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

Burning the Bra
Feminist Pop Culture Revisited
Rebecca Kleinfelter
Women’s Studies Program
University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Canada
November 2005
Why Do Women
Need To Wear Bras?
Medical Myths
The Ugly Sagging Boob
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
More From Dr. Stoppard
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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
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
What About Big Breasts?
“All girls with [extremely large
breasts] should be informed of the
possibility of surgical breast
reduction and offered councelling.”
Stoppard – pg 46
The Truth!
THERE IS NO MEDICAL REASON TO
WEAR A BRA!
Lauersen – pg 22, Love – pg 21, 007b.com
The Myth of the Sagging
Boob
●
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Sag has nothing to do with bras
Proportion of fat to connective and
mammary tissue
●
Age
●
Weight loss/gain
Love – pg 22, 007b.com
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
Real Boobs
Saggy And Beautiful!
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
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
Social Myths
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
At The Workplace
●
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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.
Why Is Going Braless A
Feminist Pop Culture
Practice?
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
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 selfesteem (Rice)
Popular Discrimination
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
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
Resources for Those Who
Want To Be Brafree
●
007b.com/why_wear_bras.php
●
goingbraless.net
●
Me!
References Cited (1/3)
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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.
References Cited (2/3)
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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.
References Cited (3/3)
●
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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>