२६ ऑक्टोबर, २०१७

"No one says, 'You’re so lucky that you don’t have to wear a bra,' which is something I’ve weirdly been levelling at small-breasted women my entire adult life."

"The people who contemplate my chest, and there are many, generally come to the conclusion that I’m a hippie or an angry feminist or both; I might as well have burned the bras, not slid them gently into a drawer. And they* don’t mind. In fact, it seems to bring them some relief to have reaffirmed that this other way isn’t available to them or anyone they know, because it’s for irate bohemian ladies.... I like the way most clothes feel on my bare skin.... I like the way my breasts sound against my ribcage when I run down the stairs, like someone clapping politely for a performance that they didn’t particularly enjoy..... When I nod vigorously, my boobs nod along, in agreement. When I wave at someone in a crowd, they wave with me...."

From "The Joy of Not Wearing a Bra" by Hillary Brenhouse (The New Yorker).

___________________

* On reread, I got confused by that "they," coming right after "I might as well have burned the bras, not slid them gently into a drawer." The bras don't mind being slid gently into the drawer? They're relieved to have reaffirmed that... huh? 

७२ टिप्पण्या:

Tregonsee म्हणाले...

Pass.

Earnest Prole म्हणाले...

As with many fashion choices, women wear bras primarily for other women.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

To bra or not to bra, that's not the question.

Etienne म्हणाले...

I'd be worried about becoming an Amazon. I mean, those women with flat breasts down and over their belly that were legally published because they were natives.

Let them fly, or corral them, it's your belly.

mccullough म्हणाले...

Narcissism

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

I hate being braless so much that I wear mine to bed under my jammies to read, taking it off just before sleepytime. I dislike the feeling of fabric on my nipples, I dislike my breast skin touching my chest skin, I dislike how my clothes look. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

buwaya म्हणाले...

"A picture is worth a thousand words.'

That is the Laslo position, and its certainly well supported.
So to speak.

buwaya म्हणाले...

"Different strokes for different folks, I guess."

May it not be a matter of being accustomed to them?
If you were back in, oh, the Neolithic, you might have had a different opinion.

Speaking from my Cro-magnon side.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

I didn't think Laslo was usually in a position to see.

That quote reads messily.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Do your boobs hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder
Like a continental soldier?
Do your boobs hang low?

Unknown म्हणाले...

I think we need video with matching audio to see if the sounds of her running down stairs and her boobs clapping is really as great as she says it is.

For research, naturally. Except Laslo, who never heard of a double entendre--they are always single entendres.

--Vance

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I knew average women in the 50s who didn't wear bras but nobody noticed particularly. It wasn't feminist or anything, just a fashion indifference. No joy of articles.

walter म्हणाले...

Female privilege.
No way could a guy write about his balls applauding in The New Yorker.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

At the school's weekly coffee klatch, some of my college friends made a display for the 75th year of the patented bra. The cavewoman bra was two bathroom plunger cups hooked together.

Somehow they found one that was so huge, after I put it on, two guys put their heads in the cups. We were the college weirdos.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Bras coordinate jiggle, tame chaos. Look at Sandra Bullock running down the sidewalk to hug Hugh Grant at the end of Two Weeks Notice (2002).

Fashionwise, shape plus jiggle beats chaos.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I pass a long-distance jogging woman sometimes on my bike route (we have an acknowledging wave relationship) with whatever the smallest breast size is wearing a sports bra as a formality. I've wondered if she took up long distance jogging so long ago that it prevented puberty.

Anyway she gets no applause going down stairs, bra or not.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

A companion article on kets will appear next month in the New Yorker's math puzzle section.

rehajm म्हणाले...

we have an acknowledging wave relationship

If she reads Althouse, you used to.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"I'd be worried about becoming an Amazon. I mean, those women with flat breasts down and over their belly that were legally published because they were natives."

Actually, not wearing a bra is better for maintaining the underlying structure which a bra actually weakens. So the bra is counterproductive if you're worried about sagging. Surprising but true!

'TreHammer म्हणाले...

Blogger The Godfather said...
A picture is worth a thousand words.

10/26/17, 4:18 PM

"I don't care who you are, that's funny right there."
- Larry the Cable Guy

Francisco D म्हणाले...

"So the bra is counterproductive if you're worried about sagging. Surprising but true!"

Doesn't size play a factor, in that larger breasted women have more of a gravity tug?

I'm interested because my large breasted girlfriend wears a bra until it's time to go to bed. She thinks that she needs to to prevent sagging. It sort of makes sense to me, although I would not mind if she went braless at home.

Bad Lieutenant म्हणाले...

Surprising but true!
10/26/17, 4:56 PM

It's very well that you have found an authority that supports what you wish to be true, but how does this explain the floppy native women?

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

"The Joy of Not Wearing a Bra" by Hillary Brenhouse (The New Yorker).

That joy extends to us males, too, if you have a nice rack. Thanks!

Etienne म्हणाले...

I think it might be the native dances. They tend to just hop up and down and ululate.

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

I've read that too, Althouse, but I am dubious about that claim. There's just way too much anecdotal evidence in the other direction.

Maybe it's just coincidence or correlation vs causation but all of the women who are the rip their bra off as soon as they get home from work types I'll seem to have nipples around their navels by the time they're 50.

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

*all seem

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

I'm a sample size of one, but I still look ok, despite being in my late 30s and having nursed four children into toddlerhood. I only take mine off to sleep or shower. Who knows though - maybe I would look the same if I never wore a bra.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

Am I wrong, or have there a lotta posts lately about boobs and groping?

This is an excellent topic of discussion, but causes my mind to wander a lot........

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

I also don't particularly want to see other women braless and think it's tacky, but whaddya gonna do.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

One of the problems in the Bay Area, is that every now and then some ditzy feminists will sponsor a nudity/anti-rape/anti-sexual harrasment/pro-feminist rally, often in Berkeley, and expose their breasts to us in public to make some point.

In theory, this is a welcome idea.

In practice? Well, let's just politely say it ain't the gals at Hef's Playboy Mansion, if ya get my drift. It's more of the Bryn Mawr Women's rugby team -- without the exercise or toned bodies or shaving kits.

In truth, it's kinda gross.

Sam L. म्हणाले...

Feminists are weird.

Birches म्हणाले...

I don't have to wear a bra, but when I nursed, I did. I disliked how sweaty my breasts got underneath when I was free and easy. Hard pass.

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

Doesn't size play a factor, in that larger breasted women have more of a gravity tug?

Yes.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

There was a time - late 70's maybe - when the bra-less look was considered chic. I remember passing through Dayton's, the big department store in downtown Minneapolis, and seeing a manikin dressed in whatever fashion they were selling to teenage girls. She looked and posed a lot like Dégas Little Ballerina, and she displayed nipples about the size of your thumb tent-poling her shirt-front. Autre temps....

Ralph L म्हणाले...

but whaddya gonna do

Try to hold them up?
Even over her objections, of course.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Dust Bunny Queen said...
Doesn't size play a factor, in that larger breasted women have more of a gravity tug?
Yes.

First we had Bruce Hayden bragging about his partner, and now you.

Mr. Groovington म्हणाले...

Personally, the flatter chested the better. I dated a French traveller in Laos recently, flat as an ironing board. Very nice.

Mr. Groovington म्हणाले...

* okay, let’s say half a bagel.

reader म्हणाले...

All day. Every day. With underwire. It might be the result of my walk/stride but the jarring feeling of not wearing a bra is uncomfortable. It seems to be a matter of personal preference. I have a better endowed friend (DD) who only wears a bra when absolutely necessary.

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

No one says, 'You’re so lucky that you don’t have to wear a jockstrap,' which is something I’ve weirdly been leveling at small-cocked/balled men my entire adult life.

It's a mistake to think anyone important cares about you, what you wear, or what you do.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

I’ve read scientific studies. I wouldn’t trust the anecdotes because no one knows what would have happened to her if she’d taken the other approach and most women aren’t going to talk about it. Either you’ll seem to be bragging or you’ll be denigrating yours. Those who wear bras are likely to think they are playing it safe, but the opposite could be true. Maybe the best advice is to do what feels more comfortable except when you’ve got some particular clothes that need a bra to look right or you want more modesty.

reader म्हणाले...

More than once I have heard one man say to another, “You’re so lucky you don’t have to wear a tie”. Could that be related to status?

n.n म्हणाले...

Weird. Do women really talk, think so much about pussy (...hats) and big balloons?

Their own? The female sitting next to them?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together म्हणाले...

I could give a shit whether women wear bras or not. Can someone tell me if/why I should? Should other women care?

Burning questions. It's legal in NY (and many places) for them to even go topless.

Maybe someday people's backward attitudes will catch up with the laws.

More power to any woman who doesn't want to wear a bra. Or even a shirt.

n.n म्हणाले...

re: gender, specifically physical feature, envy

I observed this on parade at the last Slut Walk. Well, that, and dirty old women and female transgender/homosexuals. I wonder if this is why women prefer to work for men.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil म्हणाले...

Earnest Prole said...
As with many fashion choices, women wear bras primarily for other women."

Untrue. Bras are practical for anybody who is larger than a B cup. I don't find it particularly comfortable to bounce when I'm going down stairs; certainly not while jumping rope (which I sometimes did when I was younger) or jogging. The only time I've gone braless in public was when I wore halter dresses and tops that provided support.

n.n म्हणाले...

why women prefer to work for men... Eyes up here!

CStanley म्हणाले...

Doesn't size play a factor, in that larger breasted women have more of a gravity tug?

Yes.


Double yes. Bouncing is painful!

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

",,,certainly not while jumping rope..."

Please tell me your hair was in pig-tails.

I am Laslo.

PB म्हणाले...

Teddy Roosevelt and his Bull Moose Party we're responsible for the election of Woodrow Wilson which led to all kinds of mischief much of which we still struggle with today to retain our Republic. He was a political spoiler in 1912 that era's John McCain

DavidD म्हणाले...

“ ‘And they don’t mind.‘ “

I thought she meant her boobs.

DavidD म्हणाले...

Actually, I thought she meant “people”. But no.

stevew म्हणाले...

Of FFS, first world angst.

-sw

Trashcan O Man म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Trashcan O Man म्हणाले...

Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras
➜ https://www.amazon.com/dp/0895296640/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=

Women who wear tight-fitting bras 24 hours a day are 125 times more likely to have breast cancer than women who do not wear bras at all. Tight clothing inhibits the proper functioning of the lymphatic system (an internal network of vessels and nodes that flushes wastes from the body) and leads to a buildup of carcinogenic compounds in the constricted areas.

Fight the Victoria's Secret Industrial Complex!

Phil 314 म्हणाले...

Is there a male corollary?

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Is there a male corollary?
Boxers, briefs, or commando. Allegedly, briefs can cause fertility problems because of body warmth.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil म्हणाले...

"Women who wear tight-fitting bras 24 hours a day"

Who wears tight-fitting bras 24 hours a day? Do women actually sleep in them? Now that would be uncomfortable!

And if your bra is tight, you need to get a proper fitting.

HoodlumDoodlum म्हणाले...

Free the Springfield two!

HoodlumDoodlum म्हणाले...

What proportion of New Yorker articles are just "Me me me me me me me, me...I am so damn intersting...Me!"
From the sample I get here it seems like it must be pretty high.

HoodlumDoodlum म्हणाले...

Side question: how did the layers ànd layers of fact checkers verify the assertion that her breasts make a reluctant applause sound when she descends stairs?

xpanxpunkx म्हणाले...

To solve the question of bra-vs-no-bra saggage, perhaps we should do a longitudinal study with women wearing half a bra.

Somehow I feel this suggestion should end with "I am Laslo."

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

Maybe the best advice is to do what feels more comfortable except when you’ve got some particular clothes that need a bra to look right or you want more modesty.

Agreed.

Women who wear tight-fitting bras 24 hours a day are 125 times more likely to have breast cancer than women who do not wear bras at all.

Sorry, that's total nonsense. "According to this study, there was no increased risk of breast cancer due to wearing a bra, a result that, to breast cancer specialists, was about as surprising as the observation that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, water is wet, and gasoline flammable. However, the myth that wearing bras increases the risk of breast cancer is one of those unsinkable rubber ducks...of a myth that just won’t die."

The Bear म्हणाले...

I'm remembering a song we used to hear when I was a kid sung by some of the lewder kids around ...

Let ... your ... boobs hang low,
Let them wobble to and fro,
You can tie them in a knot,
You can tie them in a bow,
You can sling them o'er your shoulder like a Continental soldier,
Let your boobs ... hang ... low. ;)

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

I like women to be comfortable with their breasts.

If that makes me a feminist then I guess I'm a feminist.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

I've got a thing for sports bras.

The Girl with the Pony Tail on the Treadmill knows this.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

Bras, no Bras.

In the Seventies women could split the difference with Tube Tops.

I am Laslo.

Michael The Magnificent म्हणाले...

I pass a long-distance jogging woman sometimes on my bike route (we have an acknowledging wave relationship) with whatever the smallest breast size is wearing a sports bra as a formality. I've wondered if she took up long distance jogging so long ago that it prevented puberty.

One day a couple of years ago, my friend Jane and I are having a nice bicycle ride down the interurban trail. Going the opposite direction was a young woman with long red hair in a pony tail, tight athletic shirt and compression pants over a tight athletic body. Pretty face, flat stomach, nice tan, long legs.

After we pass her, Jane asks if she should get shoes like the woman we just passed.

My reply: "She was wearing shoes?"

Lucien म्हणाले...

Props to PB for the Teddy Roosevelt comment on the boobs thread. I guess TR probably had a set of clangers that could have used a "man-siere" or a "bro" in his old age. NTTAWWT.

Pinandpuller म्हणाले...

If women don't wear a bra where are they going to keep their iPhone and cash?

Ignorance is Bliss म्हणाले...

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

"I'm a sample size of one..."

Wouldn't that be a sample size of two?

Sydney Ross Singer म्हणाले...

I am a medical anthropologist breast cancer researcher and co-author of Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras. I have been working on this issue for 25 years, fighting against a guilt-ridden lingerie industry and a defensive and embarrassed cancer industry. I see some people in this thread cite our work.

There are now numerous studies internationally that show wearing tight bras causes breast cancer, as well as causing breast pain and cysts. In fact, bra-free women have nearly the same risk of breast cancer as men, while the tighter and longer the bra is worn the higher the risk rises, with 24/7 bra users having over 100 times the risk compared to bra-free.

As a result of our work, there is a cultural movement towards being bra-free, and non-constrictive bralettes are now more popular. Women are questioning why they need to wear bras in the first place. In fact, there is no reason for bras apart from fashion, and the history of fashion is filled with harmful products (such as corsets, tight shoes).

Over 85% of women are wearing their bras too tightly, according to the lingerie industry. When women stop wearing bras, most report that their breast pain and cysts disappear, and their breast lift and tone as the natural suspensory ligaments regain strength. To see if your bra is harming you, just try being bra-free for one month. Your body will know.