Mark Wignall | Danger to the woman’s body
Published:Thursday | June 27, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Where most 33-year-old women would have breasts with nipples, all Jean had were nipples. In her mind that was probably full confirmation of her mother’s observation, drummed into her since she was 13 that ‘yu too damn ugly’.
Low self-esteem walked around with Jean until they became kindred spirits. Early last year she decided to fix her breasts. Never having had much familiarity with even a basic education, Jean opted for what was available and what could pay her the most. In hopping certain Caribbean venues, for the last five years she did stripper work along with selling sexual favours.
In 2018, she begged her friend, Nicky, to travel with her to Miami. Jean made mad money and it didn’t take her long to find the US$8,000 that was required.
According to Nicky, “After the operation which involved pulling skin tight over the new synthetically filled breast pouches, she was smiling and acting like she was in a drug high. A few hours after I had fallen asleep, I was awakened by a loud wailing.”
She was basically being torn apart from intense pain after the anaesthesia wore off. “As I gave her the prescribed dosage of opiate, she begged for more and more in-between the cries of pain gripping her body.”
According to Nicky, “She cried long and hard for almost a week. When we came back to Jamaica, I slept for almost a whole day. With her bawling I, who needed the rest so that I could help her, could get no rest.”
The sad part is that Jean still resents the body she lives in and is planning on doing a butt lift.
Three years ago, Jossette and Fred were mostly living in high heaven. They were in love, married, had two lovely children and their small business operation afforded them genuine uptown living, styles and tastes.
‘BUTT job gone wrong’
Carnival was coming up and Joss had always desired a little more ‘junk in the rear’. By arrangement the person to conduct the ‘operation’ travelled to Jamaica and performed what was required of her. Within a week, Joss was aware that something had gone horribly wrong. She could feel the inner flow of synthetic stuff running down from her butt into her upper legs.
The tragically long and short of it is that Joss suffered terribly for a month, and then died. The glowing heaven that was her world became extinguished in a seeming instant, and all because of humans’ strong urge to attain the physical best of what vanity demands.
Most of us are familiar with the habit of significantly higher a percentage than before of our people resorting to skin bleaching and body tattoos. I confess not quite understanding the mix of factors which drive people to skin bleaching and tattoos.
Jamaica was always a country where the physical beauty of a woman was always seen as her highest calling card by many of our men. With many of us living in the social-media bubble of choice, physical beauty is much more commodified.
For this reason, there will be more need for dangerous butt lifts performed by people who have never seen the inside of a medical laboratory.
There is hardly a week that goes by that Jean does not clear US$2,000. Selling her body, which she deems as physically incomplete, makes her hates herself even more.
“There is no changing Jean,” said her friend, Nicky. “I have told her that her very slight body will not have the ability to stand up to more invasive treatment but, she hears me and says, ‘You can sey dat because look how you pretty’.
“After that I just shut up and let her live her life.”