Breast Augmentation Surgery

[mostolto]

are our societies loosing touch with reality, and becoming obsessed with youthful cosmetic appearances? i am opposed to most forms of invasive beauty enhancing, cosmetic surgery, purely from an aesthetic viewpoint. in my view, it looks unnatural, but what is the Curches view on this subject. is it a sin for women to undergo, or want to undergo, cosmetic breast augmentation/enlargement surgery (breast implants)? am interested to hear others viewpoint on this?

 

[Crescentinus]

I’ve seen women undertake breast reduction surgeries in an attempt to look sexy. o:

 

[Lost_Sheep]

is it a sin for women to undergo, or want to undergo, cosmetic breast augmentation/enlargement surgery (breast implants)?

Probably. Since the Church hates anything sexy or sexual (with the exception of monogamous unprotected pro-creating missionary-position sex between married couples, of course ) then it’s probably a mortal sin.

The rule of thumb is that if something makes you happy you’re not allowed to do it.

 

[mostolto]

its true. i have heard of women undergoing breast reduction surgery. am not sure about what the medical reasons are for this are? have heard women complaining about back aches. from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, i have little faith in these forms of beauty enhancement surgery. in my view, the natural body form, is better, although possibly with gross deformities, one could make an exception. i honestly dont like the way breast implants are being used to exagerate the size of womens breasts. it says something really bad about our society, that we are not happy with the shape of our bodies. maybe someday our women will evolve into the “surgically perfect” creation of mens imaginations, with oversized, inflated lips, and breasts that have seams?

 

[centurionguard]

its true. i have heard of women undergoing breast reduction surgery. am not sure about what the medical reasons are for this are? have heard women complaining about back aches. from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, i have little faith in these forms of beauty enhancement surgery. in my view, the natural body form, is better, although possibly with gross deformities, one could make an exception. i honestly dont like the way breast implants are being used to exagerate the size of womens breasts. it says something really bad about our society, that we are not happy with the shape of our bodies. maybe someday our women will evolve into the “surgically perfect” creation of mens imaginations, with oversized, inflated lips, and breasts that have seams?

If its for legitimate medical reasons that poses a risk to the woman’s health I see no problem.
I have two sisters that have oversize breasts which cause them problems. And its not a psychological sexual thing. If such augmentation is used to incite lust then I see your point.
There maybe other reasons aside from lust itself that many are unaware of that might legitimize augmentation like women who had a mastectomy or involved in accidents.

 

[Crescentinus]

If its for legitimate medical reasons that poses a risk to the woman’s health I see no problem.
I have two sisters that have oversize breasts which cause them problems. And its not a psychological sexual thing. If such augmentation is used to incite lust then I see your point.

The same case applies for reduction as well.
I agree with you that for legitimate medical reasons, augmentation and reduction are not problematic.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

Probably. Since the Church hates anything sexy or sexual (with the exception of monogamous unprotected pro-creating missionary-position sex between married couples, of course ) then it’s probably a mortal sin.

The rule of thumb is that if something makes you happy you’re not allowed to do it.

Seriously, as the others have suggested, if it is for medical reasons then there should be no problem however I have heard of reducing breast size sometimes being a medical necessity, I’ve never heard of breast enlargement (i.e.; implants) ever being medically necessary.

 

[LightBound]

Women having the size of her breasts reduced in order to look sexy?? Perhaps this is some kind of fetish fad about looking like an adolescent. I can say that aspiring to look like a young school girl in order to be sexy is not commonplace in the West; especially to the point of surgery. Maybe it’s a big thing in the Orient. That “Harajuku” girl thing. Breast reductions are usually done because of chronic back pain and frequent skin infections because of rubbing/irritation of the tissue. Not to mention having excessively large breasts is a psychological issue for many women. It’s hard to maintain modesty when you are always being stared at- not matter what you are wearing. Anyone that questions breast reduction for reasons such as this needs to keep their asinine opinoins to themselves. Women with extremely large breasts have enough problems without having the morality police making even more judgements about them!

Again, if it’s for some creepy reason like attempting to look prepubescent girl (or like a boy), that’s another story.

 

[LightBound]

Probably. Since the Church hates anything sexy or sexual (with the exception of monogamous unprotected pro-creating missionary-position sex between married couples, of course ) then it’s probably a mortal sin.

The rule of thumb is that if something makes you happy you’re not allowed to do it.

The Church doesn’t think that way, but a lot of the folks on CAF sure do!

 

[LightBound]

its true. i have heard of women undergoing breast reduction surgery. am not sure about what the medical reasons are for this are? have heard women complaining about back aches. from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, i have little faith in these forms of beauty enhancement surgery. in my view, the natural body form, is better, although possibly with gross deformities, one could make an exception. i honestly dont like the way breast implants are being used to exagerate the size of womens breasts. it says something really bad about our society, that we are not happy with the shape of our bodies. maybe someday our women will evolve into the “surgically perfect” creation of mens imaginations, with oversized, inflated lips, and breasts that have seams?

Breast reductions are usually done because of chronic back pain and frequent skin infections because of rubbing/irritation of the tissue. Not to mention having excessively large breasts is a psychological issue for many women. It’s hard to maintain modesty when you are always being stared at- not matter what you are wearing. Anyone that questions breast reduction for reasons such as this needs to keep opinions to themselves. Women with extremely large breasts have enough problems without having the morality police making even more judgements about them!

 

[Crescentinus]

Women having the size of her breasts reduced in order to look sexy?? Perhaps this is some kind of fetish fad about looking like an adolescent. I can say that aspiring to look like a young school girl in order to be sexy is not commonplace in the West; especially to the point of surgery. Maybe it’s a big thing in the Orient. That “Harajuku” girl thing. Breast reductions are usually done because of chronic back pain and frequent skin infections because of rubbing/irritation of the tissue. Not to mention having excessively large breasts is a psychological issue for many women. It’s hard to maintain modesty when you are always being stared at- not matter what you are wearing. Anyone that questions breast reduction for reasons such as this needs to keep their asinine opinoins to themselves. Women with extremely large breasts have enough problems without having the morality police making even more judgements about them!

Again, if it’s for some creepy reason like attempting to look prepubescent girl (or like a boy), that’s another story.

Actually, it is more of a fad to look either like some adolescent or certain Western celebrities. I swear, I am finding out that there’s small but growing groups of people who say that breast reduction or having naturally small breasts is sexy.
And yes, some women want to look like boys so that guys (or lesbians) would go off and chase them! Then again, I’ve also seen women who would want to look like some adolescent so that guys would go off and chase them! The latter view, sadly comes from how certain otakus interpret a certain line from the anime Lucky Star. I would not want to post said quote here for I will get reported for doing so!

Personally, I hate fads that have something to do with breast augmentation and breast reduction! It’s hardly beautiful!

 

[LightBound]

Seriously, as the others have suggested, if it is for medical reasons then there should be no problem however I have heard of reducing breast size sometimes being a medical necessity, I’ve never heard of breast enlargement (i.e.; implants) ever being medically necessary.

Most women with breast cancer that have mastectomies get reconstructive surgery involving implants. I hope to Heaven no one on here finds that morally wrong.

 

[mostolto]

i think we should be careful to differentiate between cosmetic surgery that is done purely for beauty enhancement vs that is done for instance to repair gross damage caused by medical conditions, accidents etc. Dolly Parton, for example, apparently had her breasts reduced, for logistical reasons. it has been said, to relieve severe chronic back and neck pain. at 5’(153cm) and with 40DD breasts, she was apparently afraid her fans would loose interest in her music (men…honestly). her drums were no doubt beating “Islands in the Stream” to a different rythmn?

 

[NiceMimi]

If the surgery is performed for medical, psychological and/or emotional reasons, I don’t see a problem. There but for the Grace of God go I.

 

[Ophelia23]

Most women with breast cancer that have mastectomies get reconstructive surgery involving implants. I hope to Heaven no one on here finds that morally wrong.

I sincerely can’t imagine that anybody would consider that morally wrong. And if they did, then I think they need to either A) do some internal work on their own scrupulosity or B) audition for the role of the mother on Carrie.

In all seriousness though, there are many reasons for breast augmentation outside of just vanity. As with many things in life, it becomes sinful depending on the intention or purpose behind it.

 

[Corki]

are our societies loosing touch with reality, and becoming obsessed with youthful cosmetic appearances? i am opposed to most forms of invasive beauty enhancing, cosmetic surgery, purely from an aesthetic viewpoint. in my view, it looks unnatural, but what is the Curches view on this subject. is it a sin for women to undergo, or want to undergo, cosmetic breast augmentation/enlargement surgery (breast implants)? am interested to hear others viewpoint on this?

The Church isn’t going to take a position on cosmetic surgery since the surgery is morally neutral.

A Catholic needs to have a well-formed conscience regarding prudence, vanity, and stewardship. A Catholic needs to make any decisions on surgery for the right reasons.

Is the surgery prudent in terms of risk?
Is the surgery desired purely out of vanity vs (for example) as part of wanting to keep up a professional appearance?
Is this a good use of a person’s money and resources?

If the person does it in order to get a job in a strip club - obviously bad. If the person has the surgery to restore form after cancer surgery - obviously not bad.

In between, it is a matter of prudential judgement.

BTW, the Church does not have an issue with asthetics. Cosmetic surgery does not need to be “medically” justified to make it moral.

 

[andrewstx]

i think we should be careful to differentiate between cosmetic surgery that is done purely for beauty enhancement vs that is done for instance to repair gross damage caused by medical conditions, accidents etc. Dolly Parton, for example, apparently had her breasts reduced, for logistical reasons. it has been said, to relieve severe chronic back and neck pain. at 5’(153cm) and with 40DD breasts, she was apparently afraid her fans would loose interest in her music (men…honestly). her drums were no doubt beating “Islands in the Stream” to a different rythmn?

I am male, and I would like to be able to afford liposuction, not for apperences but for the sake of my health. I fast at times, usually only eat one small meal a day. But try as I may I can’t get under 220lbs.

Health because carrying so much fat strains the heart, and I already have CHF (heart failure).

I know this is not about breast augmentation but it still fits in under “cosmetic” surgery that in my case is not cosmetic at all.

 

[ValPal]

I am male, and I would like to be able to afford liposuction, not for apperences but for the sake of my health. I fast at times, usually only eat one small meal a day. But try as I may I can’t get under 220lbs.

Health because carrying so much fat strains the heart, and I already have CHF (heart failure).

I know this is not about breast augmentation but it still fits in under “cosmetic” surgery that in my case is not cosmetic at all.

You might want to read up on liposuction and health. The procedure is cosmetic. Liposuction simply removes fat from a particular area, and does nothing to remove fat deposits from vital organs, and thus won’t reduce your health risks.

Diet and exercise is the way to go.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

Most women with breast cancer that have mastectomies get reconstructive surgery involving implants. I hope to Heaven no one on here finds that morally wrong.

No, I’d consider that medical. I’m talking about “vanity” augmentation.

 

[Crescentinus]

No, I’d consider that medical. I’m talking about “vanity” augmentation.

The same also applies to “vanity” breast reduction.