social construction


Found here.

Since we’re on a plastic surgery kick…according to members of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, breast reduction is the most common cosmetic procedure among 13-19 year olds (girls and boys combined). Members performed 17,269 in 2006. A set of photos available here shows is how trivial the difference is between the before and after pictures. These men were diagnosed with “moderate” gynecomastia. The belief that men are flat chested and women are breasted is not based in biology. In reality, there is a great deal more overlap between men’s and women’s bodies than we’re comfortable with… so off to the plastic surgeon.

Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.