A 36-C... you want?

Disclaimer: This breast is not mine.

IT IS A FACT that the desire for big boobs transcends class, race and gender. Women can opt for Belo or some obscure (or even fake) cosmetic surgeons for augmentation. They can be black, white, Puerto Rican, Chinese or Pinay and, still, wish upon the Boob Fairy to make their breasts a cup size higher. Most of all, the desire for big boobs is "felt" by men, women and those who are in between. (I'm sure I do not need to explain why.)

It is frustrating to think that because of too much aesthetic and erotic value being attributed to a woman's breasts, their purpose has been limited to serve the male libido. It is evident in pornography and every other product that is targeted towards the male market like magazines, booze, cigarettes and cars. Promotions of these products always include big-busted women in cleavage-baring outfits gracing print ads, TVCs or exhibits where they work as promo girls.

Most of us seem to have forgotten the breast's biological purpose or in other words, its life-giving purpose. To the women, it is quite basic -- YOUR BREASTS ARE MADE TO NURSE YOUR YOUNG AND NOT YOUR MAN!

Needless to say, women must take good care of their breasts not for the purpose of having something good at the hem of their low necklines. Likewise, men should learn how to tame their cravings by making themselves aware of the risks that women take when they undergo surgical enhancements for the male benefit.

October is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

According to Breast Cancer Awareness Group, I Can Serve Foundation, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Filipino women. It ranks third among the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among Filipinos. That is, it is next to infectious and cardiovascular diseases. (So you can worry about it next after a feast of lechon kawali, crispy pata and lechong baka.)

While the disease is mostly diagnosed among women who are 35 to 50 years old, it does not mean that one can never be at risk in her 20s. In fact, women must conduct a monthly Breast Self Exam (BSE) about a week after her period. By age 30, besides a BSE, women must have a clinical exam every year. By age 40, besides a BSE and a clinical exam, women must have an annual mammography. (I Can Serve)

The thought of mammography can be quite a torture but let us be quite thankful that we, here in my Multiply, belong to the 40 and below bracket.

Conducting BSE is very simple. BC advocates Dawn Zulueta and Lea Salonga have DVDs in Filipino and English, respectively, that show how to perform the self-exam. Click here to be directed to the site.

Meanwhile, I found this 5-Step BSE when I wrote my Breast Cancer Awareness Month piece last year. You can bookmark the site.

View: The 5 Steps of a Breast Self-Exam

My permission goes to everyone who would like to forward this to their family and friends for advocacy purposes.


Photo taken from http://www.cosmeticplastics.com/images/breastlift.jpg
Statistics and information from:
Parallel Universes - Breast Cancer in the Philippines
I Can Serve Foundation
BREASTCANCER.ORG

Suffer for beauty, oh bitchy one

Across borders and throughout centuries, women's relationship with beauty is that of an S&M.

Back in our school days, we have read about tribal women who chisel their teeth, pierce their nipples, drill big holes on their ears and put huge tattoos all over their bodies. In the Victorian era, women endured breathlessness and pain in the middle section in order to attain the hourglass figure that corsettes gave. A thousand years ago and until the early 1900s, in China, women suffered the excruciatingly difficult process of breaking and binding the foot; a lifelong tremendous effort for beauty.

These days, women still suffer, though in less absurd ways. We spend hours in the gym motivated by the "no pain, no gain" mantra just so we can achieve the look or the feeling that we want. We lie on the derma's beds, which are actually beds of roses and thorns, as we stifle the screams of pain from the pricking and inserting of needles used in procedures to eliminate flaws or even change the way we look. In more simple events, many of us go for toners with the astringent effect or tend to sacrifice comfort for style like enduring the pain from dancing all night in sexy stilettos. And in some ways, we also have to repress the pain that our affinity for beauty causes to our pockets.

Speaking in terms of sex and bitchhood, I say that the quest for beauty is similar to losing one's virginity. Along the lines of pricking, waxing and threading; it always really hurts on the first time. But since it made you look and feel good, the saying that "once you pop, you can't stop" applies. It goes on to the point that you finally find yourself addicted to pain--living through and loving it; knowing that glory awaits the brave ones.

For hundreds and thousands of years, women have suffered in the name of beauty. While we maintain that to look good is our primary motivation, we leave in the shadows the reasons behind our sadomasochistic approach to beauty. Okay, we want to feel good about ourselves. But why? Can we not feel good even without having to go through such process?

I believe that the raison d'etre lies on the lines of acceptance. In an article on the Lotus Foot, I found this:
"The driving force behind this desire was complex: it had to do with marriage;
it had to do with sex; it had to do with status; it had to do with beauty; it
had to do with duty."
(Footwear Fetish - An Erotic Tradition, http://www.shoeworld.com)

These days, it is not just fair for women to blame men for their sufferings. The quest for beauty has something to do with acceptance from the opposite sex or from persons within the ranks found in the social circles where we find ourselves in. It may be to appease the wants of a domineering mother; the conditions of a meticulous lover; the observant eyes of a discriminating social butterfly; or the requirements of a tyrannical boss. Beauty just seems to be a social requirement--where the requirement varies from one social circle to another.

Vicky Belo, a world-renowned cosmetic doctor, has been capitalizing on these social requirements to encourage more women to be valiant about addressing their aesthetic insufficiencies. I do not intend to give her any negative associations for this because what she says is basically true!

I remember in my Theology on Marriage and Sexuality classes that even the late Pope John Paul II says that love starts with attraction. And how in the world can a man single out a female in a room full of them without his own requirement?

In jobs, priority is usually given to the applicant who looks more charming--assuming that all applicants have the same credentials. The same goes with women in sales-oriented careers. The initial requirement is always a good and pleasing personality (which I think is really a good and pleasing appearance). Only after she meets this, will she get the honchos to listen to what she has to present.

The feminists have been successful with attacking the footbinding tradition in China and so are those who fought against other seemingly obscure practices like the stretching of mouths and sculpturing of teeth. But still, there are new traditions to contest and since most of them have become ironically acceptable, we leave them the media and the catwalks for their battlefields.

The "enemy" in the first place is not the men in general but rather, the social constructions made by men and women alike.

Note: The title was fed to me by a man who does not wish to be named.

Photo from www.healthy-temple.com

The Life Giving Breast

Author's Note: For my featured post this October, I wish to enlighten everyone about their basic asset: the breast. Big or small, it's about the purpose it serves.

A fact that you can confirm from your guy friends:

most men fantasize about having a girlfriend with 34-C sized (if not 36-D) breasts.

A fact that you can confirm from your girl friends:

most women wish their boobs are at least a cup size higher.

The desire for bigger breasts is present among both genders. Men want big boobs for their sexual cravings. Why else would they want them? (If it's because they wish to have one, then we're talking of a different gender already.) Of course, they want to conquer and fondle a bigger territory! Women, on the other hand, yearn for bigger boobs not only for them to feel good about themselves but also to satisfy their partners' cravings.

It is a rather sad note that because of too much aesthetic and erotic value being attributed to a woman's breasts, their purpose has been limited to serve the male libido. It is evident in pornography and every other product that is targeted towards the male market like magazines, booze, cigarettes and cars. Promotions of these products always include big-busted women in cleavage-baring outfits gracing print ads, TVCs or shows where they work as promo girls.
Most of us seem to have forgotten the breast's biological purpose or in other words, its life-giving purpose. God created our breasts so our babies will have a source of nourishment. While breastfeeding campaigns have become more abundant nowadays, it is still undeniable that most women, especially those who are working, do not have the patience to nurse their young.
Let's go back to the basics. BREASTS ARE MADE TO NURSE YOUR YOUNG AND NOT YOUR MAN!

(I shall have a separate entry for breastfeeding but for now, let me just focus on another breast-related topic.)

Anyway, the main reason why I thought of writing an article on BREASTS is because it is October. Aside from October, being the month of Holy Rosary, it is also the BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

It is a must that I inform you, my dear sisters, about this dreaded disease because as the word association suggests, it is the leading cause of death among Filipino women. In fact, as some of you might have heard or read, cancer ranks third among the mortality and morbidity rates of Filipinos. (It comes next to infectious and cardiovascular diseases.)

In Asia, the Philippines has the highest reported incidence rates of breast cancer: 47.7% among 100,000 females. This rate is even larger than the rates in Eastern European countries.
While 86% percent of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer belong in the 35 to 50 year-old age group, it does not mean that you, being young, pretty and carefree, can take this for granted. The fact is, YOU MIGHT STILL HAVE BREAST CANCER IF NOT NOW, AS PART OF THE REMAINING 14%, THEN PROBABLY YOU ARE AT RISK IN THE FUTURE.

Early detection leads the best way to cure breast cancer. So have yourself checked annually or administer your Breast Self-Exam.

I got this 5-Step Breast Self-Exam from breastcancer.org. Here it is:

VIEW: The 5 Steps of a Breast Self-Exam

Give life. Save a life. Forward this to your friends. Awareness helps countless women to give the best to their babies and also to combat breast cancer.

FURTHER READINGS:
VIEW: Breast Cancer in the Philippines by Dr. Emer
VIEW: Keep Abreast (WACOAL Pink Ribbon Campaign) 2007
VIEW: Breast Care Info by I Can Serve Foundation
Breast image taken from http://www.cosmeticplastics.com/images/breastlift.jpg.

MEET THE BRAZILIAN--My Brave Encounters with Waxing Down There

As a woman, I am quite ordinary but unconventional. I have used tampons when everyone else thought it was a sin to use them. I am a single mother and I do not keep it a secret. And well, just recently, I got acquainted with the Brazilian.

Brazilian waxing may have gained popularity from bikini-clad models and beach demi-goddesses, however, there are still those who are not open to it. Women who have themselves waxed down there are labeled as wild, sexually-active and even perverted. While these labels may be true to some extent, still, I beg to disagree.

I had my first encounter with the Brazilian before I went to Boracay this summer. It was not because I was looking forward to one night stands and make out partners in the island paradise, but it was purely because I did not want any of my pubes to peep through my white bikini. Though I considered shaving and trimming, I still went for the excruciatingly painful process of Brazilian waxing. And the reason? I tried shaving before but I got bumps and cuts and it became so itchy when the hair grew once again.

I was supposed to have it done with a friend. However, since I just left my job then, I hardly had time to leave home. And so, I went to the nearest mall and had my first Brazilian waxing alone at Let’s Face It. I was asked to wash myself first. Then I went back to the private room and laid down with my eyes wide shut! The process at Let’s Face It was very hygienic. Everything was sanitized and they used disposables. The lady trimmed my hair first then okay, the waxing began. Starting at the uppermost part of me, she spread hot wax and then peeled them by hand as soon as the wax cooled. Since it was extremely painful, she told me that I can still opt for the classic bikini waxing. However, I did not go for it since it forfeits my purpose. There will still be pubes that may peep through my bikini. Since I made that decision, well, there’s no turning back. The whole waxing came with so many “ahhs,” “ouches,” and whatnots but the good thing was I survived them after about an hour. I felt so brave and happy after shelling out 600 something bucks for the waxing.

By the way, a tip for first timers, never ever delay the peeling once the wax has been spread. Otherwise, it’s going to cause you more pain that may be quite unbearable.

My next encounter was at Neo Spa in the Fort. It was more expensive at around a thousand bucks. But I was so happy with the ambiance and the service that I did not mind it all. Since it was a spa, I was able to shower first. I was given a disposable panty so I felt even more hygienic. I got a back massage and afterwards, the waxing began. It was more bearable this time. But still, I let out around 15 variations of screams—some of them sounded so weird. The lady who worked on me was really good. She used the clean and easy wax procedure—one where she had to use a cloth to peel the wax off with the hair. It could’ve been less painful and less stressful if I did not make the hair grow so much. Well, that’s another lesson learned.

Learning well from previous experience, I decided to have myself waxed at Lay Bare at the 5th level of Rustan’s Tower in Makati. It was just a small salon and I was surprised that they did not have a washroom. I had to make a wild dash to the nearby washroom and good thing was I bring a bottle of feminine wash with me all the time. They were less hygienic. They did not even spray or wipe sanitizer on me before they started. But everything else was disposable and I was quite happy because the process took only around 30 minutes without any “ahhs” nor “ouches.” And I must say that the waxing covered more parts that the other two so I am pretty much more hairless. I paid P755 but I am not so sure about coming back because of the fact that they did not have any wash area.

Based from my Brazilian experience, I have learned that the first time really do hurt. If you wish to maintain it, less hair means less pain. So trim or book yourself another appointment while there is not much hair yet.

I am quite obsessed about being hairless since I find it more hygienic. It’s easy to wipe myself clean after peeing at a public washroom and I am less susceptible to feminine itching. It’s quite a thrill too. You know, like having a secret which nobody else knows. While some may do it because their boyfriends or husbands like it, I do it for hygiene.

To each her own. Or as my good friend Rachelle says, your body, your rules.

"He Says..."

From Lonely Boy:

Frankly, bushy or bald has never been an issue for me. How could it possibly be? I've never been there.

From Expedition:

Lonely Boy, frankly bushy or bald has never been an issue for me. but in hindsight, treatments such as those are most welcome. hygiene is definitely a serious concern.