STORM IN A D CUP

May 6, 2009

Carrie Prejean bikini Controversy in the States this week about a beauty queen with - shock horror - breast implants. HuffPost reveals that the magnificently-named Carrie Prejean, had her surgery paid for and organised by Miss California Pageant officials.

There are several sides to this story, not least Prejean’s vocal opposition to “unnatural” same-sex marriage. The almost as well-named Brian Normoyle neatly skewers the contradictions of this position.

What’s particularly interesting to me, however, is the defense offered by Pageant co-Director Keith Lewis for the decision to procure Prejean a boob job. He says:

We want to put her [Prejean] in the best possible confidence in order to present herself in the best possible light on a national stage.

On YourTango, Julie Andrews picks up on this comment:

Hold on a sec. Did he really utter the word confidence, and imply that going under the knife for a bigger bust size gives a woman more confidence? More attention, sure. More cleavage stares, we can’t deny that. But real self-confidence? … Don’t think so.

I agree with the spirit of Andrew’s remarks. But I can’t agree with their substance. His line of thinking is no doubt highly disengenuous, but I find myself forced to agree with Lewis on this:

…for me, it’s not a personal choice that I would recommend. But at the same time, I know so many women that have done the procedure and feel better about themselves and the way they present themselves.

I think that’s the question is, whether or not, when you’re looking at that procedure as an option, am I going to feel better about myself?

I’ve argued before that, however much we might want to believe that confidence comes solely from within, it can’t be divorced from the way people see you. Breast implants are particularly dubious, to my mind, because of the possible health risks involved (althought these are far from certain). But what about getting braces or having your ears pinned back? Most people would accept that those procedures can improve your self-confidence.

I’ve also argued that there’s no such thing as “real self-confidence”. There are competing definitions, but no right answer, no “true reality”. Opposing one idea of confidence to another is to enter into an argument without hope of resolution.

My prediction: that we’ll see more and more of this – in politics as well as marketing. In fact, it’s already on its way.

Confidence politics are the new identity politics. Just as dangerous. And just as hard to argue against.

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Kirstin says:

May 7, 2009 at 2:06 pm

I can’t remember who said “Identity is a unicorn. There is no such animal” right now, but I think you’re right to attribute the same qualities to confidence. It’s a seductive concept - powerful and apparently effective when it’s around, soul-destroying when it’s not. It can also spring from the slightest thing, and whatever people say about confidence in principle, they probably know that from their own experience. So in terms of boob jobs, they may well give women confidence. It’s depressing but true.

That kind of double-think is a bit like how people talk about beauty. On America’s Next Top Model WHICH I NEVER WATCH they are always on about “inner beauty”. Maybe both beauty and confidence could be replaced by a perceived “likelihood of getting” : “likelihood of getting shagged”, “likelihood of getting a job”, “likelihood of being voted Miss America”.

Will eroding confidence become a kind of anti-social behaviour, as if confidence is a human right? On that unsatisfactory Louis Theroux doc about paedophiles, the psychologist said that one of the “individuals” had “verbally abused” her, and defined it as excluding her from the conversation, i.e. being unfriendly.

In that case, people might become increasingly sensitive about how the notion of confidence is used in advertising and so on. But probably not. Because people will take just about any amount of contradictory crap. Right now, thousands of fifteen year old girls are sitting in maths, dreaming about the day they’ll have enough money for a boob job and use their new-found confidence to get on the front cover of FHM. I s’pose that’s my problem about the way confidence is bandied about - for women it’s almost always about “likelihood of getting shagged”, unless of course it’s for incontinence panty-liners, in which case, fair play.

I’m feeling pretty low now. Maybe I should consider a boob job to lift my spirits.

Don’t worry. Michelle Obama will probably sort all of this out.

H says:

November 6, 2009 at 7:36 am

Why don’t we start a Dr.’s skills Miss Universe, where Drs. get to show their final product performed on women who lack self-esteem. I thought the whole idea of a beautiful woman was the person, as the person is. We don’t need anymore MJ’s, do we?

justme says:

November 16, 2009 at 11:31 am

I do not think a beauty contest is about “inner” beauty, it’s seems to be the book cover, not the book

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