How Going Braless Changed My Entire Perspective On Being A Woman
I walked through the city with pride, not trying to hide the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra.
Body Stock / Shutterstock By Missy Amato
I walked through Toronto with some baggage at my side and some flopping the front. Yes, I knew that people were staring, but I quietly told myself, “do it for Miley.”
And that’s what I did. I went braless for Miley Cyrus.
I also went braless for every other woman who has been seriously objectified by not wanting to put her glands in something with metal in it.
Wearing a bra is a pain and a half. Not only is it uncomfortable, but for me, it was always completely unnecessary. Boasting an A cup, I was rocking what most men and women thought of when they saw a pre-teen.
Wearing a bra was just a significant reminder that I wasn't what people thought a woman should be.
I wasn’t the example of the ideal woman in magazines or the women in music videos. I wasn’t proud of how flat I was and for the longest time I thought that I needed a bra with extreme extra padding just to get through the day.
This slowly became obsessive and unhealthy. I was losing the idea that I was a beautiful woman. However, with the help of Miss Miley, I was going to change it one un-bra’d breast at a time.
The day started out pretty normal — you know, just some casual questioning looks from men that thought it strange. Even women were giving me the side-eye.
Sure, my nips were a little visible, but definitely not protruding. I felt as if I had a sign on me that blatantly said, “this girl isn’t wearing a bra!”
Women are expected to change their bodies, every single day. We have to have new clothes all the time, and we have to fit into what society thinks is the right size.
However, what most guys don’t even realize is that some of these constraints are more painful than others. This includes the dreaded brassiere.
We contort our natural frames into garments that are completely unnatural, and that change the way we think of what we were born with.
Today was a different day.
I walked through the city with pride, not trying to hide the fact that I wasn’t wearing a padded bra.
The flatness of my chest didn’t mean that I wasn’t feminine. It also didn’t mean that I was more masculine or that I was trying to upset the natural order of society.
I chose this outfit simply because it was more comfortable, which is what any human really should do.
Not only are nipples and breasts a natural part of the female body, but they are just a natural part of life. It felt freeing to finally be able to just let ‘em hang, instead of giving in to the pressure of changing my body.
I don’t hide my calves, why should I hide other parts of my body that are just as normal?
However, the greatest lesson that I learned from this day was that it’s not society that should tell me that I am a woman, it’s me that tells society who I am.
I am no less of a woman because I don't have Amber Rose breasts or a Kim K butt. I am simply a woman, and a feminine one at that, because I identify myself as a lady.
Whether you want to show off your breasts or you want to keep them in a bra, you have the right to tell people, and society, in general, exactly who you are.
Missy Amato is a writer and slam poet from Jamaica, Queens. She focuses on topics of heartbreak, relationships, and wellness.