I have a love-hate relationship with my boobs. On one hand, they're one of my greatest assets. But on the other they can be a real pain. They are heavy, awkward, cause back pain, and sometimes they just slide out of your bra and you’ve got to yell “Lady get back in your seat.”Then there's boob sweat, bra shopping, oh and did I mention boob sweat- ugh. Also, being called "Boobs McGee" for the last 9 years has gotten pretty old. When faced with the mountains of problems, I sometimes long for smaller hills. But McKenzie Graham’s December 19th 2015 Attn.com article “The Truth about small boob-shaming” highlights that the members of the itty-bitty-titty committee have their own share of stigma. So basically, women are shamed regardless of their breast size. The problem, according to the Journal of Social Psychology, is that both men and women make snap judgments based on the size of women's breasts, and consider women with great big tracts of land as less intelligent, competent, and moral than their counterparts with smaller hills, while considering women with smaller breasts as less attractive and confident. As a physical characteristic most women can't control, or at least shouldn't be forced to control, it seems that the sisters can be a weight on women and their identities. This articles examines problems, effects, and solutions of boob stigma. Because we live in a world that sexualizes women to the extent that they want bigger boobs, then criticizes them when they have them. That is a double whammy, which is also another euphemism, dang there is a lot of those.
There are 2 problems here, and they're both boob stigma. Whether it is Dolly Parton or surfboard jokes, we constantly judge women based on their breasts. As the previously cited Journal of Social Psychology study shows, fluffier pillows are correlated with a lack of intelligence and moral fortitude. The reverse is also true. According to the very aptly named 2014 book the Cultural Encylopedia of the Breast, we also judge women with smaller peaches as being more hard working, modest, and moral. So women with larger breasts are judged as inferior, and women with smaller breasts are told they are less sexy. Meaning that people see my chest and think that I’m dumb, lazy and a slut. I am none of these. These judgments lead to a billion dollar industry that feeds off of shame: plastic surgery. According to plasticsurgery.org, implants were the most popular cosmetic surgery for women in 2014. On the flip side, according to the Atlantic on February 3rd 2015, boob reductions increased 157 percent between 1997 and 2013. Dr. Jane McCartney, a psychologist specializing in body image argues that women who succumb to the societal pressure for bigger breasts are often shamed for their choice. Many report being called whores, shallow, or are accused of disfiguring themselves. For example, in 2015 Ariel Winter, 18-year-old star of Modern Family, had a reduction for her 32F breasts. Following her surgery she reported bullying and was repeatedly asked why she would do that to herself. Too big or too small people shame you and criticize you. Get something done to fix it people shame you or criticize you. Mmm, smells like sexism with a side of bullshit and for desert? More sexism! Tasty.
These causes lead us to two effects: internalization of shame and equality never happens. Shame, much like taco bell, has an insidious way of staying with you. Surrounded by double standards about breast size, women are constantly shamed and re-shamed; from cancer patients feeling less than a woman after mastectomies, to those same patients being shamed for getting implants, to good old-fashioned slut-shaming, it’s scarlet bras for everyone! Our boobs and the shame that is attached to them becomes a part of our identity. Psychologist Marilyn Sorenson, author of Breaking the Chains, states that shame is different from guilt, as it is not attached to a specific act. Guilt is the feeling of having done something wrong, shame is the feeling of being something wrong. Sorenson argues that shame forces people into unproductive behaviors creates low self-esteem and a lack of sense of self. These by-products of breast-shame contribute to our second effect, female equality never happens, as known as the republican platform for the past 40 years. One example is how shame hinders women's economic equality because we really need more hindering there. But alas, according to a 2012 survey in the UK, 49 percent of women thought they would be taken more seriously in their career if their breasts were bigger, and 41% said they’d rather have bigger boobs than higher IQs. And this is in the good, old, sensible and proper UK! I don’t even want to see those stats for the US. Shame contributes to this form of breast based hegemony by making women connect their breast size to their economic success. Talk about a tit punch.
So what do we do about these breast-based injustices? Lucky for you, I have solutions! boob jobs for everyone! Equal breast sizes for all means overall equality for all, right? We can call them Obama-pares. Solutions break down into two areas. Our first solution is linguistic. Words matter. Sure kids say sticks and stones, but they are wrong according to The Sapir-Wharf hypothesis. Language shapes society. We can start lowering stigma by changing the language. Sociologist Georgia Platts argues in her December 31st, 2015 Broadblog that we need to change how we talk breasts. You can replace any of the words for breasts in this articles with at least a hundred other euphemisms and that points out just how crazy our fascination is, and a lot of those words refer to size. Whether mountains vs hills, melons vs peaches, or knockers vs surfboards- our language creates a dichotomy of breasts. If we adopt more neutral words- you know, just breasts, we can lower the stigma. Basically, we want breasts to be like Switzerland, minus the nazi gold… though bras are really great for storing money. Second, we need to stop breast shaming. If someone got breast enhancements? That was their choice! If they needed a reduction for either medical or personal reasons? Again, their choice! If they want to keep their current size whether A or F… wait for it… wait for it… IT'S THEIR CHOICE! But, the way we shame and stigmatize is our choice, and all of us can play a role in lowering the stigma. The measure of a woman’s bust is not the measurement of her worth. It could also save your life. Because when you shame girls for their breast size it makes me want to push you into traffic… who’s flat now.
Today we looked at problems, effects, and solutions for breast stigma. Despite my love-hate relationship, I decided I was comfortable with my breasts. Sure they are a nuisance sometimes, but they are a part of me. But it was my decision, and I refuse to judge anyone else for theirs. We need to stop shaming breasts, regardless of size. As the previously mentioned Mackensie Graham points out, women throughout history are remembered for their actions, not their cup size. Big, small or in-between we all just put our bra on one boob at a time.
