Friday, November 12, 2010

Can I Just Go With the Prize Behind Door #1?

I heard an ad on a local radio station today that really had me wondering, WTF??? It was for a contest at some night club, where you can win, (cue my best monster truck announcer voice), either a Harley Davidson motorcycle, or a set of breast implants!

Really? Those are my options?

First of all, if those two prizes are equal in value, HOLY SHIT are breast implants ever expensive!!! I've never priced them out, having as lovely a set as I already have. Heh.

But on to the bigger issue, (I just caught the double entendre upon re-reading this!), how small is the market that this contest is geared towards? (Woohoo! Found another one!) I've never felt older or uncool-er listening to that station as I did upon hearing this ad, yet I'm pretty sure that a younger, cooler version of me wouldn't have been interested either. I really don't think I'm alone.

I'm guessing, and it's just a guess, but it is probably a small minority of women who want to have a bigger rack, AND who would actually risk elective surgery to go through with it. I'm also guessing that it is probably only a small minority of the population who would want to get on a motorcycle, despite its perceived cool-ness.

And then there's the inequality issue. Although these prizes are possibly equal in dollar value, are they really reasonable alternatives?

Undoubtedly the breast implants are geared towards women.

I am not a part of 'motorcycle culture', a term that would probably be laughed at by people who are part of it, but my hunch is that the Harley prize is geared more towards men. Women ride them too, but the statistic I read here says that women make up only 18% of motorcycle riders.

So men, your prize, if you choose to accept it, is a vehicle that is both a method of transportation, and offers a feeling of freedom as you travel along a country road, with the wind in your hair, as you leave your troubles behind.

Women, your prize, if you choose to accept it, implies that your body is not good enough as it is, and offers the opportunity to have even fewer people look you in the eye while conversing with you. AND if the surgery is successful, you then get to worry about capsular contracture, and rupture or leakage, and other possible complications.

I don't want to say that there aren't women who benefit from implants in terms of increased self esteem, etc., and I don't want to condemn women who have had implants. If you did it for yourself, great! But you can't deny that there are health risks. A decision to have elective, cosmetic surgery should be made intelligently, and in a well thought out manner. It shouldn't be on a whim because you happened to have won a contest.

Or you could just opt for the Harley, sell it on ebay, buy cheaper implants and still have enough cash left over for a nice vacation!

1 comment:

leighchee said...

Good grief. What radio station in their right mind would offer that?!