It is time for all of you lovely ladies out there to take advantage of the quarantine and abandon your bra.
It was supposed to be a post about my food journey and nutritional beliefs. But then s*it hit the fan for the whole planet and that made me feel like posting about carnivore diet is ignorant and perhaps even irrelevant. So let's talk about bras and how we can do our bodys a favor while staying at home.
The majority of households, including mine have turned into office - gym- restaurant- freetime centre. I personally jojo between loving it and missing going to places I used to. Hardcore annoying is that all the cafes and restaurants are closed. Where am I supposed to get my coffee? Nevertheless I want to share something more interesting than my love for coffee this time. Last November I was walking around without a destination in Birmingham airport. I had attended 2 days of the Therapy Expo conference and my head was busy processing the new wisdom. I had zero interest in paying attention to the surroundings. Suddenly something caught my eye - a crisp white bra was staring at me from a wall. I could not ignore it. The usual version of me would have at least been tempted to try it, if not buying it. To my own surprise I looked at it and I was suspicious instead. I thought to myself: “What if there is a piece of truth that bras have a dark side?” That was the exact movement when I first time in adult life considered to stop wearing a bra.
Of course I had heard before that bras are correlated with breast cancer and breathing restrictions and blaa, blaa, blaa. How can I take this seriously? I am going to understand why someone would come up with such nonsense statements before I am leaving England.
Well this time I decided I didn't think it was a joke either but until then I had not enough curiosity to find out more about it. I landed in Starbucks and ordered raspberry cheesecake and a tall coffee to kick off the investigation.
I found out that bras were originally designed in good will to help women have better posture. This beautiful and often intimate piece of garment is designed to support the breast tissue and prevent sagging caused by gravity. Said Mr. Someone and Mrs. Noone about 60 years ago. There is evidence that sagging of the breast has nothing to do with wearing a bra or not. According to a research it has even nothing to do with breastfeeding, but with the number of pregnancies carried instead.
Although bras were supposed to provide postural support the reality is there are not too many women who are in better shape thanks to wearing them. Oftentimes the opposite is true. Especially when thinking about women with larger, heavier breasts. A well fitted and comfortable bra should take the shape of the body and not change the shape of our spine, chest and shoulders. Imagine what happens if you put an elastic band around your wrist or neck. You are going to feel pressure and it is going to annoy you. That's exactly what happens when wearing a bra but we just don't feel it anymore. Our skin is desensitized to the pressure, what does not mean it is not there.
I vividly remember my first day in my first bra. We were driving in the car with my sister. I sat on the back seat so silently that she kept on asking if I was feeling sick. The truth was I was looking forward to having a bra, but the overall experience did not meet my expectations at all. I was incredibly uncomfortable, disappointed and embarrassed at the same time. I was 14, I can still remember that.
Last week I did a quick survey amongst my friends and family. It revealed that 80 % of people answered “no” to the question “Bras are comfortable and healthy to wear?” Big thanks to all men amongst women who answered. You guys have a point, it is uncomfortable and unhealthy. Yet we still wear the bras.
Because of the social norm that a decent woman wears a bra. In public places at least. Going braless is seen as cheap, lazy and hippie.
Without having to ask anyone I know that there is consensus amongst women that a good bra is hard to find. They are expensive, annoying to wash and even more annoying to shop. We literally have to strip down to half naked in a small box separated with a curtain and while doing so decide if this is the next favorite bra or the one you will never wear.
Wearing a bra does also not lead to breast cancer. The combination of genetic and environmental factors (possibly including bras) will lead to breast cancer. At the same time there is no evidence that bras are stopping the formulation of dysfunctional cells.
The reality is there is little to none evidence in literature that can be taken seriously that bras are somehow good for our health.
In contrast, that's what really makes sense to me and encouraged me to say goodbye to my bra until the end of quarantine is that natural movement of the chest and breast activates collagen fiber production in breast tissue. As a result firmer, happier and healthier boos and body.
I am 18 days in wearing no bra. Excited to see where this braless life is going to take me. For you my lovely ladies I suggest to take advantage of the time spent at home. Treat your body, shake the norms and go braless.
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