On Bralessness

Note: This was originally written in May, 2012.

     Yep. No bra. I am not wearing a bra today. I haven't worn one for three weeks. Not even in my little black dress which I wore to a Broadway show.

     Guess what? My breasts are starting to feel fuller, and look more even. I am not worried about future sagging. Bra or no bra, we all get old eventually and then everything will go south no matter what. I have actually seen, in person, tribal women who have never worn bras. There was nothing wrong with their breasts; and when considering different age groups, I saw no difference there with what I have seen in gym locker rooms in this country (not counting artificial breasts of course, I'm only talking about natural breasts here).

     So why should I wear a bra? To hide my nipples? Why? Everyone has nipples. They are normal. Sure, a few people get freaked out by them, and I'm sure some guys won't be able to take their eyes off of them. But, I don't think those are good enough reasons for me to go back to wearing a bra. I am not here to please other people's eyes, nor do I wish to be uncomfortable to prevent random males from ogling at me. To prevent sagging? That's not even true (that bras will prevent sagging), and there is even some evidence that sagging will happen sooner if bras are worn.

     After two weeks of not wearing a bra, I tried on one of my favorite bras. I used to wear it all the time (and indeed it is pretty- a nice silk one I bought in London). It was almost unbearably uncomfortable! Even my loosest sports bras felt very uncomfortable. It reminded me of those early insults to my being. First, when my mom said "You have to start putting on a shirt when you go outside!” She said something about getting older, and upcoming puberty... I really don't remember everything she said because I felt crushed when I heard that I could no longer run around shirtless like the boys. It felt like the end of my freedom. The second blow was the training bra. I hated it. It was so uncomfortable and held sweat against my skin. It did it's job. Through being forced to wear that awful thing I eventually came to accept wearing a bra. I wore them all through my teens and twenties, though they never fit right. The cups were never the right shape for my very firm unsquishable breasts, and the band always rode up my back.

     After I had a baby at age 30, I had a much bigger cup size (I breastfed), but the same band size. Finding a fitting nursing bra was impossible!  After weaning, my breasts went back to the exact size they were before, except they were not super firm anymore, I could squish them into bra cups. Eventually I also figured out my real bra size: 30D. No wonder those 34B's never fit right. The fitters in the US almost always told me 34B, by the way, unless the store had 32C's, in which case the fitter would then tell me that my size was 32C. I was properly fitted at a specialty bra shop in London. If you are from the US, you would be utterly amazed by the range of bra sizes they have.

     Anyway, I went a little off course there, now back to the topic of not wearing a bra. I have gone braless for a few martial arts classes (punching & kicking, and grappling), horseback riding, and some jogging. I have done the first four ZWOWs (can be found on this YouTube channel) with no bra, with jumping jacks for warming up. No issues. No pain, no unpleasant bouncing. I suspected that would be the case, because in the fall I ran the Bare Dare in nothing but running shoes. It was not a problem for me at all.

     I understand that we are all different, and there will always be some women who prefer to wear a bra, and that's totally fine. I think it is also totally fine to go braless, and I think that it should always be a valid and accepted choice.

I realize this is a sensitive topic for some.  Please keep my comment policy in mind if you decide to leave a comment.

:)