I love my big big boobs.

[nilchance]

With great cleavage comes great responsibility:"The lesson, ladies, is that great cleavage comes with great responsibility. People who shame women for wearing “too-revealing” clothes like to center their objections on women’s clothing “choices,” but make no mistake—this is not about what we choose. This is about the things we don’t choose—having chests or butts or legs or necks or hair or any other part of our human bodies that others decide to project their particular sexual interests—and their slut-shaming—upon."

Man, do I feel the hell out of this. I've got big boobs, there's no restraining them completely. They bounce, they nip, they spill. They draw attention. They create cleavage. This attitude of nothing I wear being "appropriate" enough, it created a lot of problems for me at my old job. I was stalked by a student, and scolded by my boss because my inappropriate dress was apparently too much temptation for him-- did I mention that he was a blind guy? So yeah. I almost had surgery because of this stupid attitude that cleavage is something I expose for attention instead of by accident of size.

Comments

[saekhwa]

Hell to the yes to the mothereffing WORD on this. My having big breasts does not give you (random guy that I DO NOT KNOW) permission to touch them or otherwise attempt to make me ashamed of them.

I actually like my cleavage, but damn if I didn't have issues because how dare I be more than my breasts.

Awesome article.

[marvinetta]

Excellent article. I had a boss yell at me for wearing tight shirts and order me to wear a size larger. I told him I wouldn't do that, and if he insisted again he'd be facing harassment charges. The skinny girl that worked with me? She could wear booty shorts and spaghetti strap tank tops because she looked 12. I wasn't allowed because it didn't look "appropriate".

Men seem to have this notion that women are the only ones who can prevent MEN from behaving badly, apparently "self control" isn't in the male dictionary. Most women just tend to be catty about it.

I enjoy my large boobs! When I have to get them reduced due to health reasons, I'm probably gonna cry!

:) Amen, blessed be!

[earthkat.livejournal.com]

Boobs happen! Get over it!

That's what my BFF said when I asked about nipples and the cold. I imparted this wisdom on some friends recently. A teacher was told by a female co-worker that her top was too revealing. I talked about how tops shift around. How material stretches during the day. If she was sitting and the female co-worker was standing, she could see down her top. If you look down your shirt you see more cleavage then folks. She too spends a lot of her time trying to restrain the girls.

Boobs happen. boys in a classroom need to get over it!
Same with male/female coworkers.
*hugs*

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

I've given up on worrying too much about it. I will fill in the neckline of some wrap tops with a scrap of fabric or something, but that's mostly because on me some of them range into bra-display areas, and frankly no one needs to be seeing my bra just while I'm walking down the street. (If they were not all well loved, and cute patterns or something, I might feel differently, but boring beige? Blah.) But even then it's not to completely cover up the cleavage - just to fill in that little gap that happens where my bras like to go 'hello, world!'

I used to stress about it more, but I'm a 34F - ain't no way I'm hiding them unless I go around wearing one of those inflatable wrestler costumes and, well, no.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

F? I'm trying to imagine the wrestling match of getting into tops everyday; or shopping for tops. That cannot be an easy trip.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

Knits are my friends!

Also, I am lucky in that I have broad shoulders, so I can often get away with buying a top that might be a little too big overall in order to fit the 'girls' without buttons straining, without looking like I'm swimming in it because my shoulders at least fill it out okay. Then you can take in the waist a little if necessary just along the side seams, that sort of thing.

But, yeah, most of my tops are knit fabrics for the stretch.

Plus I HAVE to have good bras. Not just for the support but it also really does make a difference in how clothes fit and look if they're held comfortably vs. trying to make an escape all the time. (Which is why most of my clothing is starting to look like I've had it for a while - first thing I replace is bras. Stupid things cost $50-$70 each.)

I do have a couple of tops from Bravissimo.com that I bought when I lived in the UK and could try them on - for a nice fitting button-down top that doesn't gap or gape weirdly, they're pretty much the place to go unless you want to get someone local to just sew one for you. (I don't bother with any of their more 'fashion' styles, just the basic tailored shirt. Mostly because of the cost - I can't afford to buy something pricey that's going to be dated or that I can't wear a bunch of different ways.)

Huzzah

[nephir.livejournal.com]

I've had big boobs since puberty -- all my daughters received the blessing of them as well, the worst for my middle daughter who happens to be the short one as well. Imagine being 14 with a 32F cup and being 5' tall.

Clothing shifts, moves and generally does its best to share the boobs with the rest of the world.

As long as we (as a species) are hung up on seeing/not seeing each others bodies it will be an issue. As I've told my girls all their lives, we all have the same equipment, it's just that some looks different than others. A boob is a boob is a boob....

Re: Huzzah

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

Since I'm replying all over the place in comments today - as a 34F myself, if finding swimsuits is an issue, I really recommend Fantasie and Panache brands from the UK. More expensive than something off the rack at Target, but in the last few years the two lines seem to have done a nice job of balancing their offerings in terms of having something youthful, sporty, sexy, etc. and since they all have bra-sized bras built in, you get decent support, too.

My current swimsuit is a Fantasie black halterneck style that I got a few years ago, and even with the halterneck (i.e. deep V) I can swim and move around without feeling like anything is going to pop out and escape.

There's a couple of other brands also (Freya is another one that ends to be a little more youthful in style but also a little sexier) but if finding a swimsuit is an issue I think between them they should be able to find something that fits and is comfortable and that they, most importantly, feel comfortable IN. Tankinis are particularly common, so the height shouldn't be a problem either. :) (Bikinis too, but the drawback to bra-sized bikinis is that a lot of them look an awful lot like, well, bras. So I start feeling like it's silly to pay extra for a bikini top when I could just put on a black bra I already own. :P :) )

(I mention this mainly because I went from having nothing to being a C-D practically overnight when I hit puberty, and I remember it really putting a damper in how much I wanted to do stuff like go swimming, because of the issue of finding a swimsuit I felt comfortable in. So now I've discovered a solution I'm like - must share with the world!)

[kjfri.livejournal.com]

Here, here. I am often dismayed as to the number of commercials with women (of any size) dancing around in their undergarments, talking jovially to their own chests about the bra they just bought. I mean, there are no commercials (that I know of) of men playing sports in their Hanes underwear or talking to their junk about how comfy it fits in their boxer briefs - so really, can we just stop with the insanity all-around? no? I didn't think so.

[poisontaster]

You know this just reminds me of the Great Muslim Cleavage Debate all over again, right?

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

44DD here-how the hell am I supposed to conceal ~those?!

[bkm5191.livejournal.com]

Seriously. Mine have gotten huge with pregnancy / breastfeeding, and that doesn't make them MORE public property.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

Slightly OT, but it really freaks me out how some people seem to think pregnant women are, like, public property in terms of touching and poking. (I have never been pregnant myself, but it is a fairly common complaint from people I know who have been - people wanting to touch their stomach and things.)

Like, dude. PERSONAL SPACE.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

See I love to feel the baby kick, but um yeah I'm not gonna reach for some woman's stomach unless I happen to know her; and even then I'd ask. Hell I asked my sisters and they really don't count do they?

Jewelry on the hand I may ask to see, but sparkly things are very distracting don't you know.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

The impression I got was that it's not really the asking so much as a combination of people who just don't ask (!) plus people who are strangers who ask (!!) on top of people who ask but do so with the attitude of "if you say no, you're being horribly rude" (!!!) so I'm pretty sure if it's a friend or relative and you ask politely and aren't hurt if they say no, it's okay.

Which. WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY TO JUST REACH OUT AND TOUCH?

(Of course, this all came up as a topic because I used to have really long hair - knee length - and that is apparently also a sign that it's okay for strangers to grab at you. Pet the hair, poke the hair, pull the hair, threaten to sneak up and cut the hair... Blech. Now that it's way short, you know how many people say 'can I pet your head?' to me on a regular basis? NONE.)

Clearly in the unlikely event that I grow my hair out and become pregnant, I'm going to have to employ a bodyguard of some type to protect my personal space.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the long hair. Before the migraines got so bad mine was NEVER shorter then waist length (and completely straight mind you). And while I love friends playing with my hair, strangers not so much. But it seemed to be almost as irresistible as a 2yr olds curls.

I miss my hair, but not the petting.

[spazzer-mctwich.livejournal.com]

It's like all the other bullshit pertaining to societies expectations of women, Be sexy, but not too sexy cause then your a slut. Be proper, but not too proper cause then your a prude. Have big boobs but not too big cause then your back to being a slut.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

See I've no problem in the boobs department, but every other female I know does and I just don't understand the *gasp* not proper bit. I mean I'm sorry there is only so many ways to conceal bazoombas (anything over a D to me). And then my thought is always, WHY is it so damn titillating; ask most women with a large chest size and she wants to be able to take them off to give her back a rest.

I've had a problem with my hips though... I mean, I've been told I'm being provocative. (Yeah that particular wording was my manager. I was floored.) Dude, they are jeans, my shirt is over the top of them - all the way to mid hip - what do you want me to do about them.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

DARN YOU AND YOUR HIP HAVING WAYS!

(Maybe you were supposed to bring back really foofy petticoats? Bustles?)

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

I did end up wearing skirts for a while. The funny thing is they were all just below the knee and showed off more leg, but that seemed to keep him shut up - it also worked in my favor later when he was fired and I got his job. Turns out upper management didn't want store managers wearing jeans constantly... so skirts it was. I can't do dress pants, they don't have belt loops and without a belt pants fall down (I've got a 30" waist and 46" hips).