The IASPS recently published its study on the most popular cosmetic procedures worldwide. In the United States, of course, we know that these are 1) Botox, 2) Chemical Peeling, and 3) Breast Augmentation. Worldwide, in fact, breast augmentation is among the most common procedures in society figures. It appears in the top three procedures in most countries, although the list obviously includes non-invasive procedures, which in this country outnumber surgical procedures by almost a factor of ten. It is notably (and explainably) absent from the lists of all Muslim countries, which focus primarily on skin and facial procedures, notably rhinoplasty.
Interestingly, however, there are only two countries that have breast reduction as a main procedure: Germany and Switzerland. Why this might be so is complicated, but it may have a profound impact on the prevalence of breast augmentation in heavily German communities, such as Pennsylvania.
German-American image
The girl from St. Pauli aside, Americans don’t think of German women as exemplars of beauty, especially voluptuous beauty. For example, there were no German women in the recently published list of the 50 best breasts in Hollywood. There were many contributions from France and Italy, but the closest to Germany is Swiss German Ursula Andress, who appears courtesy of the Bond movie Dr. No. The most famous example of a German actress in Hollywood is Marlene Dietrich, who hosts a very masculine figure most of the time. Also, when beautiful German women are featured in movies, such as in Indiana Jones and Elsa of the Last Crusade, played by Alison Doody, they are usually portrayed in a similarly masculine way.
German self-image
But does this relate to the real image that German women have of themselves? After all, St. Pauli Girl is indeed a German beer, with German design marketing. Are German women perceived so differently from women all over the world?
The answer might have nothing to do with attractiveness per se. According to an article on German culture, German women have long been “circumscribed by the three K-words: Kinder (children), Kirche (church), and Küche (kitchen).” Women have felt this limitation more strongly in the 20th and 21st centuries and have sought to break out of the strictly controlled circle of their lives. Perhaps breast reduction is part of this. At least two of these words, Kinder and Küche, are closely linked to the visual image of abundant breasts, either in the maternal sense or in the generous carnal association with a woman in the kitchen. So breast reduction surgery [http://www.geisingercosmetics.com/breast_reduction.html] it becomes a powerful symbol of women’s liberation, the liberation not only of children and the kitchen, but also of the enormous expectations placed on them by men and represented in the Girl of St. Pauli.