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In our societies, given that breasts are considered an emblem of femininity, losing them is directly associated with losing one’s femininity, and the masculinization of trans men who undergo mastectomies attests to this representation. For women with breast cancer and whose mastectomy is imposed rather than elective, breast «reconstruction», primarily presented as medical «repair» surgery, also has a sexual objective that is less often acknowledged, attempting to shape the female body according to male expectations, as seen in the fact that breast enlargement is often included in the surgical reconstruction. Although some women accept breast reconstruction to varying degrees, others reject it, illustrating that it is possible to be a woman with or without breasts. For example, the French association Les Amazones s’exposent (Amazons expose themselves) and Bulgarian artist Boryana Rossa highlight their new identity as Amazons, challenging the idea that femininity is limited to bodies with breasts. Post mastectomy, scars – associated with virility – call into question bodily codes of gender. Scars and mutilation are central to the art of Sophie Ristelhueber, Kai Widenhöfer, and Kader Attia; Attia’s work is a pictorial description of the specific way in which repair is understood in western societies compared with other societies.