Last December Bitch Ph.D. ran two posts about bras: Girly stuff: the Ultimate Bra Post, and More Bra Advice–from a Bra Wizard, no less. The posts and the comments they elicited provide a wealth of advice and opinions about bras.
This morning, NPR’s Weekend Edition ran a story called “Now on Fifth Avenue: Japanese Custom Bras” (click on the link to listen if you didn’t hear it, and still want to after reading the rest of this). NPR’s blurb description of the story is: “A Japanese boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York specializes in customized bras. The owner feels American women don’t pay enough attention to the bra as a supportive device.”
One notable reaction to that story was provided by "Julie O'Doom" at feminist_rage, reposted below in its entirety because the link is wonky and an excerpt just doesn't do it justice:
"Okay, so I'm half-awake and half-paying attention to NPR when suddenly a story about bras, of all things, comes on. It's about this woman who makes custom bras that sound really scary and creepy, which actually change the shape of the breast and are really, really tight. The reporter compares them to a brace or orthopedic shoes. And the lady who makes these bras is going on and on about how if you don't wear them you'll "look older than you are" and all kinds of really awful shit about how you need to shape your breasts to make them look more pleasing. How you have to "train" them to take a different shape. And how if you don't wear a bra you're ruining your life or something.
"After the first couple of seconds of this I was livid. I hear this bullshit too much from random people around me all the time. I expect better from NPR (perhaps foolishly). WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE CARE ABOUT MY BOOBS? I hate bras. Hate hate hate hate hate. They're uncomfortable and I think I look better without one. I've got really big breasts (in proportion to my body, anyway), so I'm not one of those girls people always say can "get away" with not wearing one. I feel better when I don't wear one. If I'm not wearing clothes that show my chest or breasts at all, (you know, what people would call "modest", except I hate that word--too patriarchal, too religiously loaded) and I happen not to be wearing a bra underneath...why does it matter? The fabric may not be thick enough to totally hide that fact, but...you can't see my breasts at all. Even if I were wearing a bra, you could still see my nipples, so that can't be it... Hmmmm.....OH WAIT. There's no good reason why anyone should care at all unless I am literally falling out of my shirt and flashing everybody. Which, surprisingly enough, somehow, even when I'm wearing low-cut shirts, NEVER HAPPENS.
"But aside from people dictating my clothing to me and insisting I have to wear it or...I'll explode. Or they'll explode when they look at me. Or my boobs will sag and THEN explode! OR ALL THREE. Uh, yeah, aside from that, I just want to know what exactly it is about the natural shape of the female breast which needs to be fixed? If one has to wear a complicated contraption to make them take a certain shape (and only temporarily, and only while you're still wearing it), wouldn't that say that is not a
natural shape, not normal, not the standard. I'm not perfect, I've got a big ass, I have acne. And I'm OKAY WITH THAT. Really, I actually like myself. I know, it's terrible, because I'm obviously so nasty and flawed the way I naturally am. And heaven forbid I AGE and actually LOOK OLD when I am old. Apparently, this is a fate worse than death. Whatever.
"And just worse than all this pressure and cultural misogyny is the fact that I KNOW if I just dress the way I like, perfectly modestly, perhaps even looking professional, and people can tell, or guess I'm not wearing a bra...THEY WILL JUDGE ME. My underwear choices are none of your fucking business, client, coworker, random bystander, even my friends! GAH. IF YOU ALL CARE SO MUCH YOU'RE WELCOME TO GO WEAR YOUR TORTURE DEVICE, JUST LEAVE MY POOR BREASTS OUT OF IT. There is literally no way to go braless and have it NOT become a feminist issue. (I think the decision not to shave is similar.) What if I just want to dress how I feel most physically comfortable and I don't want it to be about politics? I'm a big dykey feminist and all, but once and a while, when it comes to stupid little things like my goddamn underwear, you'd think I wouldn't have to defend it. But no. If you don't make it into a feminist decision, other people will force you to through their stupidity and judgment of you, until you turn to feminist critique to a) defend yourself and b) determine why the hell they feel so entitled, or why they care.
"I suppose this just goes to show how pervasive patriarchy is. All the way down to our underclothes. Past that, all the way down to your skin. After all, the reason you have to wear the bra is because otherwise, people might see what you actually look like. Fuck."
