye Wests mother. Any surgery is dangerous.
I hear the Olsen twins are planning to get body implants to keep the skin on their backs from sagging.
I remember seeing some show years ago where these women were thinking of getting boob jobs so they stuffed the implants in their bras and took them out for a test drive. They immediately noticed that men were looking at them more, buying them drinks and coming on to them. One of the girls said, these things are power! I think it's a pretty settled fact that we tend to have more doors opened up to us and a lot more opportunity if we are better looking. There have been several studies that have shown people who are better looking get offered jobs over less attractive people and other perks seem to work the same way. I wonder if the same seems to go for having larger breasteses.
Amy, I have a question for you. You have said that your are a well endowed lady. Have you always been that way? Can you look back at your life and say if it would have been any different if your cups hadn't runnethed over? If so, how? Did you have pride in your bigger boobies at a younger age when the other girls hadn't developed as fast or were you the kind who was somewhat embarrassed about it and not sure how to handle it? I'll guess the first since you seem to be fairly extroverted and sure of yourself.
Bikerken at April 10, 2008 12:32 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/04/10/boys_on_boob_jo.html#comment-1539084">comment from BikerkenAmy, I have a question for you. You have said that your are a well endowed lady. Have you always been that way? Can you look back at your life and say if it would have been any different if your cups hadn't runnethed over?
Hilariously, I was a late bloomer, and spent some time as a girl and a young teen (shaped rather like an ironing board) wishing and wishing for boobs. At a certain point, I thought, "Shit, I overdid it a little on the wishing."
When they're real, you don't hang them out like moguls on a ski hill. Also, finding bras is a big issue. Heh.
Men respond to boobs. I'm banned from the LA Times' features sections for a joke I made about that in the piece about my stolen car: "When you're a girl, it pays to go to the police station in person; like, "Hi, I have big breasts, will you help me find my car?"
That said, one guy I dated found big boobs vulgar. Even natural ones like mine. When I found that out I broke up with him. Relationships work best when the people involved are attracted to each other.
Amy Alkon at April 10, 2008 12:57 AM
Of course, it's best you ditched that guy. I mean, three boobs in the house is just wrong!
I'm still surprised to hear the suggestion that elective surgery is routine enough to get the same results for everyone. Some celebrities' scarring is even obvious, because individuals heal differently, but people still act like the surgery is always perfect.
Radwaste at April 10, 2008 2:31 AM
1. I tended bar in a strip club long ago so I was used to getting an eye full. Unless I am going to get to play with them they don't mean much, but I can almost always tell real from memorex.
2. Up close I can tell. It really depends if I am interested at all or not. If so then it's important whether they compliment the woman's figure or are over-large, like the strippers are always doing. That turns me off, especially if they don't have enough skin to support 800cc.
3. Love em.
Rodger at April 10, 2008 3:38 AM
I got implants about 4 years ago just for myself. I was always an A cup and just fine with that until after child birth. I felt I was too young at 30 to have breast that fell into my armpits when lying down. My husband didn't care at all if I got them. It was purely a decision made by me, for me.
I went to a respectable C cup so that my new breasts were porportionate for my body. I had them placed under the muscle so that they would appear more natural.
New implants do feel more stiff and firm, but after time they do soften up and feel more natural. I have had many people tell me that they couldn't tell at all that I had implants put in. The scars a minimal (about 1 inch long) and very faint. I chose saline implants as research suggest they were the safest. In regard to lost sensitivity, I actually gained sensitivity in that area.
To me, yes, it was an investment, and yes, one that I will have to repeat in a few years, but well worth it.
I do not display my breasts in low cut clothing all the time, I did not do it for attention or other women. I did it purely for me and my comfort with my body. I enjoy the way clothes fit better and the fact that I can lay on a beach and my breast stay on my chest, not slide into my armpits.
Although, I do agree that when women go just for size (D cups and bigger) it does look trashy. Tastefully done, they can look natural and great on a person.
Klin at April 10, 2008 5:20 AM
"It is true that the one seventeen yr old girl recently died getting a boob job"
The boob job didn't kill her, she had an adverse reaction to anesthesia. Doctors don't usually test (a muscle biopsy) for the genetic condition (malignant hyperthermia) which causes the reaction beyond asking "do you have a family history of complications with anesthesia." If the answer is yes then they will test further.
She could have died from ANY surgery...it's particularly crappy she died from unnecessary surgery.
I am really tall and not that well endowed. Don't want something monstrous, just a lil extra. I've always had a boob job in the back of my mind but the risks and expenses (like the upkeep Crid mentioned) don't make any sense for me right now. I am also afraid of losing sensitivity.
I want kids (in ten years) so I will probably wait until that toll is taken on my body before I pump ten grand into my boobs.
Gretchen at April 10, 2008 6:03 AM
Hey Gretchen,
I only paid $5,000 for mine and all the before and after care was included in that price. Check all the doctors in your area and see what the costs are. Ask for references when you narrow down your choice in Dr.s.
Klin at April 10, 2008 7:09 AM
"That said, one guy I dated found big boobs vulgar. Even natural ones like mine. When I found that out I broke up with him." I'm going to guess that he had other problems between the ears. Why would you date someone with any feature you find vulgar or even unattractive?
vlad at April 10, 2008 7:19 AM
1. Well being a guy who enjoys nice breasts(no, I was not breast-fed, allergic to milk, so don't jump to that conclusion), I would find the female attractive(if they are proportionate to the rest of her body). As a black male, I place more value on breast-size than booty(if we are talking about physical characteristics). I have had sex with small(less than a C) or flat women and there is big variance in the desire department, despite what they attempt to do to arouse me.
2. I wonder why she got them? Self-Esteem, an ex(and did he pay for them?), Cancer, deformity, or maybe she wants to become a pornstar? Well, we are going to find out.
3. And the ones that I have felt have all been different. I am not a plastic surgeon, but I think type of implant, size of implant, who puts it in, where they put it in, date of implant(80's, 90's, etc.), healing practices, and who gets the implant(race, skin type/texture, old/young, and their exercise practices). I do disagree with one comment I read about older women who get them being unsexy. Sexiness is a state of mind and alot of older women have that market cornered.
-Adrian
Adrian A. at April 10, 2008 7:27 AM
1. I don't have the inordinate fascination for large breasts that many of my brethren seem to have, although I guess I notice them to some degree, being male. However, when I do notice them at a distance, it is just to note them. If they seem disproportionately large, I sometimes begin to wonder if they are enhanced what the reasons for it might be. This is only a fairly mild curiosity, at best.
2. I don't go to bars regularly, but talking with women who I suspect might have more than nature provided does not seem to be any different from my conversations with women in general. I can't say it has any effect on my thoughts about them, except for wondering about their reasons for ehnancement.
3. My two (confirmed) encounters may not be typical. One was a case of reconstruction (post surgical) and did feel different from its un-altered partner. The other case was not obvious until closer inspection. The enhancement had only been enough to bring the lady's size to a B-C cup. Her breasts felt a bit firmer than I expected, but given further experience, not inordinately so. I was not put off by the experience in either case. For me, breasts are just part of the package.
sirhcton at April 10, 2008 8:18 AM
When you don't have boobs, clothes don't typically fit correctly and you really can't wear any top that doesn't allow you to have a real bra on without looking silly. I know from personal experience. After the 800th time you've paid out alterations fees, you start thinking that maybe, when amortized over the years, just getting implants would be cheaper and easier.
That having been said, the idea of getting on a constant implant implantation, removal and replacement cycle is highly unattractive to me. Then there are the other issues that have been discussed here. Plus...well, there are some practical advantages. I've never needed to buy a sports bra, for example.
I have occasionally thought about trying out the Brava system (click on my name for more), which apparently uses "tension-induced growth" to increase your chest by about a cup size. This is supposedly the same approach used after other surgeries to boost healing, etc. etc. However, I've heard mixed reports on its effectiveness, and I'm not sure I want to pay $2500 to be a guinea pig.
I think it's time for another trip to Victoria's Secret...
meg at April 10, 2008 8:42 AM
Amy,
Why don’t you get a set of temporary fake ones? You could where them around for a month, then write about the way men treated you differently?
Sorry about the questionnaire, I just don’t have much input. 1) Wow 2) They don’t hang right 3) don’t know
rusty wilson at April 10, 2008 9:09 AM
Woops, didn't realize you were already stacked Amy.
rusty wilson at April 10, 2008 9:12 AM
I wonder how much "volume" would actually be produced by this new fangled boob-injection procedure. It's a filler injected into your breasts and disintegrates in a year then you need to get more.
That sketches me out more than having an actual implant, because at least we know saline is safe and the stuff is in a bag (which might produce its own set of problems).
Who knows, it's a neat idea tho...outpatient boob jobs.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article3663120.ece
Gretchen at April 10, 2008 10:17 AM
Having spent a lot of time in strip clubs and "dating" a few strippers I can spot a fake set at 20 paces. (Dating is in quotes because dating a stripper is almost nothing like dating a regular girl.)
There's nothing worse than a bad boob job. Nothing. From an asthetic standpoint a good boob job is something to marvel at. However, good or bad, real is much better than fake when touching is involved. I "knew" one girl who had a pretty good set of fakes but 1 had gone hard. That was a weird experience in the sack.
I also dated a civilian who had a set of fake A cups. They felt weird too. She said she had been totally flat and all she wanted was just enough to show she had boobs.
In all cases I think a girl who goes to the trouble of getting fake boobs will also go to the trouble of learning how to be good in the sack. And somewhat anxious to get there.
As an aside it's funny how often a bad boob job is accompanied by a bad "George Hamilton"ish tan.
I don't think I would ever recommend anyone I was sleeping with to get a boob job. Except maybe some kind of "lift" thing, if she thought she needed it. Real is better.
Sean at April 10, 2008 10:37 AM
>>>>>I'm banned from the LA Times' features sections for a joke I made about that in the piece about my stolen car: "When you're a girl, it pays to go to the police station in person; like, "Hi, I have big breasts, will you help me find my car?"
You got banned for that little comment? Must have been a flat-chested woman behind that decision. Have you ever noticed obvious or extreme cases of boob envy?
Sean, I've dated a few strippers to. They are rollercoasters. The sex can be fun. But you are absolutely right, dating strippers is not like dating regular women. They can make 400 dollars in a night and spend 500 dollars the next day. Most of them have drug habits. Big turn-off for me.
Gretchen, if you're going to have kids, definitely wait until after your first pregancy. When you get pregnant, the boobie fairy will come and take care of everything. You may not need a boob job after that.
Bikerken at April 10, 2008 11:06 AM
Thanks for the tip biker :-}
I don't know what the future holds but I think it's best I wait regardless.
Gretchen at April 10, 2008 11:32 AM
I've got big natural ones, and they bloomed at the age of around 19. I HATED them, because I was very shy and didn't like the attention I was getting. I'm 5'10" and skinny, so people might think they're fake.
The only kind of bras I could get were granny bras (nothing sexy). I think I finally started to be comfortable with them when I turned 35. I can find sexy bras now finally, nothing at Victoria's Secret though. I'm a 34 DD, which means that I'm skinny, so the cup size gets bigger proportionately.
When I was more confident, I would enjoy watching men's reactions to them if I was at a bar or something, and their automatic assumption that I was stupid (being blonde). It was pretty funny.
The guy I'm seeing is neutral about them, but loves my ass.
Chrissy at April 10, 2008 1:24 PM
1. Not a fan of large breasts in general but they can look good on a woman if they are proportional to her body size. If they are a good fit for her I usually don't notice them specifically. Overly large gets a gander because of their freakish aspect. Small breasts gets a good look because I find them attractive.
2. This usually lowers my opinion of the woman who has them. Right or wrong I generally assume that a woman with implants is manipulative and is out to trade her body for some guy's cash or power. I think of them as easy and cheap. The degree in which I think this varies based on the size of the implant, her dress, mannerisms, speech and intellect. I have meet some women who have them and do not fit this stereotype completely though I have never met a woman with them that I would consider dating even if she didn't have implants.
3. Never had one. Perhaps if I had then my answers to 1 and 2 would be completely different, but I doubt it.
Dale at April 10, 2008 1:30 PM
Christina -- "And it's much easier to cross the line into trashy with them, which falls along the same lines for me as wearing tons of lipstick on DSLs."
I'm confused. My cable modem uses a little blush, but that's about it. Is it an inherent need to keep up with the naturally larger throughput?
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 10, 2008 2:10 PM
Interesting topic being that I'm into tits (can we say tits? It's a good word.)big or small or somewhere in between what difference does it make really? After all I'm a guy...
As far as real or fake, again, does it really matter? I could waste my time deciphering self esteem issues that come with implanting sacks of fluid under the skin for whatever reason, but I'd come up with 89 conclusions.... she doesn't like herself, she likes herself way too much, she has no issues with her body just wants proportion, she hates her body and wants giant tits, she wants attention... the masses in the room at the time (male and female) are going to judge her motivations for her, that's a certainty.
I can't count how many times I've heard someone say, "That girl would be so hot if she only had bigger tits." In the next conversation it's, "That chick wouldn't be so hot without her giant fake tits." It's a no win situation depending on the level of judgmental assholes in the room.
Considering this happened to a girl I held dear, she was the 'hot girl with no tits', she remedied that by getting what I'd call modestly sized implants, and as quickly as she got them she became the girl with the fake rack. As if it were the worst thing since tits were invented. They were invented right?
Not to oversimplify, but fake feel fake whether saline or silicone. They are merely the only available option to those without the real. I don't want to speak for anyone else, but when I'm in the position to be close to tits, I'm certainly not getting on my soap box and decrying the tits that are in front of me. I'm getting laid.
Tits (at least for me) are like cruise control in your car. If you've got it, you'll use it and enjoy the freedome that it provides. If you don't, how bad is it to drive your car without? Perhaps that's a shitty reference point but really, the world doesn't begin and end with tits, although maybe it should.
CJ at April 10, 2008 2:48 PM
Well I really had to laugh at some of these comments!
I mean are these the same guys I went to high school with?
Then went to college with?
And was in the army with???
Come on dudes..... we KNOW you like bigger boobs!! Do you see chicks in MAXIM with "A" cup breats? nope. But guess how many subscriptions of that, and other 'men' type mags do you think I deliver on a daily basis??? hmmm???( yep I'm a 'mail chick') And hardly ANY of the 'models' in those magazines have 'small, natural' breasts.
I was one of the flat chested chicks who bore the brunt of teasing from jr high through college, and laughed about it, but it did hurt my feelings. I didnt let it destroy my life, and that's not why Im getting Breast augmentation surgery now. I'm getting it for MEEEEE!!!!
My surgery is actualy scheduled in 4 more days!! I couldn't be MORE EXCITED!! and just fyi I'm 5'3, 115 and totaly physicaly fit. I'm prior military service and presently work for the post office, and walk about 12 miles a day for my job so I have a rock'in bod, but a AAA Cup. I'm going up to a full C cup. And if Im 50 and I still have nice high not saggy boobs, what's so wrong with THAT???
NADA!!
My husband assures me, that he wont be scared to 'manhandle' them once I give him the green light ( Lol), and if they are more firm, ORRR WORSE CASE SCENERIO.. hard as flesh covered concrete well TOUGH TITTY!! he'll still love and adore me, and worship at the C cup fountain of my beauty!
Ive always had men ogle-ing me over my nice booty, my long hair, my sweet smile, but my boobs never did fit in with the rest of my nice figure. well NOW they will! Im FINALY going to LOOK like the woman I FEEL like in my head.
As for how silicone vs. saline feels, my plastic surgeon who has probably felt up more women than Hugh Hefner, said silicone feels more natural. So guess who is going silicone? yep, that would be me!!
So if any of the men who posted see ME delivering their mail, I BET they wont curl up their lip, and say EEWWWW THAT CHICK LOOKS HORRID!! GET AWAY HOT MAIL CHICK! GET AWAAYYY!!!!!
soldiermomof3 at April 10, 2008 5:20 PM
heh, soldiermomof3... I'm sure there are plenty of guys here just like your mate...
"he'll still love and adore me" yes, this.
It'll make you feel better, sounds like, and he's all for that. But you caught his eye and the rest of him with what you already have... it's a good thing to remember.
SwissArmyD at April 10, 2008 6:39 PM
Thanks so much, everybody -- and soldiermomof3, you're very funny.
Keep 'em coming!
As for the silicone choice, I've written to a researcher who testified on risks from silicone, and hope to post something in the next day or so about it (here in the comments at the very least).
Amy Alkon at April 10, 2008 9:57 PM
For me, I think the best way to answer this is to note what I think works, and what doesn't.
You'll note that the roles Pam Anderson gets almost demand a certain shape. Jeri Ryan's "7 of 9" was built to impress in a particular way. Watch the pros on Dancing with the Stars and you'll notice right away what a fit lifestyle demands (even though they're selected for TV appearance - there are pros who can move like that who don't look like that). Kournikova was rated the #1 sexiest woman on the planet, and so was Angelina, without jiggling even once.
And the short story is that the three women I've known personally who are built like I'd ordered them that way aren't top-heavy at all. Just fine.
Radwaste at April 11, 2008 2:24 PM
As the happily married husband of a woman that god left to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageus fortune in the breast department, I can say that I prefer tiny and small to big and fake. Few things are more unnattractive than fake breasts, and I have in the past found them to be attached to people who were equally unattractive on the inside.
WolfmanMac at April 11, 2008 3:13 PM
An FDA page on implants. Women who get them should be sure to plan for the cost of possible removal and fixes.
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/504_implants.html
Also, from my researcher friend:
Amy Alkon at April 11, 2008 3:57 PM
Here I did some research for you
http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2008/03/traits-of-men-who-prefer-breasts-booty.php
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2004/08/large-breasts-and-narrow-waists.html
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/the-science-of-large-breasts-and-other-evolutionary-verities/
http://www.sumna.com/2006/03/19/women-and-breast-size/
http://www.burtonmackenzie.com/2007/01/tittie-love-more-on-selective.html
and finally
Rodney Carrington- Show them to me Live NSFW
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5E_YTrTtLPE
iceman at April 13, 2008 8:39 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/04/10/boys_on_boob_jo.html#comment-1539770">comment from icemanThanks - done the research, was at Gaulin's talk at HBES, and have the journal, Satoshi is a friend and I wrote and blogged about his work (specifically the breast size thing from his book), and I used Jasienska's research in that same column and had an epidemiologist friend check her data three times, etc., etc. I wanted personal opinions.
Amy Alkon at April 13, 2008 9:08 AM
Bikerken:
The boobs were the only reason? lol
rd at April 16, 2008 7:46 AM
Let's try that again, bikerken.
My sister had to stop playing the accordion at twelve.
And you're saying the boobs were the only reason?
rd at April 16, 2008 7:47 AM
Not "into girls" (married to my Favorite Husband nearly 15 years now with 4 kids) but I do have to add that I have trouble not looking when serious boobage is on display. It's more of a curiosity thing, like "how the heck does she NOT fall out of that neckline?" I'm secretly looking for evidence of double sided sticky tape.
Wacky Hermit at April 16, 2008 7:49 PM
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