Granted, it’s only the fashion and style section of the New York Times, but somebody from the health-medicine-science team at the Times has to give their colleagues a little in-house training on disease-mongering.
For the second time this week – the other being its “Never Too Old for Plastic Surgery” piece, the Times breaks new ground on the medicalization of aging.
“Fighting Cleavage Wrinkles” ??????
The story leads with a woman’s sad saga:
“Soon after she got breast implants in 1999, augmenting her measurements to a 36C (up from a 34B), she started waking up with thick lines on her chest where one breast had fallen against the other as she slept on her side.”
That’s how it began.
Here’s how it ends:
“Anti-aging advances being what they are, she and other women may not have to (wear camisoles under their V-necks to hide these wrinkles).
…
But how big a problem cleavage wrinkles are might also come down to perspective. As one flat-chested woman put it: “Some people would be so happy to have cleavage that they would never think to complain about the wrinkles that accompanied them.”
Too little too late for this story, wrapping up a bad week for stories about women and aging in America.
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Monday at #ADA2021, an infectious disease epidemiologist, a journalist, and a researcher shared perspectives on communication of risk in the era of COVID-19: http://ow.ly/ROfR30rMeE7 @AstleyCM @garyschwitzer @berthahidalgo @ADA_DiabetesPro
Shoutouts to @susan_bewley @drkevinknopf @MichaelBaum11 in this call for more than fawning coverage from press releases for these kinds of stories.
Also, linked history inside goes back 5 years just on Grail apparently trying to become Holy Grail. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1408849696416841731
Comments
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Barbara Duck
August 12, 2011 at 4:53 pmHey I posted a story just about as strange, you can buy a breast pillow that is preventive to avoid this:) Steroid marketing is everywhere today and I take this with a grain of salt and posted it as I do all kinds of other strange healthcare news. The pillow was invented by an RN and said it was the answer to sleeping on your side to avoid wrinkles so we come back to prevention again..well sort of…enjoy:)
http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2010/06/intimia-breast-and-chest-pillow.html
Liz Scherer
August 12, 2011 at 6:48 pmI guess what bothers me most about these stories is the endless emphasis on improving one’s appearance. Whether it’s cleavage wrinkles or saggy breasts and eyes, our society refuses to acknowledge the beauty that aging females bring to the table. Rather we are encouraged to ‘youthify’ our appearances in order to remain relevant and avoid invisibility. Until that acceptance comes, I suspect that we are forever inclined towards improvement.
Exercice Abdo
August 15, 2011 at 12:34 amWhen you think about it, it is really tough to be a woman these days. It starts by “you gotta look like Mrs Hilton” which means stop eating and now ends by “your boobs gotta look like Mrs Anderson even if you are 50+”. It’s sad to see “serious” newspapers collaborate to such non sense propaganda. No wonder they disappear one after one.
Pierre
bev M.D.
August 15, 2011 at 12:27 pmAhh, I am a 34B and sleep so peacefully…..
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