BBC Persian: April 3, 2013.
With 330,631 breast augmentation procedures performed in the United States in 2012 alone, America is now officially the global leader in this branch of cosmetic surgery and breast implants are now the second most popular plastic surgery in the world. […]
Florence Williams, author of BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History: “I think the plastic surgery industry has been masterful at marketing implants and augmentation as very benign procedures It sort of in line with other procedures women get Botox, hair colouring, this is marketed as yet another way improve you image.” […]
Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D. President, National Research Centre for Women & Families Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund: “Self-esteem is not like having a bad hair day and a good hair day. People feel better about themselves on a good hair day than a bad hair day, but it doesn’t change their self-esteem; it doesn’t change how they really feel about themselves. And so the objective studies that have been done of cosmetic surgery–and this is true for breast implants and other surgeries–show that usually men and women who have cosmetic surgery feel better about the body part that was fixed. If their nose was changed they like their nose better, if their ears don’t stick out they like their ears better. If their breasts are larger they might feel sexier and think their breasts look nicer but it doesn’t actually change that sort of basic feeling of who they are.” […]
Mental health specialists believe anyone considering aesthetic procedure should make sure that they are doing so for the right reasons. If they are looking for a procedure because they feel society wants them to look a certain way or someone is pressuring them to have it done – it is unlikely that the operation will improve their quality of life. If however, they want to do it for themselves to feel younger when they look in the mirror, and if they have weighed in all the risks involved, then they will have a much more positive outcome — both mentally and physically.
To view the segment (in Farsi) click here.