Breasts. They are so important to us! We can’t live without them. We want them on display in videos and on billboards. We want them big, round and firm. And we really don’t want to be reminded of their primary function.

1,649,271 breast augmentation operations were performed in 2016*

583 197 breast lifts.

465 665 breast reduction.

Compared to the previous number in 2015, the number of surgical interventions in the aesthetic vision of female breasts has jumped by 11%.

There are no official statistics on aesthetic surgery in Bulgaria but we can assume that we are not far away from the world’s trends. A pair of silicone implants has become a common high-school graduation gift. Naked female breasts are playfully peeking from every advertisement and youtube video, so much so that flashing a nipple whilst performing on stage no longer makes it to page 6, or any page for that matter.

At the same time, breastfeeding in public fires up heated public debates. Is it appropriate? Is it moral? Should it be allowed? After all – breasts are being shown in public!

This double standard imposed on female breasts clearly tells us that if they are there to excite the sexual fantasies of the audience – breasts are warmly welcome, however, everything else related to their real functions are unacceptable and should not exist.

This puts a massive weight of social expectations on women’s backs (breasts) that often remains unconscious until a breast/health decision needs to take place.

Ah, breasts! We can’t live without them. Or can we?

Juliet Fitzpatrick did not recognize reconstruction as an acceptable option. “I thought it was a very brutal and complicated way to make a lump-shaped breast attached to my chest. The new “breast” will never be the same as my natural breast and there will be no nipple. I did not want to live the rest of my life with one huge breast and nothing on the other side.”

 

Read the full article and an interview with Juliet this Friday on the pages of Жената днес The full English translation will be uploaded here after the Bulgarian gets online. I know you can’t wait – me either! 

 

 

Photos: Sue Lacey (Instagram: sue_lacey)