Online donors buy breast implants for Calgary woman
Tue, 2008-02-26 06:45
#1
Scott Piatkowski
Online donors buy breast implants for Calgary woman
Tue, 2008-02-26 06:45
#2
Scott Piatkowski
[url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/02/25/free-implants.html]Eww...
quote:
A Calgary woman has become the first Canadian to receive enough donations from strangers through a U.S. website to get breast augmentation surgery.Candace Leadley, a 26-year-old single mother, came across a website called My Free Implants while surfing the internet in 2006. The site connects women wanting bigger busts with men willing to donate money to their operations.
Candace Leadley found enough benefactors through a U.S. website to cover the $8,500 cost of breast implants.
Leadley set up a profile and posted some pictures of herself. Soon, she was chatting online with men from around the world.
"I just had guys wanting to talk to me and messaging me," she told CBC News. "I made some pretty good friendships from there and then the donations started coming in."
She eventually found enough benefactors who donated $8,500 for her surgery in April that will take her from a size 29A to a 36C. The money will be transferred directly from the website to her surgeon.
Leadley, who works as a framer, said [b]she suffers from low self-esteem and felt that getting bigger breasts will make her feel better about herself.[/b]
........
Moore said the site made $1 million last year, and could allow him to quit his day job soon.
Discuss.
Tue, 2008-02-26 08:31
#3
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by Scott Piatkowski:
[b]Discuss.[/b]
Disgust.
[ 26 February 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Tue, 2008-02-26 08:53
#4
Wow. What does she have to do in return? Does she have to promise to show them off afterwards or something?
I don't get what the "return" is on the men's investment. Unless it's just plain altruism.
Anyhow, personally, it doesn't bother me that much. No woman is being pressured against her will, and if people are dumb enough to spend their hard-earned money on plastic surgery for a stranger, then go for it.
Tue, 2008-02-26 09:12
#5
She's posting pictures of herself to illicit "donations" from visitors to the site:
quote:
Critics of the site call it porn."What the message is, is if you are independent and confident about yourself and about your sexuality, then you should prove it by prostituting yourself without getting paid," said Rebecca Sullivan, a professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in gender and popular culture.
Website revenues hit $1 million
But co-founder Jay Moore disagrees, calling his site a community service."Guys can get, you know, soft pornographic stuff on the web for free. It's not like they're going to go to this site to pay for it, so it's really about the people you're meeting and the connections you're making," said Moore from California.
Tue, 2008-02-26 09:25
#6
Well, whatever works. It's her body.
Tue, 2008-02-26 09:42
#7
quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
[b]Well, whatever works. It's her body.[/b]
I don't know if I agree. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img] We aren't isolated individuals. Her decisions are informed (not determined, but formed) by an economy, a society, and a culture that "values" women for certain things (e.g., large breasts, when combined with youth and certain other physical characteristics), disvalues them for others, and completely ignores important features of women's humanity. Her decision - about her body - perpetuates and supports this same system. It affects us all.
[ 26 February 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]
Tue, 2008-02-26 09:54
#8
Sure it's her body, but her self-image has been shaped by a sexist agenda that objectifies women, valuing them foremost for their appearance (ie, like Rosa said).
quote:
Leadley, who works as a framer, said she suffers from low self-esteem and felt that getting bigger breasts will make her feel better about herself.
She might find that attempting to improve her self-esteem in this way will turn out to be a bust.
[ 26 February 2008: Message edited by: Sineed ]
Tue, 2008-02-26 10:20
#9
That's true. [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img] I admit, I was a bit dogmatic, and I knew I'd be challenged!
Tue, 2008-02-26 10:32
#10
I too am a victim of this acursed disease known as small tits! Barbara Ehrenreich has written a beautiful piece about this "scourge". [url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,974902-1,00.html]http:/...
Tue, 2008-02-26 11:57
#11
I stand to be corrected, but somehow I doubt there's a similar website that solicits donations from strangers for women who want to have breast reduction surgery if they have back problems or other discomfort. Nor, if there was, do I think nearly a million in donations by men would be made.
I think the return on the men's investment could be many things: encouraging women in general to be ashamed of their bodies (some men could feel a sense of power as a result), encourage more women generally to get larger breasts for these men's viewing pleasure, etc.
Tue, 2008-02-26 12:23
#12
quote:
Originally posted by Will S:
somehow I doubt there's a similar website that solicits donations from strangers for women who want to have breast reduction surgery if they have back problems or other discomfort.
Shouldn't breast reduction surgery be covered? I mean it is due to back problems - most other such surgeries would be covered I would think.
Not that I would donate towards implants myself, but as I just filed my tax return yesterday, I am wondering if those donations were deductible?
Tue, 2008-02-26 12:24
#13
And I doubt the situation could easily be reversed: a guy going under the knife and having to show his new improved claim to respect to female donors while a female website owner retired on her cuts of the gambit...
quote:
[i]Show us the length of your cock.
Are you hung like a beaver, or hung like a bear?
Let me check the weight of your rocks,
So we can have a standard by which to compareYou men. Don't worry if it's very, very slender,
The personality is as important as the member.
Drop your trousers and make the news,
And don't judge lest we judge you.[/i]
Music sample at [url=http://www.bossin.com,]http://www.bossin.com,[/url] click on "The Jukebox", scroll down to last song, enjoy...
Tue, 2008-02-26 13:14
#14
quote:
Originally posted by Trevormkidd:
[b]Shouldn't breast reduction surgery be covered? I mean it is due to back problems - most other such surgeries would be covered I would think.[/b]
I think it probably is in Canada, but American women and men are using this site too, so some private insurance plans might not cover it... if they have insurance at all.
Tue, 2008-02-26 13:15
#15
Can I start a website to get my breast reduction surgery paid for. Maybe throw in some hippo suction as a bonus.
Thanks Martin for the reminder of that great Stringband song.
Tue, 2008-02-26 13:32
#16
quote:
Originally posted by WendyL:
Hey, we have the same last name! Maybe we're related [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
(Apologies to all for off-topic remark)
[ 26 February 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]
Tue, 2008-02-26 13:37
#17
quote:
Originally posted by Will S:I think it probably is in Canada, but American women and men are using this site too, so some private insurance plans might not cover it... if they have insurance at all.
Ah, I see. I hadn't read the article and assumed this was a single case and from Canada. My bad.