--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a woman says, I am getting these…" description: "\"If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to gain self confidence, then I have to ask, What kind of a society do we live in where a woman's s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg" --- # If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to… ![“If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to gain self confidence, then I have to ask, What kind of a society do we live in where a woman's self-confidence depends on having a dangerous, expensive and painful operation on a perfectly healthy body?” quote by Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg) > “If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to gain self confidence, then I have to ask, What kind of a society do we live in where a woman's self-confidence depends on having a dangerous, expensive and painful operation on a perfectly healthy body?” [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society pressures women to seek risky, costly procedures for confidence, reflecting shallow values about beauty and self-worth. **In simple terms:** Women are pressured to get dangerous surgery for confidence. Key Takeaway Question societal standards of beauty. Themes beauty standards body image consumerism Mood critical concerned Type social commentary feminist When to use this quote - cosmetic surgery decisions - media influence - personal confidence - health risks Key Concepts feminist critique social pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do media portrayals affect self-esteem? - What alternatives support confidence without surgery? A Different Perspective Changes in cultural values may reduce reliance on surgery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Boobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boobs/) [Breast implants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breast-implants/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Healthy body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-body/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-confidence/) ## Related quotes > [Breast implants gross me out. I don't think they're attractive at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-portman/breast-implants-gross-me-out-i-don-t-think-they-re-attractive-at-all/) [Natalie Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-portman/) > [For the first time ever, women are scoring higher than men on IQ tests. Scientists say it has something to do with breast implants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/for-the-first-time-ever-women-are-scoring-higher-than-men-on-iq-tests/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Silicone breast implants make you healthier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/silicone-breast-implants-make-you-healthier/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) > [Acting is about being real, being honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/acting-is-about-being-real-being-honest/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Breast implants are like tattoos, not a good look when you get old and they get wrinkly. That was my primary thought regarding Ipanema…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/breast-implants-are-like-tattoos-not-a-good-look-when-you-get-old-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have had breast implants, but it's so funny 'cause it's not a secret; I could care less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtney-kardashian/i-have-had-breast-implants-but-it-s-so-funny-cause-it-s-not-a-secret/) [Kourtney Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtney-kardashian/) > [If you eat right and you exercise and you get breast implants, you can look like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-lee-nolin/if-you-eat-right-and-you-exercise-and-you-get-breast-implants-you-can/) [Gena Lee Nolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-lee-nolin/) > [I have never had anything done. I've been asked if I had breast implants. Whether I did or not, it's nobody's business but my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannen-doherty/i-have-never-had-anything-done-i-ve-been-asked-if-i-had-breast/) [Shannen Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannen-doherty/) > [Because over the past few years, more money has been spent on breast implants and Viagra than is spent on Alzheimer's Disease research, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/because-over-the-past-few-years-more-money-has-been-spent-on-breast/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [There's no such thing as a feminist - just women who pay for their own breast implants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-mcfarlane/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-feminist-just-women-who-pay-for-their-own/) [Bonnie McFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-mcfarlane/) > [You shouldn't get breast implants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-prejean/you-shouldn-t-get-breast-implants/) [Carrie Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-prejean/) > [“Whenever they are condemning weaves or breast implants, some people speak so passionately that their false teeth almost fall out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/whenever-they-are-condemning-weaves-or-breast-implants-some-people/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I had breast implants done to save my marriage. It was the sorriest day of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-ballas/i-had-breast-implants-done-to-save-my-marriage-it-was-the-sorriest/) [Shirley Ballas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-ballas/) > [Pamela Anderson Lee released a statement confirming that she has had her breast implants removed. Doctors say that Pamela is doing fine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/pamela-anderson-lee-released-a-statement-confirming-that-she-has-had/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I will make breast implants passe and butt implants hip and chic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakhi-sawant/i-will-make-breast-implants-passe-and-butt-implants-hip-and-chic/) [Rakhi Sawant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakhi-sawant/) ## More by Katha Pollitt > [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [One of the very important ideas of feminism for me has always been women helping and supporting each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/one-of-the-very-important-ideas-of-feminism-for-me-has-always-been/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [funny how ready people are to believe that counseling, which even when voluntary takes years to modify garden-variety neuroses, can work wonders in months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/funny-how-ready-people-are-to-believe-that-counseling-which-even-when/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Misogyny runs deeper than religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/misogyny-runs-deeper-than-religion/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [Why must the woman apologize for not having a baby just because she happened to get pregnant? It's as if we think motherhood is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/why-must-the-woman-apologize-for-not-having-a-baby-just-because-she/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“Maybe I’m not cut out for monogamy,” G. had said to me early on. “Maybe I should just live in a room by myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/maybe-i-m-not-cut-out-for-monogamy-g-had-said-to-me-early-on-maybe-i/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [For many people, feminism is one of those words of which, as St. Augustine said about time, they know the meaning as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/for-many-people-feminism-is-one-of-those-words-of-which-as-st/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [When it comes to ideas - and religions are, among other things, ideas - there is no right not to be offended. ... In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-it-comes-to-ideas-and-religions-are-among-other-things-ideas/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [In a better world, science teachers would teach creationism along with evolution as an exercise in critical thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/in-a-better-world-science-teachers-would-teach-creationism-along-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision and move on with their lives. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/we-need-to-say-that-women-have-sex-have-abortions-are-at-peace-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [“I’m a writer; I can float for hours on a word like “amethyst” or “broom” or the way so many words sound like what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-m-a-writer-i-can-float-for-hours-on-a-word-like-amethyst-or-broom/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [A feminist is a person who answers 'yes' to the question 'Are women human?' Feminism is not about whether women are better than, worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/a-feminist-is-a-person-who-answers-yes-to-the-question-are-women/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [If you run into trouble doing what's expected, people sympathize with you, while if you try something else and flop everyone says, You see?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-you-run-into-trouble-doing-what-s-expected-people-sympathize-with/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [ When you consider that God could have commanded anything he wanted--anything!--the Ten \[Commandments\] have got to rank as one of the great missed moral… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/when-you-consider-that-god-could-have-commanded-anything-he-wanted/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) > [While woman sheds the Blood of Life each moon at menstruation, man can only shed the blood of death through warfare and killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/while-woman-sheds-the-blood-of-life-each-moon-at-menstruation-man-can/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) [Explore all 39 Katha Pollitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to gain self confidence, then I have to ask, What kind of a society do we live in where a woman's self-confidence depends on having a dangerous, expensive and painful operation on a perfectly healthy body?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katha Pollitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breast-implants-to-gain-self/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breast-implants-to-gain-self/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/612/katha-pollitt-16599_asks_if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breas_2155486.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a woman says, I am getting these breast implants to gain self confidence, then I have to ask, What kind…” — Katha Pollitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Katha Pollitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a woman says, I am...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breast-implants-to-gain-self/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/if-a-woman-says-i-am-getting-these-breast-implants-to-gain-self/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```