Every woman is different and the body they each have varies also, both from woman to woman and over time as well. Each month you may feel tension and swellings in your breasts before your period, which disappears as soon as your period starts. Your breasts may change due to pregnancy and after birth as well, when milk is produced for your baby. They change yet again when breastfeeding stops – your body adjusts to different stages in your life so that you’re equipped to face any situation. Some women’s breasts even grow larger later in life due to the size of the glands decreasing as fat content rises, whilst some women experience the opposite effect.
Many women aren’t happy with the size and shape of their breasts, but today’s culture has played a big part in our obsession with body image – magazines, TV and the internet are just some of the sources which make us feel self conscious about our body’s not fitting the mould. The ‘ideal’ breast shape is ever present in advertising and modern culture, from TV programmes to lad’s mags in supermarkets, meaning that from AA cups to those with Es every woman strives to meet the perfect breast shape.
Even young women are becoming aware of the importance of having the perfect breast size and shape, feeling that if their breasts are too large it can cause them a problem. For women with large breasts, self esteem can be a problem – you worry that clothes don’t fit right and get self conscious about changing in public changing rooms. There can also be a physical issue with large breasts, in that they can cause back problems. A supportive bra can help, but if your boobs are heavy it can lead to the straps digging into your shoulders.
If you’re unhappy with the size of your breasts, you can opt for breast-reduction surgery which involves removing some of the breast tissue and skin, then reforming the breast. Your GP can advise you of the routes into this solution, and it is generally only suggested for women with both large and pendulous breasts. However, if you don’t wish to be referred, you can opt for a private consultation to discuss the possibility of reducing the size of your breasts.
Studies suggest that men, unsurprisingly, like women with large breasts, but that small breasts aren’t completely off the radar, with many men finding them more attractive. As with all things image related, it boils down to personal taste and preference, both from a male perspective and a woman’s. Researchers found that over 32 percent of male participants rates medium-sized breasts as most attractive, whilst over 24 percent preferred large, 19 prevent preferred very large, 15 percent found small most attractive, and over 8 percent preferred very small.
The study also found that women with larger breasts were attributed with a greater tendency to be sexiest, to objectify women, and also to be hostile towards women. The study correlates with modern thoughts on body image and stereotyping, which suggests that women with large breasts are sexy and obsessed with their image. Of course, this is not true and is only a feature of the advertising world’s predilection with thin blonde women with large breasts – it isn’t a reflection of real women or the views of people in society, with the exception of those who have been conditioned to think in such a way from the media. However, such thinking is creating a generation of young people who are becoming increasingly obsessed with their looks.