I haven't worn a bra in weeks, maybe even months. I don't wear a bra to go out, nor do I wear them when I'm lounging around the house. My roommates don't care, my friends don't care, nor do my family or boyfriend.
It seems that every irrelevant person has the most to say about seeing my nipples through my shirt or watching whatever itty bitty titty I have bouncing around. There's always a random guy staring at me as I run down the stairs, probably thinking that I don't notice him gawking at me.
"I can see your nipples," people tell me.
Well good, you're supposed to.
I had my nipples pierced my first few years in college. I wanted people to see my nipples because I was taking a stand. I was embracing my body and putting the whole "body shaming" thing behind me. Little did I know that I was attracting more negative attention to myself by being so confident in my own skin.
Here's the big issue: it's 2019. Why are we still calling women out for going braless? Like, we burned our bras in the 60s for our own feminist protests. Women have been going braless since then, and yet here we are, constantly ogling any woman whose nipples are visible through the cotton of her t-shirt.
"Women have been going topless at the beaches in Miami since the 90s," my mom always tells me, "and there's always been that creep trying to take photos or those girls that can't stand to see other women living their lives." So, even the generations before us d.g.a.f., so why does our generation have so much to say about it now?
Even some of my girlfriends get a little insecure about going braless. "Oh, I can't, I have to wear a bra with this top," they say as they cover themselves. I'm always the first one to shout out, "free the nipple!" and proceed to leave the house in a white tank top and no regrets.
Women will feel comfortable going braless and being in their own skin once others stop shaming them. Although it seems impossible, if people could learn to mind their own damn business, women could live comfortably and without fear or shame.
