Burning the Bra

1. Feminist Pop Culture Revisited Burning the Bra Rebecca Kleinfelter Women’s Studies Program University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada November 2005

2. Why Do Women Need To Wear Bras?

3. Medical Myths

4. The Ugly Sagging Boob

5. All Those Against The Sag • Dr. Miriam Stoppard – author of The Breast Book • Growing breasts produce stretch marks and stretch the ligaments that ultimately result in sagging. Precautions in the form of a bra have to be taken sooner rather than later. Stoppard – pg 52

6. More From Dr. Stoppard • Any sport that results in a jogging movement will cause the suspensory ligaments to take the full weight of the breast every few seconds. A sporty adolescent therefore needs breast support earlier than her less active sisters. (my emphasis) • A teenage girl should be introduced to the notion of wearing a bra long before she needs it. Stoppard – pg 53

7. When does a girl need a bra? • The Pencil Test • When you place a pencil beneath your breast, if the pencil stays in place, then you need a bra • According to Dr. Stoppard, this test fails because it is too late. • The breasts are already a B cup before the pencil will stay. Stoppard – pg 52

8. “All girls with [extremely large breasts] should be informed of the possibility of surgical breast reduction and offered councelling.” What About Big Breasts? Stoppard – pg 46

9. THERE IS NO MEDICAL REASON TO WEAR A BRA! The Truth! Lauersen – pg 22, Love – pg 21, 007b.com

10. The Myth of the Sagging Boob • Sag has nothing to do with bras • Proportion of fat to connective and mammary tissue • Age • Weight loss/gain Love – pg 22, 007b.com

11. On the Contrary • There are suggestions that wearing a bra can actually increase the breasts' sag. • Ligaments that receive artificial support in paraplegics often atrophy. Same process may be going on in your breast. 007b.com

12. Real Boobs Saggy And Beautiful!

13. The Myth of the Painful Boob • Pain during exercise • Exercise does NOT damage your breasts • Pain after going braless • Due to connective tissue reassuming their intended role of support 007b.com

14. On The Contrary • Not wearing a bra can actually strengthen the pectoral muscle, which can support the breast and provide a natural lift • Bras can cause headaches; shoulder, back and neck pain; and painful fibroids in the breast. One well-known study even suggests bras can cause cancer. • Due to damage to lymphatic system 007b.com, Lauersen – pg 22

15. Social Myths

16. Comfort and Privacy • Provides protection against peeking when wearing sleeveless shirts • Keeps nipples and areolas from showing through • Prevents movement under a shirt • Provides comfort during exercise • These are really just protections against social criticism and/or teasing. Jukes – pg 16, 007b.com

17. At The Workplace • MYTH: Many women site the need to wear bras because of a dress code or a desire to look professional. • FACT: Few if any dress codes actually define what constitutes a bra. If alternatives such are camisoles are worn, it can be very difficult to tell whether or not you are wearing a bra.

18. Why Is Going Braless A FeministPop CulturePractice?

19. Definition of Feminist • Bras and bra-wearing hails women into the ideology of the feminine and womanhood. (Althusser) • The female body is property to be maintained, controlled, exploited and traded (here, as sexual currency). (Wendell) • Deals with the lived, bodily, material experience of women on a day-to-day basis (Wendell) • Media images constantly reinforce the bra

20. Definition of Pop Culture • Taking advantage of an antagonistic moment already present in ideology. . . and presents it as an unassimilable option against the dominant ideology (Kipnis) • Body as the site of resisting or struggling against dominant ideology (Darling-Wolf) • Resistance can help a woman come to terms with her body image and increase her self-esteem (Rice)

21. The ability of a group to decide NOT to buy/use a popular product (Fiske) Thus, Pop Culture is by definition already-always a practice Popular Discrimination

22. If You're Not Convinced • Alternatives • Listed on the 007b.com website • Include camisoles, vests, A-line tanks • If you must wear a bra, at least wear one that properly fits! • You are more than welcome to come ask me to teach you how to measure for your proper size

23. Resources for Those Who Want To Be Brafree • 007b.com/why_wear_bras.php • goingbraless.net • Me!

24. References Cited (1/3) • Althusser, Louis. “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”. San Diego: Harcourt, 1989. • Darling-Wolf, Fabienne. “From Airbrushing to Liposuction: The Technological • Reconstruction of the Female Body”. Open Boundaries. 2nd ed. Eds. Barbara Crow and Lise Gotell. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. • Fiske, John. “Popular Culture”. Critical Terms for Literary Study. 2nd ed. Eds. Lentricchra and McLaughlin. University of Chicago: 1995.

25. References Cited (2/3) • Jukes, Mavis. Growing Up: It’s a Girl Thing: Straight Talk About First Bras, First Periods, and Your Changing Body. Toronto: Random House of Canada, Ltd., 1998. • Kipnis, Laura. “’Refunctioning’ reconsidered: towards a left popular culture”. Women’s Studies 320 Course Packet: 2005. • Lauersen, Neils H., M.D., Ph.D., and Eileen Stukane. The Complete Book of Breast Care. Toronto: Random House of Canada, Ltd., 1996. • Love, Susan M., M.D., and Karen Lindsey. Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book. 3rd ed. New York: Perseus Publishing, 2000.

26. References Cited (3/3) • Rice, Carla. “Between the Body and Culture: Beauty Ability and Growing Up Female”. Open Boundaries. 2nd ed. Eds. Barbara Crow and Lise Gotell. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. • Stoppard, Miriam, M.D. The Breast Book. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1996. • Wendell, Susan. “The Flight from the Rejected Body”. Open Boundaries. 2nd ed. Eds. Barbara Crow and Lise Gotell. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. • “Why Women Wear Bras?” 007 Breasts. 24 Oct 2005. <http://www.007b.com/why_women_wear_bras.php>