A filled-out bosom or a bosom-filled with love...

....That is the question.
The headline is a translation of a Bangla movie's promo – Shunyo e buke – the story of Saumitra and Churni, two artistes, who meet through common friends, fall in love, brave displeased families and economic disparity and get married. On their wedding night Saumitra is shocked to discover that Churni is flat-chested. His shock then turns to anger and hurt with him accusing Churni of ‘cheating’ him since she wore padded bras.

Padded bras, under-wired bras, rounded bras, push-up bras, diminishing bras and a plethora of other ‘specialised’ bras are all designed for one purpose: To beautify the appearance of a woman’s breasts. As long as there are women unhappy with their breasts, there will be a market for products and procedures that remove that unhappiness. And going by given figures, there are many women unhappy with their breasts. According to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the United States alone had 3,99,440 women going in for breast augmentation or enhancement in 2007. Another 1,53,807 went in for a reduction in their breast size. Those are the numbers in one country for a single year; the global figures are bigger and growing by the day.

While rising figures for breast augmentation/ reduction definitely mean more profits for the plastic/cosmetic surgery industry, do made-to-order breasts mean happier women? And why are so many women unhappy about their breasts in the first place?

The ASAPS breast augmentation home page says, “Women may choose to under go breast enlargement surgery for various reasons. These personal reasons may center around breasts that are perceived to be under-developed, or because of differences in the sizes of the breasts or from changes after pregnancy or breast-feeding. Some women may be happy with their breasts but just want them made fuller… Breast enhancement using breast implants can give a woman more proportional shape and may improve self esteem.”

Whatever might be the immediate stimulus, ‘may improve self esteem’ seems to be the primary reason for women to go in for these procedures. In a quick email survey of 18 people – 11 women, 7 men – it was unanimously agreed that while it was a woman’s personal choice to go under the scalpel, those who did were suffering from low self-esteem. They viewed themselves as lesser than the image of what a woman is supposed to look like.

There’s no denying the fact that breasts play a significant part in the ‘attractive quotient’ of a woman. Popular myth has it that most men prefer bigger breasts. Perhaps not Lolo Ferrari but definitely an Angelina Jolie. Flip through any ‘lad magazine’ and there are more pictures of women with big breasts – naturally or surgically enhanced – than those with small breasts. Think ‘hot woman’ and the most media-propagated, Accepted Image is of a woman with luscious, proportionate, anti-gravity big breasts.

So what happens when a woman’s breasts – whether bigger or smaller – do not adhere to the Accepted Image? She feels ridiculed, feels she’s lacking and thinks she is not as attractive as other women to the point that at times her entire personality suffers. Looking good is important in today’s world (and I daresay in the previous ones as well) and with women being constantly told they have to look a certain image, the numbers going to great lengths to achieve that goal are increasing.

Take the case of the movie quoted at the beginning of the story. Churni was born with small breasts and had to pad up to avoid jibes. Eventually her husband – who is in love with her – rejects her for not having his idea of what breasts are supposed to be. It makes one wonder: How do men react to the whole enhancement idea?

Read further: Killing themselves over breasts