As part of the “Free the Nipple” campaign, ladies all across the United States are ditching their bras and trading them in for a renewed sense of confidence. “Free the nipple” has swept the nation in the past two years. It aims at altogether eliminating the ridiculous societal norm that women must wear bras to be deemed acceptable for the public eye.
Studies have shown wearing a bra on a regular basis promotes bad posture and sagging of breasts due to the denial of gravity your bra creates. We, as girls, in general, know first hand how uncomfortable and restricting a bra can be.
As feminism continues to grow, woman are becoming more empowered, and not wearing a bra has become a trademark of the feminist movement. Does not wearing a bra really help with the empowerment of ladies like me or is “Free the Nipple” just a way to draw attention to the fact that you believe in equal rights for women? My interest piqued, I decided to try braless out for a whole week and see what would happen.
The first few days were rough. I struggled to find a shirt that was baggy enough to hide the fact that I was walking around campus without a bra on, but not so baggy that I looked like a bum who didn’t have any clothes that fit. I was very self conscious and uncomfortable. So much so, I walked around pulling my backpack straps in front of me trying to cover up my body. Definitely uncomfortable with how I looked and paranoid about how other people were looking at me, the first few days of not wearing a bra, hands down, did not help me feel empowered in the least.
However, one of the things I noticed while being highly receptive to how people were perceiving me, was that I had also become very aware of how I looked at other girls. Notably, there were quite a few girls that walked around campus without bras on. I hadn’t noticed until it was brought to my attention. They looked so comfortable with themselves. They weren’t being held back by anything. They were living their best life. That’s when it finally hit me. All of those girls could care less what other people thought of them. They were ridiculously comfortable in their skin and didn’t seek any approval from us, whatsoever.
After that I realized that not wearing a bra was not just a way to liberate yourself from societal norms that have plagued women for generations, but a huge confidence booster. It takes a lot to accept your body for how it is, especially at our age. To go braless is to do exactly that. It’s all about being your whole self and being comfortable in your skin and showing that to people. Confidence isn’t something you can just be blessed with; confidence only comes after you have accepted and supported yourself and your body for who you are and how it is. By the end of the week, I was wearing my most confident skin and it felt good.
Every girl has boobs and nipples, and we shouldn’t be shamed for something so natural as that.
So, if bralessness and “Free the Nipple” has taught me anything it’s that how I feel about myself is more important than what someone else thinks. All in all, going without a bra was liberating and empowering and I would recommend it to anyone. You go, girls!