This was one dot-com its owner hoped would go bust. As in, going for her bust: A 23-year-old college student, who decided she needed help deciding whether to have breast enlargement, took it to the Internet and got over $4,500 in contributions toward having the procedure.
"My boobs would like to thank everyone who sent support and contributions," said Michel (she gives no surname) on her Website, GiveBoobs.com, where she also insisted she likes her body as it is but wondered often enough whether she should have her breasts enlarged anyway.
"I think most people consider Southern California the 'mecca' of busty blondes. Maybe that's why I am considering implants, or maybe not," wrote the petite Asian. "But I want to know what YOU think!"
Apparently, what respondents think was enough that Michel is going to go for it. "Certainly!" she told AVN Online. "I asked the world to cast their votes - hundreds put their money where their mouths were, and voted with their hard-earned cash. Thus, I will have bodacious boobs shortly."
Well, perhaps not so shortly. "I've had several consultations," she continued, "but so far all the doctors have creeped me out. One surgeon I visited was at least 60 - it felt very strange to be flashing him. But have patience - the boobs are coming."
But don't think it was just the men who urged Michel on - she said the ladies have been just as vocal on behalf of her getting the job done. "Since launching the site, I have received so many e-mails from women telling me how much I will love implants that I can no longer resist the urge to go out and get them," she said. "And, of course, because of the GiveBoobs.com adventure, the tits are now basically free."
The Boob Fund, as Michel likes to call it, began in November 2002 - or, at least, there were still no contributions as of then. She got the first dollar on December 18, and two more contributions to raise it to $5.67, not to mention a commission credit agreement from Adam & Eve, which Michel says onsite is her favorite place to buy lingerie. Adam & Eve agreed to give the Boob Fund $2 per Adam & Eve registration and send each registrant a free video or DVD.
By December 30, the site "broke even" with an $11 donation. But within nine days, the daily contributions ballooned to $433.55 in a single day and kept climbing rapidly. She passed the $1,000 mark for a day's donations within a week and was forced to move her site hosting because of the traffic volume.
A contributor named Brian B. put the fund over the $4,500 mark with his April 14 contribution, Michel said on site.
The Website got a decent share of press attention, from Maxim linking to the site to the Louisville Courier-Journal and L'Espresso, the Italian journal. There was even an eBay auction involving Michel: a fan decided to auction a donation to the cause.
"Please don't call me a 'shameless beggar,' 'cheap ho,' or 'gold-digging skank,'" she insisted in a passage on the site, explaining just why she went ahead with the Boob Fund. "I have lots of shame, I consider myself to be very expensive, and 'skank' is my favorite word. I have been working part-time since high school... and I have almost enough money to buy my own boobs right now, even without the 'boob fund.' But I want to know for sure what the world thinks, so I will let the world decide!"
Her brassy wit also showed up on a Website section in which she published some of the e-mail she received during the Boob Fund's peak. "I just want to wish you luck with your quest to get titties fast - I'm sorry I can't contribute right now, because I'm saving up for a trampoline," wrote one fan, named Kristina. "Thanks, Chicki. With my new boobs, and your new trampoline, all we need is a camcorder," Michel answered.
Then, there was "Denise W," writing, "I just sent you $6.38. That's all my husband and I had left in our checking account. The cheap bastard hasn't brought me a flower in YEARS, and he refuses to pay for my boob job. To teach him a lesson I've decided to drive him bankrupt for your cause."
"Men, take note: Flowers once a week," advised Michel wryly.
Then, there was the visitor who suggested buying a smaller sweater rather than undergo the surgical route to fill out the sweaters Michel now owns. Thanks but no thanks, Michel replied: "The last time I asked 'Does this sweater make my tits look bigger?' the sales lady at Baby Gap called security."
Michel may not have that problem for very much longer. And, as a matter of fact, her new bust, when at last it is her new bust, will be for public consumption - sort of. "Online, I've gotten tons of coverage," she told AVN Online.com. "Everything from fans' Weblogs to the New York Times Online. But offline, my 15 minutes of fame have been very quiet. Should any mainstream publishers want to shoot 'after' photos, I am ready and willing!"
