December 2009 Archives

According to this article in this morning's Herald Sun, "Australian women risk permanent damage to breasts by working out in the wrong type of bra"

Very scary headline. But who carried out the research - bra maker, Berlei (albeit in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport.) Not being a bra wearer myself, I can't talk from first hand experience about what it feels like to exercise without a well supporting piece of equipment. However, I do congratulate Berlei for working with the AIS on this issue.

I would like to see the research this article is based on but I suspect the Herald Sun has hyped up a very small piece of it to make a good headline.

What sort of "permanent damage" are they talking about? They don't say. Have they studied the long term effects on women of undertaking vigorous sport with and without a bra? Or are they simply assuming that because breasts bounce more with one bra than another that this bounce will cause long term damage?

I'll leave that to you to decide.

ps: if you want to rasie your blood pressure read some of the male responses to the article.

You are amazing. I find you stunning as you walk past and sit at the table next to me. You remind me how much I hope I have learnt to notice without staring. Your firmly fitting t-shirt reveals no sign of a bra but your nicely sized boobs don't bounce and your nipples are only very slightly prominent.

Oh it takes me back to being a teenage boy. The thought of seeing a woman with nothing but a single layer of fabric between me and her breasts used to drive me mad. There was (and oh I admit it, there still is) something madly and totally irrationally exciting about it. Same goes for a loose fitting jumper with nothing at all underneath. Or boob tubes. Don't get me started on boob tubes. Just a bit more bounce and there they would be - beautiful bare breasts. And of course there is the thought of you putting it on and taking it off again. Dream, dream, dream.

Then of course there are those strapless summer dresses with elasticised tops. Just underneath there are two beautiful boobs just waiting to be completely free.

Why on earth any of this should matter is beyond my understanding. What difference does it really make if you have one or two layers on?

Why don't bikinis or one-pieces have the same effect?

I know it matters slightly less to me now than it did when I was a teenager, but it still matters. It can still count as my thrill for the day.

Many women (certainly a small minority in the western world but nevertheless 'many' in absolute numbers) regard bras as detrimental to womens' health. Germaine Greer has stated that bras are a ludicrous invention. The there is the whole bra freedom movement and women who blog about going braless.

On the other hand, I'm not alone. Google braless and you will find a whole number of articles by men and our fascination with bras and otherwise.

Here are a couple I found:

The New Statesman

The Guardian - I'm a huge fan of breasts