Where do I start? Not sure. I will just run with it -- to see where my own thoughts take me.
I wonder if there might have been several reasons why the students didn’t want to talk to the men about implants. Maybe their questions were purely based on the female perspective -- the for’s and againsts, reasons for or against, costs, or how women perceive potential risks, especially in the long term. That’s not something a man can easily answer, unless he’s already discussed such things with his partner and formed his thoughts from those conversations.
Had the students wanted to include men, I imagine the students would want to approach the men cautiously. It’s possible to have a mature discussion with a man about breasts, usually one-to-one, but probably best not in a public setting. In that sort of environment I think most men would feel uncomfortable, aware that everyone’s eyes might turn towards them. And if a man’s with his mates, the whole thing could quickly descend into immaturity. I believe one-to-one would be much better with a man.
If a partner were to say she was seriously thinking about implants and asked for my opinion, I’d say: don’t do it unless you feel it’s truly necessary. Necessary not only for your physical wellbeing, but perhaps also for your mental wellbeing. One can be just as important as the other.
I read through this thread and paused at post #5. Someone mentioned “watermelon” implants, and my first thought was: "You have got to be kidding me. Nothing surprises me these days. Some people will have anything put inside their bodies." Then I read the second line, and it still didn’t click… not until I’d read it two more times. Then it was a kind of, “Ha! Now I see. I think.”
This thread made me think back to when I was young -- really young -- surrounded mostly by women: my mum’s friends, aunts, and both grandmothers. Their homes were filled with women’s magazines: Woman’s Own, Woman’s Realm, Woman’s Weekly, and a few others I’ve forgotten. To a bored young boy, they became reading material, all woman & family focused. Often there would be articles about breasts. Quite fascinating to a young boy, though no one seemed to care what I was reading.
Not that those magazines taught me to become an expert on any particular subject, but they did seem to make it clear how important breasts were to many women, for all sorts of reasons, especially in how breasts made them feel about themselves. So, my thought is: do whatever feels right for you as an individual, in whatever makes you feel comfortable in your own skin. Of course you don’t need me to say that. Just make sure you have all the relevant, factual advice you can find, and understand what your choice might mean for you later on.