Breast Implants for Graduation A Sociological Examination of Daughter and Mother Narratives英文文献资料.docVIP

Sociology Mind 2012. Vol.2, No.1, 109-115 109 Published Online January 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/sm) /10.4236/sm.2012.21014 Breast Implants for Graduation: A Sociological Examination of Daughter and Mother Narratives Lori Ann Fowler , Ami R. Moore 1 2 NE Campus, Tarrant County College, Hurst, USA 1 2 Department of Sociology, University of North Texas, Denton, USA Email: lori.fowler@, ami.moore@ Received October 5 , 2011; revised November 6 , 2011; accepted December 6 , 2011 th th th The purpose of this research is to examine through sociological theories how young women and their parents make sense of the desire, attainment, and gifting of breast implants for graduation. A qualitative study of 10 high school graduates and their mothers was conducted in the state of Texas, USA, in order to understand why the daughters asked for implants as a graduation gift and why their parents, especially, mothers paid for them. Four theoretical paradigms provided a better understanding of the gifting and re- ceiving of breast implants for graduation: symbolic interaction theory, the social construction of reality, reference group theory, and conspicuous consumption. This study shows that gifting and receiving im- plants for graduation is primarily motivated by both personal feelings of physical inadequacy and so- ciocultural representation of beauty. Keywords: Breast Implants; Graduation; Adolescents; Sociological Theories; Texas Introduction tity. The young girls receiving the implants for graduation claim they ask for them because they are about to embark on a lifestyle change—leaving high-school and entering the college atmosphere (More Girls Getting Implants, p. 4). As a report by ABC News anchor John Stoss