One Real vs One Fake

In any experiment testing a hypothesis, researchers try to control as many variables and outside influences as possible. For example, to study the effects of nature versus nurture, scientists try to find sets of twins who have been separated at birth so they can test people who are genetically identical with different life experiences.

Using this principal, how could we realistically test how implants feel inside of a woman versus natural breasts over time? You could get twins – one with implants and one who has left herself natural, and have them record their experiences. However, you would still have to rely on their subjective feelings and interpretations of the experience. Ideally, you would need a woman who has experienced life with one real breast and one artificial breast. And this is exactly who I talked to!

Since starting No Cones, I’ve had some amazing conversations. An acquaintance named Cynthia (named changed to protect identity) shared with me her fascinating story. She was born with a hereditary condition - a sunken chest just like her father – with no negative health consequences. Simply, the bone structure on her left chest wall just caved inward.

As she became a maturing teenager, the condition became more prominent. Her right breast was blossoming whereas the left side of her chest was concave. Cynthia recalls wearing baggy tops and covering her swimsuit with a t-shirt to hide the lopsidedness. At the age of 16, her doctor recommended a saline implant to balance the look of her chest and she proceeded with the surgery.

For the past 25 years, Cynthia has had the unique experience of living with one real breast and one implant. And she emphatically states she can’t imagine anyone ever choosing to put implants in their bodies for purely cosmetic reasons.

“Every day, I have had these side by side on my chest, and the difference is enormous,” she says. “The implant is so heavy I can feel the constant pull on it all the way up to my neck, and now it hangs lower than my real one.”

According to Cynthia, real is vastly superior. She recalls awkward moments with new boyfriends, wondering when and how to explain that one is going to feel different than the other before their hands reached under her bra. Happily married for several years now, Cynthia says there is nothing sexually pleasurable about her fake breast.

“I have numb areas on my left side and I don’t even like having the nipple touched as it feels weird,” she admits. “Why anyone would pay money to have this done is beyond me.”

The irony - so many women are getting implants thinking a certain size and shape of breast make them more sexually attractive, only to find they’ve been robbed of the actual sexual sensation in them.