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Let’s Talk About Bras

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Kenyon chapter.

You wait the whole day to do it. You get in your car, leave work, maybe pick up dinner or groceries, go home and eat, watch television, shower and then Take Off Your Bra. Yes that was capitalized and italicized for emphasis.

Admit it: The best part of your day is going home and taking your bra off. What’s wrong with bras, you might ask? Well, they’re constricting, they usually leaves marks from digging into your shoulder or your rib cage, and if you’re over a size 36D, good luck finding a cute, reasonably priced bra in a normal store like H&M. How beautiful it would be to not wear a bra to class. Or to only have to wear one sports bra. Or better yet, to be able to wear a really cheap bra from Target without worry

More likely, you have to shell out as much as twice or triple the cost of a normal bra just for approximately three more square inches of fabric. It’s not your fault if you were born with bigger boobs, yet the world of bras seems to discriminate against you for no reason.

A few more reasons having bigger boobs can be a chore: Empire waist clothing doesn’t fit, because they either cut you off mid-boob or they’re so exposing it’s like you’re Miley Cyrus. Some clothes don’t even fit over your chest and wearing the most simple outfit can looking like you’re on your way to a lounge party.

This leads me to my next point: boobs are used a symbol. Guys are mystified by breasts, which prompts some women to use them as secret weapons to get what they want. Bigger boobs are considered womanly, sexual entities that are often coveted by thin, athletically shaped women with flatter chests And yet,  I find more of an annoyance than a point of pride. Sure it’s nice to fill out a dress once in a while, but the hassles of large breasts outweigh the benefits in my opinion. Half the clothes I try on end up looking like sacs because they need to flow over my chest. Running can be painful. I don’t even want to talk about the embarrassing number of times I haven’t noticed that while standing behind someone or leaning over their shoulder my boobs have been pressing on them without my even realizing. Sometimes my boobs garner unwanted attention; other times they’re just a nuisance.

I honestly think I’d be happy with a cup size or two smaller. I think that all too often, men and women lust after large breasts without any idea of their pitfalls. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t idolize women with curves. I’m just proposing that we think twice before we pine after EEE breasts because while aesthetically attractive, they can in fact be detrimental to the person beyond the breasts. And that’s the last thing; perhaps what really needs to happen for men and women everywhere is to realize that there is always a person behind the breasts.

            

Ally Bruschi is a senior political science major at Kenyon College. She spent this past summer interning as a writer with both The Daily Meal, a digital media group  dedicated to "all things food and drink" and The Borgen Project, a non-profit organization that partners with U.S. policymakers to alleviate global poverty. Before entering the "real world" of jobs, however, Ally spent many summers as a counselor at an all-girls summer camp in Vermont, aka the most wonderful place on earth. A good book, a jar of peanut butter, a well-crafted Spotify playlist, and a lazy dog could get her through even the worst of days.