“A woman should never leave her house without a bra” — I think not!
Does society really need to fear breasts so much as to impose an undergarment on all women? I should hope not!
This is an expanded version of my answer to a question I found on Quroa: “What is your opinion on the statement “A woman should never leave her house without a bra”?”
I think this rather oppressive statement is indicative of a society that does its very best to control women, and in particular women’s bodies, in any way it can. Even if this phrase, or something similar, is not said aloud as an instruction too often, its sentiment surely sits in the minds of many women as a constant source of shame.
While some women, find practical and physical comfort in how bras can constrain the movement of breasts, transfer weight somewhat, or not agitate sensitive nipples against other fabrics, for many more wearing bra is nothing but a socially constructed and imposed habit born out of shame that breasts must not be seen, that nipples in particular should be invisible, and that breasts should never ever be seen in motion! How awful it would be for society if we could all see that breasts do exist and move!
All these things are more about averting the desires of the male gaze, all blaming women for how men have been socialised to be lusty predators. If anyone should not be leaving their house, it is these men, not their victims, who should be constrained, if they cannot break out of rape culture!
Women should not have to control and contain their bodies out of fear of male lust, or other women judging and blaming them for enabling that lust.
All this breast shaming imposition also ignores the fact most of the time breasts are not being used for sexual attraction anyway. They just sit there doing nothing but being bags of fat, or for short periods in some women’s lives having a practical baby-feeding function. If they are sexualised, it is by the viewer’s desires, not the women just existing in a female body day to day!
That point aside, if a woman does want to intentionally show off her body for self-affirmation, with sexual intent or not, why should she be ashamed of any body part being attractive, breasts or otherwise?
And counterpoint to that, even if we were to accept that the topless/nude body should be covered, because breasts or nipples are somehow bad/shameful (which I certainly don’t, bodies should never be seen in shame!) due to them being sexualised, and sex being seen as a bad thing in public contexts. Well wearing a bra or not plays no part in averting that shame in an otherwise clothed society anwyay; the breasts remain obscured either way by outer clothing!
Furthermore, bras have enabled a body-shaming culture that obscures the real diversity of breast shapes, with real breasts hidden behind the bra’s ability to transform them either into enhanced floating orbs or squished flat versions of themselves. This leaves many women ashamed of having breasts that are incredibly normal, because breasts are always presented as a spectacular and narrow ideal in society and media, rather than a glorious array of shapes and sizes they really come in.
And of course, while some women find genuine comfort in how bras restrain their breasts, many others find bras horrifically uncomfortable and savour the moment they can return to private spaces and remove them. Why then should that be something they only feel able to do at home, when they could always live comfortably braless, if not for the sense of social stigma?
So if a woman wants not to wear a bra, why the heck shouldn’t she be free to let her body be its natural self, and why should she suffer anyone judging her, shaming her, or chastising her for making that decision? Not only should a woman be able to leave her house without a bra, it should never be questioned that that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do!
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