“Why do we no longer wear bras? “

Goodbye bra! A recent FIFG study highlights that many women have left their bras in the closet and proclaimed nipple freedom. The hashtag #freethenipples seems to have a bright future ahead of it, thanks to confinement many of us are still used to having a free chest.
I haven't worn a bra myself for a little over a year. Rather, I have a small chest that holds well, and my only sport is chasing the bus or riding my bike. When I asked my friends, many of us put this item of clothing in the closet.

Personally, I decided to do without a bra because of my inherent phlegm. It certainly must have happened like this: no more clean bras, on vacation, still no clothes machines made after 15 days, I realized that it was super comfortable and bang! the fold was taken.
If this transition has been smooth, it may also be because I wear very little cleavage except on vacation, and have therefore had little to do with concupiscent looks or Tartuffe type remarks: “Cover this breast that I could not see! “
Since I no longer have them, my breasts have (a little) grown and come together. Same observation with my friends: “My breasts hold better” one of them tells me.
When I asked those around me about giving up the bra, this motivation for comfort is found everywhere. The people I interviewed fell into three classic categories: those who passed the milestone; those who go there gradually; those who never could. However, we find everywhere a strong word: LIBERATION!
Among all the testimonials I have collected, I have also divided between those who have a large breast and those who have a smaller one, because it does not imply the same things in terms of comfort or the perception of this. outfit.

Bra without bra for big breasts

Caroline, 23, stopped using it because of the heat, moving from Normandy to Lyon.

“In Le Havre I would never have dared because with the nipples that point I was afraid of being sexualized in the eyes of others. Not that I didn't take charge of my body, but I was afraid of the judgment of others. By going to the south, many more women do not wear one, and especially with heat waves at 40-45 °, walking without a bra is liberation! Now that I have taken this habit, I find it more and more difficult to put it back on, (because with certain outfit it is necessary anyway), I more often put on bras that compress less to my liking. Not wearing a bra is accepting that the nipples are pointing, it is accepting the shape of your breast, it is walking freely without feeling compressed, no longer dying of heat! ”

Éléonore, 22, only wears bras or non-wired bras very occasionally, "For work, or when I have a transparent top. I like to wear bras when I'm on my period and my breasts are aching too! “
Fleur, 23, only wears it to go to work (she works in a fairly standard professional environment, a consulting firm). She emphasizes the advantage of not using it all the time:”I find that it is more comfortable without a bra and that when I have not put on for several months in a row I had the impression that my breasts stood better on their own, especially since they are big they tend more. to fall."
However, despite the comfort, it is not always easy with a big chest to pass the course. Suzanne, 25, raises a recurring problem: people's gaze.
“If you are not in the conventional beauty canons it is harder:
unfortunately people are not yet ready to see big breasts in the open air swinging in the streets! ”
The second drawback is once again the risk of making it a standard of cool only accessible to some:
“We're starting to accept a bra without a bra, but once again it's more acceptable when you have a firm and vigorous chest”.
Faced with this, Laetitia, 28, gives everyone a piece of advice that she embodies to perfection: make fun of the gaze of others in order to focus first on the immense gain in comfort!
“I quit while in lockdown and haven't recovered since. What must be clarified is that it was not easy because I have a breast that is visible, so I struggled to get over it and then I decided not to give a fuck! I put on bras, it's such a liberation! " Of course, at first, not easy to face the gaze of others “Especially with the family” adds the young woman, who does not pay attention to the looks of strangers in the street. She even notices that the bras “put too much value on my breasts, that made me feel more complex ”.

Video by Clemence Chevallet

The liberated breast in small breasts

For girls with small breasts, all of them also bear witness to this feeling of liberation. This is how I felt myself when I completely stopped wearing it, even at work, even with necklines etc. Note that it is still easier to take the plunge for small breasts, considered more socially "acceptable" in freedom because they are less scrutinized.
Indira, 25, claims a commitment to comfort and aesthetics: “I haven't put on bras since I've been thinking for 5/6 years, because I find it much more comfortable. I don't have big breasts, so it's easy and then I find it looks better without the bra! “

Camille and Manon report the same comfort, especially since they no longer put on a bra to work either.
Camille notes today: "I breathe much better, to work, at the office, it's three times more comfortable. Like before I got home, first thing I did was take off my bra, I had pain on the sides, marks on the straps that hurt and itchy.
(…) So here is the bra for me now I put it only if I have something transparent if not more necessary! ”
Manon underlines how lucky she was to have a fairly positive role model from the start in the professional world, which is not given to everyone: "I was fortunate for my first internship experience to have a tutor who didn't wear one and didn't care. She was a bit of a tomboy so I quickly accepted the fact that I could not wear it and that it didn't bother anyone. Then I have lots of bras that I find beautiful but often they hurt, things that itch, I feel trapped, I have trouble breathing … So I put on bras. In any case, whoever makes a remark to me, it will be received! My body, my choices! ”

Cyrielle, 24, tells me that she stopped wearing it for the reasons mentioned above and also for economic reasons: “I decided not to wear it first because it hurt and I found it to be very expensive and most of the time it wears out quickly. For me it is mostly made to be pretty but not practical. First I switched to the bra, but I quickly realized that if I don't play sports I can very easily do without having a big breast. "
Patricia, 22, observes the savings made compared to an accessory that “recreates a false effect as I love my natural breasts. "
I myself have experienced all these good reasons, physiological as well as economic. I found another one: I, who buy my clothes in thrift stores, find underwear there is complicated (and repulsive for many).
If it's so easy, why are few of us doing it?

The advantages and advice if you want to take the plunge

In a French society where the breasts are overly sexualized, it is difficult at first to be perfectly comfortable. Comments are heard when you decide not to wear bras anymore: " at the level of my entourage, I had a lot of thought from the women of my older family such as "we see your breasts", "it is walking", "it's not elegant" (…) But this What surprised me the most was that most of the comments came from women when I expected more from men! ” says Cyrielle.
Another pragmatic reason: “Because without I'm cold! “ tell me my friend Lucie and my mother.
In fact, the women interviewed so far are all between 22 and 28 years old. What do older women say?
Alix, 54, tells me she couldn't get enough of it: “Firstly, because I find that it enhances me more, and that I find that it is a nice accessory accessible at all prices that contributes to femininity; and then when I don't wear it, I feel like I'm in my pajamas or at the beach! "
If you still want to take the plunge, whether it is to feel more free to move around, to accept your body, for economic reasons or otherwise, here are some tips given by all those interviewed:

• start by putting on bras: Calvin Klein's is great for a comfortable fit for large breasts
• start in an environment that gives you confidence (with friends, with your boyfriend, on vacation, in short, in a place where no one will make inappropriate remarks to you)
• make it a personal choice: it is your choice and should not become a new normal. As Jean-François Kraus, Director of the “Gender, sexualities and sexual health” pole of Ifop, who published a study on “no bra”, says: “If giving up wearing a bra is indeed a symbol of an “everyday feminism” illustrating the capacity of women to free themselves from the injunctions weighing on them, it is therefore good to remember that this form of reappropriation of one's body is still far from being given to everyone … ”

In any case, you have all the elements to choose, until then, have a good summer!