Penis Enlargement The Next Target Of Reality TV ?

''I'm thinking balls are to men what purses are to women. It's just a little bag, but we feel naked in public without it.''
- ''Sex and the City''
In 1890, America saw its first breast augmentation. It was done with paraffin injections, a procedure that was replaced completely by 1920 due to a high infection rate. In 1982, the outdated silicon implant was introduced to the plastic surgery world. After the FDA's approval of the polyurethane foam-covered silicon implants, 100,000 American women had the procedure done. Today, TV stations thrive off of reality shows that expose the ''realities'' of such surgeries, and the media is blamed for American women's increased demand for bigger breasts.
But, cosmetic surgery is not only for women anymore. It seems dissatisfaction with physical appearance has carried over into the lives of our male counterparts. Now, men are asking whether or not size matters and paying thousands to make their size matter.
Phalloplasty, penile augmentation, penile enhancement surgery. Call it what you will, but size dissatisfaction and the demand for procedures such as these seem to be growing.
According to AskMen.com, the percentage of men who are unhappy with their current penis size, penis length and/or sexual ability is at 90 percent. In San Luis Obispo, California, the Total Life Enhancement clinic performs anywhere from 3-8 phalloplasties per week, according to Justin, a clinic representative. Apparently, they're ''booked until mid-December.'' I guess some people will have a merry Christmas.
The representative also said that more recently their Web site, totallifeenhancement.com, has received more hits and he has gotten more phone calls than ever before. Perhaps this is due to The Learning Channel's feature on one of their surgeries, or maybe it's all tied into the general increase in male plastic surgery and even eating disorders.
The cost of breast implants range from a few hundred per implant to a few thousand per implant. For penis enlargement surgery, it depends on what you want done. To increase the length, which is usually done by detaching specific ligaments from the pubic bone and moving them forward, Justin said it costs $4,900. To increase one's girth, by inserting ''dermal matrix allografts'' under the skin of the penis, costs $7,500. The combination of procedures will cost $9,900.
So what does this mean for reality TV? Maybe nothing. But MTV's ''I Want a Famous Face'' was pretty popular. Is there room for ''I Want a Famous Penis?'' Pornography has grown in popularity over the past decade, since satellite and digital cable have been installed into countless homes across the country. And if a girl can get Britney Spears' face, even breasts, why can't a guy get Ron Jeremy's penis? It'd make for good TV, I guess - just like The Swan. Or maybe people should just learn that breasts are beautiful naturally, and that there are other ways to make a woman swoon than a 9-and-three-quarter-incher.
from The New Paltz Oracle