The way some people are reacting to Angelina Jolie’s preventative double mastectomy tells us a lot about how society views breasts, women, and celebrities.
For those who have yet to hear this news, I will briefly fill you in. Angelina Jolie has revealed that she recently had a double mastectomy in order to reduce her risk of breast cancer, which was very high due to family history and faulty genes. This was likely a difficult decision to make – though not necessarily – and is, essentially, a decision which can only truly affect Jolie, her loved ones, and perhaps the doctors involved in the procedure. My personal feelings on the fact that she had the mastectomy stretch as far as ‘it’s good to see somebody taking positive steps for their future health, and unashamedly discussing it’ and very little further.
I’m not trying to discuss her actual mastectomy, though. I’m discussing how, as expected, many internet-dwellers have had an incredibly visceral reaction to the idea of Jolie having her breasts removed. Is she crazy? Why would a woman have her healthy breasts cut off?* RIP Angelina’s boobs! Should we all be chopping off any body parts which might make us ill? What will Brad Pitt do now?**
This all got me to thinking about what this reaction says about how we view breasts. It would be hard to argue sensibly that breasts are just a body part like any other – despite the fact that they are. They are just body parts and unfortunately, for some women they are body parts which are likely to become diseased and potentially kill them. Some women are privileged and fortunate enough to be able to take full control of their future health and have the risk eliminated. Some women do not have this opportunity, but that is another discussion for another day. So why do we view a woman having her breasts removed as such a tragic, crazy thing? I can’t and won’t argue that breasts are never sexual, but they do not have to be sexual, and should not be treated as such when discussing medical issues. But when you consider that breasts are sexualised even in the context of breast cancer itself, it can hardly be surprising that Jolie’s healthy breasts are being held up as the pinnacle of her femininity and sex appeal, and the decision to have them removed is viewed as ridiculous and unnecessary. Never mind the fact that prophylactic mastectomy is not something which Jolie has created for her own purposes, and never mind that in some cases it can reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 90%. Never mind that Jolie lost her mother to breast cancer, and wanted to reduce the chances of her own children losing her to the disease. Never mind any of that, she is just being silly and crazy and ridiculous.
It also seems to tell us something about how we view celebrities. People feeling angry and hurt over Jolie’s mastectomy may be feeling that way because we’re all led to believe that celebrities are somehow our property, our puppets, or even our friends. It says something even more sinister about how female celebrities are viewed – though it may be tongue-in-cheek, the cries of but what about the boobies?! speak volumes about how Jolie is valued by some – not for her acting career, her humanitarian work, as a mother, or even just a human being. Simply as a sex object. You might think I’m putting too fine a point on this, but I’m perfectly comfortable with characterising this kind of lament over lost breasts as a type of objectification. Women’s bodies are often seen as public property, and this may be an extension of that: Jolie has taken control of her own body in a way that transcends its appearance, which is an an affront to a culture that believes the true value of a woman’s body is how good it looks. Her decision was not about aesthetics, it was not about changing her body for a film role, it was not about looking good in case she gets photographed in a bikini, it was not about trying to get some column inches devoted to her smaller waist, more toned limbs, more tanned skin. It was about trying to ensure that her body will remain healthy throughout her life.
* This use of the phrase ‘cut off’ is particularly unsettling and conjures images of body parts being simply sliced from the body. Jolie herself does a pretty good job of describing the procedure, though there is bound to be more detailed and accurate information out there somewhere.
** Also rather unsettling, some people seem to think that Brad Pitt will be more concerned that his wife’s funbags boobs tits ta-tas melons breasts have gone than he will be about her overall health, wellbeing and life expectancy.
