Let me preface this by saying I am a man, and smoked a little too much, so I’m sitting here thinking… what is or was the original purpose of a bra? Weight support? Vanity? Covering the nips so people’s eyes met your eyes and you can have a normal conversation? Like what’s it all about?
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Large breasts are heavy. Redistributing the weight helps the back.
Also for some people seeing nipples is scary for some reason.
Ewww… Nipples
Which reminds me, I need to get milk on the way home.
Kekekekeke
Milk industry: We need to resume the bra burning movement
seeing nipples is scary for some reason.
Scary nipples
This. At least that’s my understanding. When I lived in South Florida, one of my friends said she was going to try going braless for the summer, a few weeks later she complained that going braless made the under part of her breasts chaff / irritate. Heat, humidity, and skin friction is bad mmmmkay.
Nipples killed my dad :(
are they single?
No, they’re a pair
They’re dead
I have 38C and I wear a bra for a variety of reasons. It does help with support, they weigh a lot and having them bounce freely hurts. It’s like having two large water balloons taped to your chest. Every slight bump or jolt pulls on the skin.
It also helps with sweating. Underwood sweat is a real thing and just as uncomfortable as armpit sweat or thigh rub sweat. A bra helps to absorb sweat and moisture under there.
A bra also acts a a sort of “armor.” My breast’s are rather sensitive, and rubbing against my shirt or other stuff can be painful. Having a bra layer protects them from chaffing and rubbing.
There’s also a bit of vanity to it, depending on type and style of bra. Some are utilitarian and functional only, some are stylish, and some are designed to show off in low cut blouses.
Personally, most of my bras are entirely function and utility as I work as a welder. I’m covered head to toe in safety gear, so wearing a pretty or revealing bra just isn’t practical.
Every slight bump or jolt pulls on the skin.
this sounds like hell
I completely do not understand and completely respect all statements beside the nipple rubbing thing.
We have no comparison to who’s nipples are more sensitive, but raw nipples are the worst. Especially when sweat and exertion are the worst.
IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, nipples are just sensitive matter who you are. Weight distribution and jiggle control is something I can’t relate to though
Damn you really did smoke a little too much
Weight distribution and jiggle control is something I can’t relate to though
It’s not hard. Put on a really heavy backpack and leave the straps super loose, and go try to move around, maybe a few athletic moves that involve changing speed or direction. Compare to a tight backpack with a waistband and shoulder straps properly strapped to your body, and try to move around again. The straps help control the extra motion so that you’re in better control.
Or run around in shoes 5 sizes too big. Or go for a run with your arms loose and intentionally left limp, swinging around like pendulums.
The whole world has a million examples of why providing bracing and support makes for more efficient and comfortable movement.
We have no comparison to who’s nipples are more sensitive
trans person here. girl nipples are way way way more sensitive. its not even a contest
I’ve always been curious about this. Do you have more info/data?
I don’t have any sources or anything, but I’ve seen this anecdotally mentioned a lot by trans women. I do know that estrogen thins out your skin and I wonder if it’s related to that. Though, with all the stuff estrogen does, sensitivity might just be related to estrogen itself and not the byproduct of some other change.
Weight distribution and jiggle control is something I can’t relate to though
Well, you can try a little experiment in the privacy of your home. Take two water balloons about the size of softballs and tape them to your chest. Spend the whole day wearing them around the house.
It’ll quickly become something you can relate to 😀
I used to do that with a 40 pound weight vest for strength training. I didn’t do it very long because it was awful
Asks for women’s opinion in the purpose of bras. Ignores major parts of the women’s answers. Bruh
I’m a fellow man, but I assume the primary difference between our nipples and theirs is not sensitivity so much as it is that theirs will swing around and rub against things a lot more.
Edit: context: a big part of it is weight support.
I’ve got a childhood friend who got a reduction because she had back problems after she went through puberty, and it basically led to her having chronic pain for a while in college. She’s WAY happier at a C-cup than whatever size she had before.
Edit: curious what the downvotes are for. This is absolutely a real thing. Downvoting me for sharing a thing that real people actually struggle with isn’t going to make them struggle with it less. And on the hunch that the downvotes are dudes: if you have a female partner, or a female friend who you can ask these sorts of things to, ask them to confirm that it is real, and they will be happy to.
Probably because it does nothing to answer the question and the only relating component is that you’re talking about boobs.
I intended on tying that into weight support, but I suppose that wasn’t terribly clear
I had a gf like that. It made total sense to me even though I never saw her before the reduction. She was quite happy with it as well.
Upvoted, friend. And happy your friend is doing better and is happier, but if a C is her happy place, how big were they? That sounds sucky
Friendly reminder that C cup has no meaning without a band size.
Someone already mentioned that cup size has no meaning without band size, but also want to help dispel the myth that D is a “huge” size.
The rule of thumb is that your cup size is the difference between the size of your rib cage and the size around your chest. Then it’s 1” per cup, with caveats and adjustments, but we’re talking basics.
So in reality a C cup is a 3” difference between ribcage and breasts. That’s pretty modest. However in media, it’s often played up that DD is your Playboy model size, but those are more likely to be a G cup or larger, at least if they were sized correctly.
BOO
/s
Ackushually it’s Boob/s
I’m a small breasted woman who does not wear a bra. The reasons of practicality and comfort are described below for bigger chested people (I didn’t see mentioned that if they are really big and you try to run without serious, sometimes two sports bras on they can fly up and hit you in the face). I do sometimes accidentally hit my nipple on something, which I don’t like.
But in my experience, people get upset at seeing boob shaped boobs. Strangers tell me I should be wearing a bra. They want bra shaped boobs. Nipples are scary.
I haven’t worn one since middle school when it was new and fun and made me feel “grown up” (but uncomfortable). But some years back I got shingles and apparently permanent nerve damage on the nerve group that would be right under the bra band on my back and anything irritating it makes me feel like I’m on fire so it’s just not going to happen. Certainly not in the name of sparing the general public the scandal of seeing boob shaped boobs in a loose T shirt. At the very most I will use silicone tape to hide my nipples in very formal situations.
I’m not busty either, but I hate the feeling of my chest moving around or hanging. Sport’s bra’s are the only thing I wear. Even while sleeping.
I’m a man, and that’s how I feel about boxers and being nude. I don’t like that dangle feel of uncontrolled swaying on a sensitive part.
A kindred spirit. Saggy/floppy bodyparts man…
Ngl. I’ve hit my nipples on things and it sucks. My dogs have ran their nails across them and they burn for the rest of the day. I totally feel that pain
However I’m a guy and have had to apologize multiple times to women because my eyes just trail down to the chest. I don’t know psychosomatics of it, but it’s not something I consciously intend to do.
Beyond that, I don’t mind whether women do or don’t wear a bra. Breastfeed in public if needed. It all should truly be none of my business. However, I donate to breast cancer research every year for a reason. And that reason is I think about boobs. My wife has my favorite pair though.
Anyway, I digress, I never really knew the original purpose of them and figured I could satiate my curiosity and have a conversation about boobs with people
Curious why you don’t just ask your wife.
Good question! She said, and I quote “I don’t know. What the fuck is going on in your head right now?”
It’s very sexy to see nipples through clothes. I don’t know why but it’s just much hotter than seeing bare breasts.
Maybe people ask you to wear a bra because it’s making guys get distracted.
They do, but they shouldn’t. You should not ask a stranger to change their behavior because you cannot control your own. Maybe family would do it for you, but even then it’s can be a shitty thing to do.
You can’t ask guys to not get distracted. It’s not a choice they are making.
You absolutely can ask them that. Noticing it is not the same thing as getting distracted by it. Allowing your focus to be highjacked by the environment is a sign of a weak mind. If you went to work and a coworker told you the shape of your nose was distracting to them, and you need to wear a mask so they can continue to work, that is on the coworker, not you. It is absurd to put someone else in charge of what needs to be done to stop you from being distracted.
People need to control themselves, no one else has that ability.
Won’t happen :) And disagree about the weak mind as well. Has nothing to do with mind, it’s hormones. Ask teenage boys to have their hands on their cover and exercise their willpower… :)
It’s not a choice they are making
It is if they’re friggin’ adults. Despite the media, we’re not supposed to be just led around by our penis’; unable to avoid being distracted by bewbs.
That’s a cop out that guys use as an excuse to not evolve.
Disagree, and you see the same thing in women when there is an attractive guy around.
This political correct bullshit trying to make people think it’s wrong to be attracted to someone is just ridiculous. :)
No one at any point said not to be attracted to that person. But that doesn’t mean people (men or women) should be drooling rutting animals about it.
In the adult world that (most of us) should have left behind after our bar-hopping twenties, finding someone attractive can be done without eye-fucking them like a creep.
I can also play that game. Not at any point did I say to be drooling rotting animals. You are the one using those word words along with words like eye-fucking…
I think you have a twisted view of sexuality my man.
I’m a 36G and wear the bra because it’s super annoying to have them sway when I walk. That’s the main reason for me. I find it more comfortable to be braless, but I really shouldn’t do it in public. It’s attracts more attention than I usually want.
Without a bra, you risk getting a harmonic resonant swing going, and toppling over like the Tacoma Narrows bridge.
Good thing I live in the desert. Not many bridges around here.
This is why I prefer winter, I can wear my bulky coat and go as braless as I want, despite the 40J I’m suppose to wear
38H (UK sizing) here.
I still don’t go braless even in winter because they hang low, and that embarrasses me. Existing at all embarrasses me, so take that with a grain of salt.
Existing is agony, but I just can’t care anymore what people think about my tits. I’m the one who has to wear them, and bras hurt (well, I’m autistic and they hit a lot of my brain hurting points) so screw it, I’m going to the wawa in a winter coat and no cares.
So there is a fascinating historical rabbit hole here that I went down a few years ago. I think it is Nicole Rudolph who did a deep dive video into the history of bras and other shapewear. If you smoked a lot and like history I recommend it.
Bras and similar garments give the proper ‘shape’ for the clothes and cultural norms of the moment, and give people comfort and support if they need it. Lots of people need something sturdy to keep everything in place, but it’s also still a very grey area of social acceptance to choose not wear one.Also when I run they bounce in a constrained manor.
Make:
- Bouncy things less bouncy
- Pokey things less pokey
- Gravity less gravit-y
I’m thinking this guy has never seen real tits in real life, a teenager, or both. Or just blazed, that I can respect hahahah.
I got stoned enough to forget my age a few months ago… not like for a moment… I consciously focused on it for 15 minutes, couldn’t figure it out, kept pondering the rest of the night and couldn’t remember until the next morning…
I am old enough to occasionally forget my age, not to literally not be able to recall it… so I can empathize if bro is just waaay too stoned to comprehend the concept of a bra haha
I just figured it would be an entertaining and informative topic haha
Yes, all of those things. Also it makes exercising more comfortable.
Every woman will be different but according to my wife it’s mainly for the support. I appreciated this more when I had a testicular injury where I needed underwear that lifts holds and prevents unnecessary movement.
A ballsière
Over the shoulder boulder holder.
And now im holding my balls for emotional support pain… damn
You didn’t ask, but I was wearing some jeans and somehow one of my ‘kids’ got stuck in a pant leg and as I yanked it off it became hyper extended and tore some ligaments.
Holy shit dude. That sounds awful.
I’ve not been quite the same since, but I’m thankful I didn’t lose it! Carelessness on my part.
Fuuuuuuck
That’s a thing that can happen!?
That’s why we didn’t ask.
Advantages of bras:
-
Look nice (if you’re into that look, which many people are)
-
Keep your nipples from chafing
-
Support/containment for larger boobs
-
Keep prudish people from being mad at your nipples
-
Can be worn without a shirt for sports if they cover enough real estate
-
When breastfeeding, help catch/absorb leaks
Disadvantages of bras:
- Uncomfortable if not fitted right
- Sweaty as fuck on hot days
- Expensive
- Many have to be hand washed if they are fancy
I would say I wear bras about 30-50% of the time and it’s usually for either support/chafing prevention or looks. The rest of the time I can’t be bothered. I’m also lucky to not have super large breasts. I know women who do may find a good fitted bra to be more comfortable than no bra.
When I was breastfeeding I wore them all the time though because it is super awkward to leak through your shirt in public.
Edited to add bullet points bc I suck at lemmy formatting
Just wondering, but why did you use punctuation in the last half of your comment, but not the first?
I think she wrote the pros and cons as a vertically stacked list, but formatting forces it into a paragraph, unless you add a double space at the end of the line.
So this:
Advantages of bras: Look nice (if you’re into that look, which many people are) Keep your nipples from chafing Support/containment for larger boobs Keep prudish people from being mad at your nipples Can be worn without a shirt for sports if they cover enough real estate When breastfeeding, help catch/absorb leaks
Becomes this:
Advantages of bras:
Look nice (if you’re into that look, which many people are)
Keep your nipples from chafing
Support/containment for larger boobs
Keep prudish people from being mad at your nipples
Can be worn without a shirt for sports if they cover enough real estate
When breastfeeding, help catch/absorb leaksOr, with the addition of bullet points:
Advantages of bras:
- Look nice (if you’re into that look, which many people are)
- Keep your nipples from chafing
- Support/containment for larger boobs
- Keep prudish people from being mad at your nipples
- Can be worn without a shirt for sports if they cover enough real estate
- When breastfeeding, help catch/absorb leaks
Aw damn thanks for fixing that! Yes I wrote it as a list and yes I forgot the double space. Still haven’t figured out bullet points in lemmy
No problem at all - and bullets are just a star and a space, then your text and then the two spaces at the end, and then repeat :-)
-
Have you ever tried running balls free, same idea.
I have never needed one for support, but for the past 20, 30 years the US has had some sort of weird rule that only smooth lumps are professional, no hint of actual breast shape. That’s easing in non-professional public life, finally, so I don’t wear one a lot of the time, but at work wear something with light padding to make that weird Barbie doll lump shape.
Sports bra for running, yes that serves a practical function - holds the boobs still so they don’t bounce and hurt. So if one is more endowed and bouncing in everyday life, I imagine that a bra with structural support would be more comfortable than nothing.
I really wanted to answer that the point is right at the front of each cup!
Can’t speak for all, but back pain and comfort. Also, large breasts can have difficulty getting air under there which can cause irritations. Sometimes it’s just to keep your breasts off your stomach. I wear sports bras and have “special” bras, but my hatred of bras has really dimished when I accepted sports bra life.
I also just don’t like them “loose?” Like, I don’t want to bend over and have them go awol, even if I’m at home. Also, can store stuff in the bra and I have dropped my phone on the floor thinking I had a bra to catch it 😭
Breasts can get heavy, and the sensation of gravity constantly pulling down on the skin of your chest and on your soft tissue can be very uncomfortable. If you get sweaty, moisture can get trapped underneath and cause rashes or fungal infections. Moving about, they can get in the way of your arm movements and if jumping or running the movement can be downright painful. Imagine piercing your ears with heavy weights and then shaking your head. You would want to minimize their movement!
Historically, women have used woven cloth bandeaus, breast bands, belts, straps, stays, corsets, bralets, bodices and all sorts of things to try to minimize movement and support breast tissue. Bras are just the most common contemporary thing.
So with all you mentioned (and please don’t misunderstand my intention for asking. I truly am unaware) does it cause damage to the actually mammary glands in the breast? Or are you just referring to skin deep damage?
It can cause some damage, in that the tissues inside the breast can lengthen and lose their firmness. It doesn’t damage function in any way but it could be considered premature aging. There’s that photo series of the white woman with the African tribeswomen and they’re comparing their breasts,
NSFW
because the African women were so interested in how her breasts were a different shape than theirs. If you’ve seen pictures of people from cultures who don’t wear clothing that supports breasts, you can see the difference in shape that constantly fighting against gravity makes.
If you’ve seen pictures of people from cultures who don’t wear clothing that supports breasts, you can see the difference in shape that constantly fighting against gravity makes.
There are a lot of factors that can contribute to sagging, but bralessness doesn’t seem to be one. There are studies indicating that bras likely weaken breast tissue over time, making sagging more likely in people who wear them regularly. Of course, even those studies are tricky to generalize to the broader population because of how many factors there are to control for (breast size, pregnancies, tobacco use, genes, etc etc etc). What we do know is that the difference in breast shape from one whole ethnic group to another is largely attributable to genetics, and as for the photo: those women simply have very different bodies.
Interestingly, photos of African women have been used countless times throughout history to dishonestly market bras to fashionable Westerners. The image of African women who simply have a different body type from their own has frightened millions of white ladies into bras.
Hmm I didn’t know that, thanks for the info. There’s probably a major factor of sample bias in that perception too, as Western women who wear bras and whose breasts naturally look like the African women’s wouldn’t be recognized as being similar, unless you’re intimate or sharing a home. It seems I fell for the propaganda, or “bra-paganda”, if you will.
I know exactly what you’re talking about, and again please excuse my ignorance and bluntness, but saggy boobs don’t necessarily mean lack of milk production?
Correct, in fact size, shape, perkiness, all of the cosmetic factors seem to have no correlation to milk production. The major factors for an individual’s milk supply seem to be age, genetics, stress and hormone levels.
No I have another question about Perkiness, but I’ll throw that question at my wife. Thanks for the info!
Size of boobs has no bearing on milk production. We all have the same equipment in there, more or less, most of the difference in breast size is just fat. I never got big boobs while nursing and made so much milk, it’s made on demand when the baby nurses, not stored in the boobs!
it provides support and helps prevent nipple chafing
