Do Cleavage Wars Champion Narcissism?

Cleavage Wars is Cosmo's contribution to America's apparent obsession with celebrity breasts. But does cleavage work as well for Jane Doe American? Breast enhancement statistics proclaim breast implant surgeries to be on the rise, but what does your cleavage really say about you?

Cleavage Wars is taking No Prisoners at Cosmopolitan

If you are a major publication with the hopes of getting your name into the news trends, insert the words "breast" or "cleavage," and you just bettered your odds. In the case of Cosmo, the outbreak of Cleavage Wars pits well endowed celebs' buxom cover photos against one another. Readers judge which breasts are hot and who will be the ultimate Cleavage Wars winner.

Cleavage Wars' Secret Weapon: Breast Implant Surgery

Connecting the dots between the entertainment industry and the jump in breast implant surgeries, the Breast Site reveals that already in 2003, breast enhancement statistics showed a seven percent increase and propelled the procedure into the top five of cosmetic surgeries. According to Plastic Surgery, it was the number one procedure in 2006.

Waging their own, private Cleavage Wars at work and at home, women willingly pay out an average $4,087 for silicone breast implants or $3,690 for the saline kind. In extreme cases, Amazon warriors engaged in their own private Cleavage Wars go overboard; you may remember the February. 2009 article "Sheyla Hershey Owns World's Largest Breasts and Plans on More Surgeries" that reported on the world's largest breasts, a whopping 38KKK.

Does Cleavage Work?

In short: yes -- in theory -- breasts work on men; when it comes to practical application, however, they do not. Published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly in September of 2008, men mistakenly believe that cleavage works for selling an inferior product to others, even though the sales representation by a cleavage showing female did not actually persuade them to purchase a faulty product.

Even so, they recommended hiring the buxom cleavage warrior as opposed to a modestly dressed counterpart - if the product was flawed. Granted, the sample was small - only 88 men were included in the study - but it does showcase that women are willing to wage Cleavage Wars and undergo breast implant procedures to heighten their supposed marketability or appeal - even if it is based on a misconception.

What Your Cleavage Says About You ... Really

If you are ready to join the ranks of Cleavage Wars Amazons, be aware that your partially exposed breasts may peg you as a narcissist. Published in the Journal of Research in Personality in June of 2008, wearing makeup, flashy clothes and showing cleavage are likely signs that you are a narcissist engaged in a form of sociosexuality that could be indicative of disregard for others and also self deception.

Thus, while your breast implant may earn you a spot on Cosmo's Cleavage Wars -- if you are a celeb -- or a job offer, it may cost you a healthy romantic relationship.

Sources
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/cleavage-wars
http://www.thebreastsite.com/breast-surgery/breast-implants-statistics.aspx
http://www.plasticsurgery.com/breast-augmentation/plastic-surgery-statistics-breast-augmentation-increases-in-volume-a1173.aspx
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/pwqu/2008/00000032/00000003/art00010
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/n/naumannl/pdf/Vazire_etal2008.pdf