The Good Girl's Guide to Humungous Tits: The Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Implications of Breast Augmentation by K. A. Connor - HTML preview

Where Do We Grow From Here?

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

By Maya Angelou.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…

enough money within her control to move out

and rent a place of  her own,

even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

something perfect to wear

if the employer, or date of her dreams

wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .

a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .

a past

juicy enough that she's looking forward

to retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and...

a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

one friend who always makes her laugh..

and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

a good piece of furniture

not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,

and a recipe for a meal,

that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

a feeling of control

over her destiny..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to fall in love

without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job,

break up with a lover,

and confront a friend,

without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

when to try harder...

and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that her childhood may not have been perfect...

but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

what she would and wouldn't do...

for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....

how to live alone...

even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .

whom she can trust,

whom she can't,

and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

where to go...

be it to her best friend's kitchen table..

or a charming Inn in the woods....

when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..

What she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month... and a year...

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 307,180 breast augmentation procedures were performed in 2011.

307,180 women whom you might know, 307,180 women who you probably don’t know, 307,180 pre-ops, elective surgeries and recoveries and 307,180 stories to tell. 307,180 lives that are being lead hopefully right this moment somewhere on the face of this planet. 307,180 women said ‘yes’ to breast augmentation in 2011.

It could have been 307,181 if I had said ‘yes.’ 307,182 if we both said ‘yes.’ 307,183 if my mom said ‘yes.’ 307,184 if my grandma said ‘yes.’ 307, 185 if my boss said ‘yes,’ 307,186 if my doctor said ‘yes’ and just around about 307, 187 if my librarian said ‘yes.’ The number would rise if my mail lady said ‘yes’ and my personal trainer said ‘yes’ and my massage therapist said yes to breast augmentation. But the query that begs to be answered is this.

If we say yes, what are we saying yes to?

And if we say no, what are we turning away?

In 2011 307,186 women got their breasts augmented. And I so wish I was one of them and I am kind of glad I am not one of them. And I still don’t know what that means. In this world so veiled by expectation and so clouded by intentions, who can be sure what is rational and who can be sure what is irrational? If you push it far enough, if you tear it down, if you clear your mind. You will see the many constraints that have been bestowed upon you by the powers that be. Developed by people you may or may not know and developed by people who will never truly know you. No one, anywhere, has ever truly known you completely. And that leads me to believe that the only true authority in life is your own experience. Through your unadulterated experience only will you ever be able to find your truths, your God and your path. Push all of your assumptions back far enough and you might find they were instilled by someone who never truly knew you. All we have is this experience the is completely and uniquely ours and ours alone. Does it not make sense to trust your gut? Push your assumptions back far enough. And your world may open up, even just a little. I am an older sister and I attempt to use that as a tool in my life to determine rights and wrongs. Above all my rants and thoughts and musings and suffering and doubts there is my younger sister. Her sweet little face and all my love for her is a true experience of real love. How would I feel if my younger sister told me she was getting her breasts done? If she told me as I gazed at her sweet little face. If she told me her decision was made weighing with all the potential and possibilities and struggles and wonder and weight and options and with all the gruesome outcomes and potential of very real pleasure. There will always be elephants in the living room. There will always be judgment and consequence. With my damned indecision balanced precariously on my mind and with my heart and my head and my past and my future. Well. I hope I feel only love. I think I would feel only love. I think I would look at her and know she was much more than a set of breasts. And I would trust that she knew herself. That she had looked at this from all angles. That she could handle whatever was in her future and whatever was coming her way. I would ask that she express herself as clearly as possible. I would ask questions and listen. And she would know that I was there too. Holding her hand and loving her through it all. I would let her know she could count on me and lean on me. And onward we would go. My mother once told me. “You should never make a decision from fear.” She told me my decisions should come from a place of joy and a place of opportunity. I wish for joy and opportunity. I wish joy and opportunity for every one of us. Through this crazy maze we call life we keep rolling onward. Doing the best we can and sorting it out as we go. May you have joy and conquer fear. You can bet it’s not going to be simple. But maybe it’s not supposed to be? Perhaps it’s not supposed to be easy? But perhaps it is? Perhaps we are limited only by our minds? Perhaps we won’t always know which way to turn in this life? Perhaps we will never know? Maybe that’s o.k.? Maybe it’s perfect, just the way it is?

“There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours.”

Cary Elwes

-The Princess Bride