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CHAPTERS
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Chapter Eight
Bras For You: Camis, Athletic,
Underwires, Padded, Lace
My friend and I had this secret code. Whenever we knew one of our friends was wearing a bra we would make this funny face and laugh about it – but that was then. As we grew up, doing our secret code became more and more uncomfortable because it became clear that we too needed bras. It was hard to admit this to each other.
Lena, 14
I’ve tried a bunch of times to talk about the fact that – hello, people! – I could really use a bra, but no one seems to listen, care, or know what to say.
Sasha, 11
We were at Kohl’s and I was trying on bras in the dressing room and my mom was like ‘Honey, come out and let me see! Does it fit okay?’ and all this other stuff while there were still people in the dressing area!
Alix, 11
When I bought my first bra I had to be measured. The woman measured me in front of everyone – and everyone was watching. I was sooooo embarrassed.
Kari, 11
Finding a bra was a real scene. Bigger sized bras, they’re hideous. You can find them in my size in department stores, but they’re in the full figure section, and they’re usually really ugly and they have really big straps in the back. Everybody else has cute little Victoria’s Secret bras, or a training bra, and I’ve got this like boulder holder.
Rose, 19
My dad went to the store to buy me my first bra. He had no idea what he was doing so he just bought everything that he thought might fit me. When he got home he put them on my bed and told me to try them on with my mom. My mom ended up having to return all but one bra.
Grace, 12
I got my first bra as a hand-me-down, so no family members even knew. So I was fine!
Madeleine, 12
My mom just bought my little sister fake little training bras, and she is only six. I am over-protective of my sister. So I stole them all so she wouldn’t wear them until she got older.
Ashley, 15
I went to an all girl school and at age 11 to 12 it was all about having a bra. Girls who had bras were in, and those who did...well, they were not. And how did others know whether you wore one or not? It was a snapping game: girls felt one anothers' backs to snap the bras. It was humiliating not to have breasts; it was even more embarrassing not to snap! Feeling somewhat desperate and wanting to be in, one morning, I decided to wear an elastic hairband under my shirt; the kind that would snap. Sure enough, my very best friend ‘tested me out’ that day – and I snapped! The big news was ‘Jenny has a bra!’ I was in!
Jenny, 18
I wish I could wear a cup bra, but I’m too small for them. Once I tried one on with a dress and my boobs looked bigger – but I didn’t like how it looked. I felt uncomfortable because it wasn’t me; it was artificial. If Saturday I was flat chested and Sunday I showed up to a party with big boobs, what would people say? It would be ridiculous.
Siri, 17
I was out shopping for my first bra with my mother. My mom went up to a guy in the store and asked if he could help us find a size for me. Turns out: the man didn't even work there!
Maryanne, 13
I went to the store, and we quietly asked the lady where the training bras where. She screamed to the rest of the store that they were over there and was I buying my first bra? It was really awkward.
Sylvan, 13
I want a bra to smooth everything out, to flatten the nipple puffiness so it’s not noticeable.
Jen, 10
People could see that I obviously wasn’t wearing a bra because I usually wore white T-shirts. Finally one of my friends told me to get one. It was pretty embarrassing!
Kikanza, 9
When I got my first bra, my sister referred to it as mosquito netting for the bites.
Molly, 11
My secret advice to my mom: ‘Gently persist when you want to talk to me about buying a bra, until I give in and listen. (I know it’s hard.) Get me in the car. Take me to a store. Just buy it.’
Lena, 14
I am rather sensitive and modest so I was totally humiliated when my mother started to fiddle with the straps of my new bra in front of my father.
Julia, 12
My mother bought me my first bra and said I had to wear it because I was starting junior high school. I didn't really need a bra and the first thing I did every day when I got home was take the darn thing off.
Liz, 19
I first asked for a bra when I was 11 and everyone else was getting one. I absolutely did NOT need it physically, and when I asked for it, my mother said, ‘Why would you want that — you don't need it.’ While she meant well, it was very upsetting to me, and in protest, I basically refused to wear a bra until I was 16, which is when I got my first one.
Jamaica, 18
I did not need a bra but the girls at school were torturing me. When my mom brought me to buy my first one, the sales lady said very loudly that I didn't need one, so my mom kicked her gently in the leg and then the lady quickly announced loudly, ‘Oh, you’re right, the TRAINING bras are right over there’.
Rayna, 16
My mom gave me a bra ahead of time saying, ‘Just in case, for whatever happens, use it now or later.’ Getting the bra ahead of time made me feel better because it saved me from having to think about getting one – and when the time came to needing it, I had what I needed.
Sasha, 19
I arrived at camp to discover that my friend Nina had a bra. The rest of us girls thought, ‘oh my God, she’s so grown up and we’re so behind – like a bunch of babies.’ So we all ran out to get bras for ourselves. I begged my Mom for one. But my mom refused to buy me one saying I didn’t need it. I guess it was a sign that her little baby was growing up. I really had to beg. And really, like it’s going to make a difference since I mean, you don’t need a bra when you get a training bra. What is it training them to do – LOL? ‘Well, this breast can jump and do acrobatics!’ J
Morgan, 14
When I was a freshman in high school, in front of everyone in the store, my mom shouted to one of the sales girls, ‘Excuse me miss, can you come measure my daughter's breasts so we can pick out a bra?’
Savannah, 18
A few years ago I had been wearing like a 36D, but a bra fitter said, ‘It’s all wrong. It’s standing away from your body.’ She measured me ‘34 double D. She said the bra should be sitting against your chest, flat. I tried on the 34 DD, it fit perfectly, and it was like all of a sudden this light bulb went on!
Susan, 19
I prefer sports bras because they make me look flatter. Having a grown up bra makes me feel grown up but I’m too scared to switch. Besides, my boobs don’t seem to fill in the cups. I don’t want a bra or my nipples showing through a shirt and I don’t want my family – particular my brothers – to see and make comments.
Lena, 14
