A physical self concept but no breasts

How important are breasts in a woman's physical self concept?

I was thinking about this recently because I was asked to support the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer support and research. I have had several friends with breast cancer and at one point had five of them with it in an eighteen month period.

Jenny and Sun Lin both died from it. Babs had a double mastectomy. Angie had one breast removed and Joy Li had a lumpectomy. What happens to their physical self concept at a time like this?

Body image makes an important contribution to our overall concept of self. However, the importance placed upon the breasts, as part of our body image, differs from one woman to the next.

If you look around at some women, it is apparent from the way they dress, walk and behave that a lot of their self concept is tied in with their breasts.

They dress to display them, they make sure attention is drawn to them where possible, and they invest a lot of emotional energy into them. Some pay enormous amounts of money to increase or reduce them.

What happens then if they lose their breasts? How would this impact on their physical self concept and their overall self concept? Would they be at a loss?

How much do your breasts contribute to your overall identity?

Babs and I had some difficult discussions about this. She'd had breast cancer a year or so earlier, had received treatment and kept her breast. Then cancer was found in her other breast and removal was recommended. Her dilemma was three fold.

Of most importance was: "How do I stay alive? What do I need to do to maximise my chances of a healthy and longer life?"

Her second dilemma was: "Should I have one breast removed or two?"

Her third question was: "If I have both breasts removed, do I have a reconstruction or stay flat chested?"

She chose to have both removed at the same time. How challenging would that be? She wanted more than anything to stay alive.

She also said: "My identity is not in my breasts. I am not one of those women for whom their breasts are everything. I can still be confident in who I am with or without my breasts.”

My heart glowed in admiration for this woman that I loved as a friend and mentor. She was strong and her self concept was intact. She was not without the despair and depression of such a major illness, but she knew what really mattered.

Then came the final decision. Reconstruction or nothing?

It was agonising. How would she present herself to society? Society emphasised that to have a self concept that was feminine, womanly and attractive one needed breasts.

But why? There are risks in reconstruction. There is extra surgery involved in reconstruction. There is a longer period of rehabilitation too. What mattered most?

Her decision was taken – to remain flat chested. Her overall concept of herself embraced so much more than her breasts that she could emotionally cope as a flat chested woman. Could you?

She retains a strong concept of self. She looks beautiful. She is working full time. She is at the top of her profession. She is happy. She is alive.

Are your physical self concept and your overall self concept dependent on your breasts? Or, would you still know your worth and value without them?

It's a dilemma no woman should have to face, but we do. More information can be found here on the McGrath Foundation.