User:Mxrlena/sandbox

Introduction
[elaborating though to already existing point from original page] Additionally, breast ironing is considered one of many forms of appearance management, serving as a way to conceal or mask the female body from the male gaze, other examples in minor instances including dieting, cosmetic surgery, or extreme exercise motivated by Western beauty standards.

Breast ironing is performed during adolescence between the age of eight to fourteen, depending on when the breasts begin to develop. The practice is performed by a close female figure to the victim, traditionally fulfilled by a mother, grandmother, aunt, or guardian. Objects used when pressing or pounding the breasts themselves include stones, fruits (black fruits, plantain peels, coconut shells), mortar pestles, or hammers, as these objects are selected then heated in a wooden fire or over burning coals then pressed into the developing breasts. The ironing practice is generally performed around dusk or dawn in a private area such as the household kitchen to prevent others from seeing the victim or becoming aware of the process, particularly fathers or other male figures. In regards to time, the massaging process could occur anywhere between one week to several months, depending on the victim's refusal and the resistance of the breasts; in cases where the breasts appear to be consistently protruding, the ironing practice may occur more than once a day for these weeks or months at a time.

Reasons the practice occurs includes protection from sexual harassment and rape, preventing early pregnancy, aiding nursing mothers, preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDs, and keeping girls in school to avoid underage marriage.

Incidence
[original page] Breast ironing is practiced in all ten regions of Cameroon and has also been reported across West and Central Africa, in Benin, Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Togo and Zimbabwe.[citation needed]

The breast ironing practice has been documented in Nigeria, Togo, Republic of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Togo, and Zimbabwe. Additionally it has been found in other African countries including Burkina Faso, Central African Republic (CAR), Benin, and Guinea-Conakry. Breast "sweeping" has been reported in South Africa. The practice has become commonly associated with Cameroon as a result of media attention and local levels of activism from human rights groups.

[adding this to existing thought for elaboration] Regarding traditional marriage practices, females are customarily married in their childhood despite wide age gaps and lacking consent, previously resulting in early marriages in adolescence.

A 2007 journal suggested that social norms in Cameroon result in women lacking bodily autonomy, as Cameroonian women aren't socialized to negotiate safer sex practices, while Cameroonian men are encouraged to engage in polygyny and concubines. This lack of bodily autonomy contributes to increased incidence in breast ironing, sexual coercion, and the normalization of early marriage practices. In an interview, one human rights activist stated "they (parents resisting under-aged marriages) usually point to the fact that the girlʼs breasts have not grown meaning that she is not yet ready for sexual intercourse. For parents who practice child marriage, by ironing the breasts of the prospective bride, they can continue receiving goods and services from their in-laws."

Health consequences
In addition to the visual damage to the breasts, breast ironing puts girls at risk to future abscesses, cysts, infections, breast pimples, and permanent tissue damage; this resulting in breast pimples, imbalance in breast size, and milk infection from scarring. In extreme cases of damage, there are currently ten cases of diagnosed breast cancer reported from women who identified as victims of breast ironing.

Testimonials
"My breasts finally began to grow when I was 18 years old. Before that, boys werenʼt attracted to my body. I felt really bad about it. My grandmother began destroying my breast when I was 12 years old. I would try to run away from her every morning but sheʼd catch me. Other kids were going to school and I was being massaged with a hot rock. She did it twice a day for a year. Having breasts is natural, itʼs human. When I didnʼt have them, I felt like a boy." (Agnès, 32 years old)

"My breasts developed when I was 11 and my mum decided to flatten them so they’d disappear and come out when I am fully mature. She used a particular leaf every morning to iron them before I went to school. The leaf was put in the fire and when it was very hot she used it on my breast. The pain was really excruciating and I cried a lot. My breasts continued to protrude and it had to be repeated again with a long stick which looks like a pestle that was heated in the fire. It was repeated every two days until my breasts disappeared. The pain was just unbearable and I couldn’t sleep. But when I eventually turned 18 my breasts did develop with a lot of malformation, scars and black marks." (Josiane, 28 years old)

Opposition
Some consider the practice to be an emerging human rights issue, recognized as an act of gender-based violence. Breast ironing affects women and girls regardless or race, class, religion, socioeconomic background, or age. In regards to recent opposition, in 2000, the United Nations (UN) identified breast ironing as one of five intersecting forms of discrimination and overlooked crimes against women.