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 cam have a normal conversation? Like what’s it all about?

  • That_Devil_Girl@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    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.

    • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      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

      • GamingChairModel@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

      • Live Your Lives@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

      • fogstormberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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

          • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            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.

      • That_Devil_Girl@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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 😀

  • Bilbo_Haggins@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

      • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        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 leaks

        Or, 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
        • Bilbo_Haggins@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          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

          • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            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 :-)

  • henfredemars@infosec.pub
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

  • PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    I am also reliably told that the removal of a bra - particularly a tight one - at the end of a working day is almost as wonderful as the feeling of taking your socks off when you get home.

    Bliss.

    • CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      Wait what? I wear socks at all times unless I’m in water or asleep. Mostly because my feet are always cold.

      I do enjoy the ski sock peel at the end of a day on the slopes though!

      • 1984@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        I have also never even considered taking my socks off when I get home. But if I lived in a warm country, I would.

      • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        I think taking off a pair of jeans is a better equivalent for guys. Or any piece of clothing that isn’t comfortable.

        • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          Bro why are you wearing uncomfortable jeans? I get why people wear uncomfortable fashionable/dressy items but jeans are all about comfort.

          • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Jeans are mid comfort for me. They look good when out but honestly I don’t want to lay down on my couch in jeans. Especially summer. Usually I change into gym shorts, sweatpants, or underwear.

  • db2@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    Large breasts are heavy. Redistributing the weight helps the back.

    Also for some people seeing nipples is scary for some reason.

  • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    I think it’s much the same purpose that underwear serves for the testicles (and penis). As a man, I honestly can’t remember any time I walked around without underwear, but I’m pretty sure it would be worse than without. Things would just flail everywhere.

    Other answers about bras are great but I thought the male flip side ought to be mentioned.

    • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Meh. I went without underwear for a while. It’s kind of freeing when I’m at home, but those times I have to run out and forget to put on shorts or pants without a belt, it’s a little stressful lol. The first thing my wife does when she gets home is takes her bra off, so I ultimately guess it could be the same, but there’s no social impacts if men don’t wear underwear under their trousers when in public

  • DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

    There are plenty of examples of societies past and present, for the vast majority of the time humans existed probably, where breasts are free to exist as they are. The people those breasts are attached to do all manner of work and activities without hinderance, or chafed nipples. Just like those with flat chests do.

    The reason that in (especially our western) modern world we are expected to wear bras has to do with puritanism, shame, control, and profiteering from all of the above.

    Comfort is categorically not a priority of the billion dollar bra industry, the trillion dollar advertising industry, nor those who demand we wear them to be “respectable”, lest we “excite” their, or their son’s, urges or “distract” them from their important manly duties (and if we don’t, and they attack us, it’d be our fault for not being “modest” enough and “asking for it”).

    When we have all been socialised with these demands and expectations for centuries, they become so deeply ingrained, it’s really hard to separate from our own free will, and yet ask any group of people who wear bras what the best part of the day is, and they’ll tell you it’s taking it off.

    And to be clear - this isn’t a judgment of anyone who wears a bra, I wear an underwire once in a blue moon which I hate, but am usually in a sports bra because I feel more comfortable with everything held in place (and also have nosy neighbours I’m not that friendly with), it’s about questioning why I feel more comfortable that way, and how much of that is natural vs manufactured by a society that demands I keep everything held in place, and hidden (unless they’re “required” to sell something or entertain the mens).

    Anyway, I’m stoned too and I tend to ramble, so I think I 'll leave it at that for now lol

    • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      I mean no offense, but after all of the work women have done to get the rights and regards that they have today (don’t misunderstand me, there’s still work that can be done), and excuse my assumption, but it would be more or less the woman’s control of whether they would/should wear a bra, so the argument (I’m going to summarize to list to a single word. I mean no offense, but it’s my perception. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) of whether you should or shouldn’t is a feminist argument that feminist are the ones that argue about the most. However, I still believe “your body your right”. Do what you want.

      However I had 2 ulterior motives for asking: 1) to actually know where and why bras were first used 2) the vast majority of people (cis, trans, straight, gay, men, and women) enjoy boobs. There are people on the planet that sexualize boobs, but boobs are a hot topic. People enjoy talking about boobs, and to me it’s a weird phenomenon. About the only exception I think to that rule would be gay men, but they can probably still appreciate a good pair of pups.

      Again, I mean no offense. I just believe that some conversations about boobs are neither alienating or innapropriate. I hope I explained this in a way that isn’t creepy. If it does seem creep, please let me know and I’ll try to reword it

      • DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

        I’ll be honest, if you don’t have an understanding of how deeply these (along with white supremacy, cis heteronormativity, ablesim, classism) impact not only society at large, but our individual choices (or lack thereof), and it sounds like you don’t, I can’t really help at this point, there’s just too much to unpack and it’s not work I’m interested in doing for you.

        As for your ulterior motives - the first is easy to resolve by opening a search engine and looking it up, the second absolutely makes you sound like a creep, and also provides a perfect demonstration of the kind of external pressure we face that more often than not compels us to cover up - we feel you “appreciating” our “pups” (aka your “male gaze” or simply you objectifying us). And it’s fucking gross.

        Maybe you should read my first reply again, this time try and actually listen to the experience of a person explaining to you the pressures they and others like them face from society that you never have, instead of dismissing it because it makes you uncomfortable to confront, and then invest some of your own time actually researching the topic, not of why people wear bras, but of how fundamentally social constructs impact society and all the individuals in it, and maybe you’ll start to get an idea of what the actual answer to your question is.

        But I have a feeling you’re not interested in doing any of that, so I’ll just leave you with this - boobs don’t exist for you.

        • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Ok well, I haven’t attacked anyone and have made it clear that my own perceptions and beliefs could use some work. I haven’t used personal attacks. And I’m very interested in changing my perception… as long as those who perceive things differently are as respectful to me as I am to them.

          So now for you specifically, here’s the deal. Your first argument to my first ulterior motive is you proving you are self-righteous because I posted this on “No Stupid Questiomlns”. Which makes you the asshole in this regard while I’m truly trying to learn. Second, you are the first person to have such an issue with my asking. So there’s a great chance that my line of asking isn’t the problem, but it’s you that’s the problem

    • Reyali@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      ask any group of people who wear bras what the best part of the day is, and they’ll tell you it’s taking it off.

      Nah fam. I can’t stand being without support unless I’m in bed. I’ve gotten used to wearing just an elastic sports bra at home, but I can’t stand being without underwire when I’m moving around a lot or out of my house. The bra does not come off until I put PJs on. (And even then, I’ve started sleeping in my sports bra more often than not.)

      Getting my first properly fitted bra was life-changing. My chronic back pain dropped by about 70% and existence became dramatically more tolerable.

    • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      A lot of replies here ignoring the obvious - patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

      They’re not. OP is asking the actual point of them, and you’re bringing modern politics into it, which are a very recent development. “Bras” go way back, like thousands of years BCE, all with very different functions.

  • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      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

        • EABOD25@lemm.eeOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          Good question! She said, and I quote “I don’t know. What the fuck is going on in your head right now?”

    • 1984@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • Jikiya@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

        • 1984@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          You can’t ask guys to not get distracted. It’s not a choice they are making.

          • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            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.

            • 1984@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              edit-2
              1 year ago

              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. :)

              • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                1 year ago

                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.

          • Jikiya@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            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.

            • 1984@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              1 year ago

              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… :)

    • Shou@lemmy.world
      cake
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • TheDoozer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

  • Pandantic [they/them]@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I am someone who has had very large breasts and fairly small breasts in my lifetime. When my boobs were big, wearing bras was manageability and comfort. They were heavy and hurt my back and were always in the way. In addition, it was hard to do any sports or be active without being, what I called, double strapped: having a bra with a sports bra over the top. This is how I got through high school.

    Now that I’ve both had a breast reduction and lost a lot of weight, my boobs are smaller and I don’t wear a bra often. When I do, it’s a vanity thing, I think my boobs look better under some clothes when wearing a bra, and a utility thing, like when I’m working out or doing something strenuous. Also, I wear one when I’m at work because it seems more appropriate.

  • xe3@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Make:

    • Bouncy things less bouncy
    • Pokey things less pokey
    • Gravity less gravit-y
    • Gingernate@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • xe3@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        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