Allergan is a pharmaceutical company which produces saline and silicone gel breast implant, and which is one of the two breast implant manufacturers that approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Allergan released an advertisement for its breast implant products with a slogan “You’ve never looked smarter.” People can easily get confused with this advertisement. Because traditional advertisements always accentuates the so-called ‘aesthetic’ beauty of enlarged breasts by putting large breasts, or, veiledly, a pair of big size bra on the advertisements. However, this advertisement has only a lightheartedly smiling woman in casual dress on it with its obscure slogan, and people even can hardly see her cleavage! What does Allergan try to suggest? Actually, this is the best and worst breast implant advertisement that I have ever seen. It is the best because it does not suggest that large breasts are important with before-after pictures. However, it actually denotes that smart girls know how to largely take advantage of their bodies. This advertisement makes me indignant because it was developed on the idea that women basically are sex objects and we are smart when we understand and accept this idea ourselves.
This advertisement indicates that smart women know how to apply the effect that their bodies have on men. It is self-evident that the trend that more and more women undergo breast implants is another manifestation of patriarchy. Because it is a surgery that provide male with sensual pleasure while exerting painfulness on female. Instead of resisting patriarchy, many women tend to submit to patriarchy because they know they can gain privileges by their bodies. Therefore, undergoing breast implants can be perceived as smart choice because it is an action of taking control though painfully. In this society, women can still use our bodies to gain a lot of things: marrying rich men can provide women with affluent life, sleeping with directors can earn actresses places in the world of film, and even young girls know that they can make their fellow male students to help them by simple acting in a pettishly charming manner. As Douglas has said in her book, nowadays, the mass media has created many powerful women, though these women in media often look professional in certain areas, independent, and highly open on sex issues, they are also be depicted as sex objects for most of them must also be sexy. This kind of women is usually be regarded as smart because they use their bodies. While gaining privileges by regarding themselves as sex objects, these so-called powerful women also acquiesce and promote patriarchy. Then, how can these women be regarded as smart?
Through the woman’s lighthearted smile, this advertisement also suggests that women can gain happiness through breast implant surgery. Nowadays, more and more women become disappointing with their bodies for this society perceives female bodies as sources of power. Therefore, many women turn to cosmetic and breast implant surgeries to gain confidence and happiness. Because there is an idea prevalent among these women that “if your(their) exterior changed, then, ipso facto, your(their) interior did, too, and always immediately and for better” (Douglas, 223); women can be happy and confident when they are beautiful and sexy enough. In American culture, the public is constantly being told by the mass media that women’s happiness is closely related with their appearances. Endless makeover shows such as The Swan always tells that how many women live unhappily because of insipid appearance and how their relationships and sex lives are suffering from their appearances (Douglas, 224). After going through a three-month of makeover without seeing their faces themselves, the participants of The Swan often scream, cry, and exclaim into camera that they look beautiful (Douglas, 225). And many people do accept that they have been “directly influenced to have a procedure by the plastic surgery reality television shows they watch” (Douglas, 226). However, as makeover shows like The Swan do not continue to report the later lives of these participants, whether these participants lead happier lives after the change of appearances or not remain unknown to the public. But studies have shown that “the suicide rate among women who had received breast implants was twice the suicide rate of the general population”(Douglas, 233). Does this happen because breast implants and cosmetic surgery actually cannot provide people with happiness and even may cause sufferings?
This advertisement also largely weakens the troublesomeness and risks of breast implant surgeries. Breast implant cannot be efficacious forever. Breast implants actually have a limited life which can last sixty years or just six weeks (Douglas, 227). “According to the National Institute of Medicine, 25 to 40 percent of people who get breast implants end up needing another operation to correct something wrong with the first one. (The rate varied in particular studies, depending on things like how long women were monitored, the typical time being five years.)” (1) Moreover, breast implant is actually very harmful to human body. Silicone gel may release into the body causing the breast to collapse and may even lead to various diseases (Douglas, 226). Though implants filled with saline seem relatively harmless as they will only release salt water into human bodies (Douglas, 226), they may cause other troubles; for example, since they gradually release salt water, the patients need either to undergo further breast implant surgeries or to bear shriveled, sometimes nonidentical, breasts. And “saline breast implants can rupture, change shape, and, er, “shift position” ” (Douglas, P227). In fact, it was reported that an Asian actress’ fake boobs shifted to her shoulders after she played bungee jumping when she was recording for a Tv show. Although breast implants do not cause breast cancer, they do make it harder to to detect breast cancer (2). While research has also showed that with fake boobs “are more likely to die of brain cancer or lung cancer compared to other plastic surgery patients” (2). But are women really smart when they risk their health?
It is not surprise that in this breast-obsessed society women who undergo breast implants are regarded smarter than feminists who refuse to yield to male-dominated beauty rule. Just like girls sometimes receive suggestions of how to be smart before men such as “keep mouth shut when men are speaking”, so women gain suggestion from this breast implant advertisement that smart women know how to please man and gain from it in regardless of the pains they must suffer.
Resources:
48 REASONS NOT TO GET A BOOB JOB, http://www.paulkienitz.net/no-implants.html.
What You Need to Know Before You Get Breast Implants,http://www.breastimplantinfo.org/what_know/before_you_get.html.
Douglas, Susan， Enlightened Sexism，New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2010.
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