And by secret, I mean completely obvious. After all, I gave up padded bras long ago. Not only were they horribly uncomfortable, they felt like false advertising. There is nothing worse than getting frisky with a gentleman caller and having him discover that when your bra comes off, your memory foam ta-ta's go with it.
At 30, being an A-cup is something I hardly ever think about. I could not have imagined writing an article about such a matter, but when I read that Denise Richards regrets getting breast implants, I got a lump in my throat the size of a Double D -- I had to say something. At 20, I was not nearly as confident in my chest size, so while these celebrities speak of breast implants they regret, I realize how easily I could have become one of them. Over a decade has passed since my body image issues were at their worst, so it's hard to imagine the emotional pain one goes through when deciding the solution is to stuff baggies of silicone inside your chest.
Well, I suppose it's not that hard to imagine. In 7th grade shop class I turned around to see the jocks giggling in my direction while they felt up a wall. Passing the magazine rack at my friendly neighborhood kiosk, my 13-year-old self would receive little validation that flat-chested women are sexy. The majority of magazine covers were plastered with bursting, nubile décolletage -- from car digests to Cosmopolitan.
I wasn't worried. It was middle school. I still had time. Girls in my grade would spring forth with breasted glory out of nowhere; surely my own transformation was just around the corner. It wasn't until age 19 that I accepted my cruel fate. Oh sure, I'd heard mythological tales of birth control-induced miracles, but I knew the score. Besides, by that time I was in college learning about beauty myths and media artifice. I realized breasts have become a simulacra unto themselves. The more we are presented with big breasts, the more big breasts appear -- not always in their natural form.
Recently, I came across two articles that thoughtfully discuss highly sexualized representations of the female body. In the comments section, several gentlemen suggest -- without irony, I fear --that flat-chested women should refrain from expressing their opinions. Here are three examples, pulled from the comments section of this article and another.
While this sample group is small, I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to find hundreds of similarly enlightening sentiments after a few breezy Internet searches. For real, men? I am not permitted to discuss my feelings on the subject of female body representation because my lack of cleavage inhibits my ability to form legitimate opinions? Is this an actual counterpoint you are making? This begs the question: were I truly jealous, would I not go out and buy a set?
For the record, I believe that depictions of sexuality that embrace the beauty of the human form can be a wonderful thing. My concern is that most of these depictions are of women who highlight an extremely narrow idea of what our society deems attractive. But I call your bluff, society! For I know that what we salivate over in public and what arouses us in private is not often one in the same. So commenters, can I get a witness for the dimpled booties? The concave behinds, the wide load hips, the shapeless boyish builds, the muffin tops, the six-packs, the jiggly bazooms, and yes, let's hear it for my girls, the tiny two.
I do not try to apply much thought to why people are attracted to each other. Most people find partners they are attracted to. I would hope all who seek partners find them.
Sorry to break it down like that, but women invest much more in breast size than men.
If you give off a sexy vibe and have an A cup, most guys will flock. If you give off a jerk vibe and have a C cup, most guys will not flock.
If she is mature she will tell you she likes herself just fine, if she is still a immature girl struggling to find acceptance she might write a article that really belongs in a personal diary.
Large breasts are a VERY superficial mark of womanhood!!
I've yet to see men objectified on a massive societal scale the way women are. At least men have a choice, which ultimately is the only thing that matters... I personally don't believe that women who criticize other women's behaviour are "feminists" (feminists by definition support women, whatever their choices), but that still doesn't call for comments about "flat-chested women". For the record, a person may dislike/criticize/be jealous of a celeb for a gazillion reasons, some of which are petty, some of which are wrong, some of which are neither. Still absolutely unrelated to breast size. Accusing somebody of being flat-chested is not an argument against any opinion; it's an assumption that being flat-chested stops women from thinking anything of value, which would require an actual argument. Newsflash: a woman's opinion is not dictated by her bra size. Her opinion can be wrong, it can be uninformed, it can be questionable, but for God's sake don't bring her body type into the debate, because that will just prove how ignorant, immature and pathetic *you* are.
Are you saying it's okay to objectify men because they haven't been objectified on a large scale? And what "choice" are you referring to?
You're only looking at the comments pictured taken out of context. Go read the articles and the comments and you'll see why such responses were elicited. The comments pictured were clearly trying to [somehow] justify the irrational articles and subsequent comments from other women. Just go read the comments in the Lucy ad article, and you'll see women making false assumptions about her supposed "fake" breasts and criticize her looks. Go read the comments in the Lingerie football article, and you'll find many women complaining about those who show cleavage. One can safely deduce that such comments stem from envy - just like the comments pictured did.
By the way, feminists by today's standards are pro-abortion, pro-promiscuity, and anti-male. If they truly were for support for all choices women make, as you claim, then the articles mentioned in this article would not exist. Why aren't the feminists supporting women who choose to be models, strippers, porn stars, or women who play football in lingerie, or why don't they ever speak out on legalizing prostitution?
As a man, on the other hand, aging and balding though I may be, I look in the mirror every morning and say to myself, "What a good-looking guy you are!" Self-delusion now as it was then, but then on the other hand at least I feel good about myself.