I’ve always been blessed in the chest. I’ve been wearing a bra since I was about 7 years old and now weigh in a bustling 34D/32DD. Growing up, I was always one of the bigger-chested girls in my class and needless to say, I got a lot of attention for it. I took this attention pretty negatively; constantly feeling objectified and sexualized even though that wasn’t my intention. People felt that if I was wearing a tight shirt, that I was doing it to get attention rather than just trying to look nice for myself.
When I came to college, I knew there was no strict dress code, but I still felt conscious of what I wore to class and insecure in what God gave me.
I recently watched a documentary on the women’s liberation movement during the 1960s called She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. The documentary goes into the different intersectionalities of the Feminist wave that wasn’t picked up or sponsored by mainstream white women Feminism. The courage and organization these women developed as society turned against them was exhilarating and it sparked an idea in me about my body. I decided to stop wearing bras.
To make my transition to a braless life a little smoother, I wore lightweight bralettes that only served a purpose of giving me a little support. But, day one of being completely braless left me overly body conscious, I didn’t want to make other people uncomfortable. I could tell that people were STARING at my boobs whenever I started walking too fast. I even had friends ask me why I refused to wear a bra and would even suggest that I put one on because my boobs were moving around too much for their own comfort. Please understand that in the afternoon’s peak, Florida’s spring season was about 86 degrees and trekking across campus with a 10 pound backpack is no easy task. Somedays, my underboob would literally sweat on to my thighs at any given time and a bra would only make the heat worse.
By my final days of boob liberation, they were thanking me for not suffocating them for a whole week.
Over the course of not wearing a bra, I learned more about myself mentally than I did physically. This was my body and I have complete control over it.
I owe my body and myself to treat it with respect and accept it for what it is.
There’s nothing I can change about myself so I need to be comfortable with what I have and I finally realized that. If me not wearing a bra makes someone uneasy or view my character differently, that’s their own personal problem that they need to work on rather than mine.
Now, wearing no bra at all is still a bit mentally distressing if I’m being honest with you. But, as I continue this body and self-awareness nirvana I’m trying to reach I hope to learn more about myself and give it what it deserves.