Let's talk about boobs (again!)
Boobs. Half the world's population has them - and yet they're a topic that are so often misunderstood. For that reason, it's a topic that I love to talk about.
I have been blessed (arguable word, but we'll go with it) with relatively large boobs. Sitting firmly at a tiny little A-B up until I was 16, I suddenly sprouted, bypassing pretty much all other cup sizes and jumping pretty quickly up to an astonishing F cup. An F! At the time I was proud, because everyone wants big boobs, right? I wore outfits that showed them off, frequently received compliments about my curvaceous figure and generally felt pretty lucky to be part of the "big boob gang".
Until the online bullying started. Because one of the comments that seemed to appear over and over again was that I had "saggy" boobs. This was something I'd not paid any attention to before, I'd never even considered my own boobs to be saggy and I definitely didn't feel like this was a good thing. Everyone knows boobs are supposed to be perky and firm at all times, with or without a bra, right?
Wrong! (But we'll get to that in a minute!)
I felt extremely self conscious about my boobs, and the more comments I received - particularly from girls - the worse I felt. However, me being me, I didn't let it stop me from wearing the clothes I wanted. I still wore pretty, unpadded bralets, low cut tops etc, truly sticking a finger up at the world and telling them that I didn't give a fuck what they thought about my breasts. But on the inside, I really did care. No one else seemed to have saggy boobs, no one else seemed to be suffering from the problems I was - only women who were old or who had breast fed!
Once I came out of my previous long term relationship, I struggled with dating. I had 0 body confidence, I had 0 confidence at all for that matter - and I felt particularly unattractive thanks to my boobs.
"No one else seemed to have saggy boobs, no one else seemed to be suffering from the problems I was"
Thankfully, fastforward quickly through the 18 months or so of being single and I underwent a transformation where I fell in love with myself, gained so much body confidence, defeated my battles with body image and really loved and embraced my body exactly as it was. Sometimes, I did get the niggle in the back of my mind about my boobs, but then I'd remind myself how great I looked and just move on.
Until I became subject to some nasty behaviour online - again. And guess what they decided to target?
Yep, my "saggy" boobs.
Not only were nasty comments made, a nasty picture was actually made, making fun of how my boobs looked in a selfie I had uploaded a while back (where, by the way, I looked pretty damn good). The picture was circulated far and wide, even by people I believed were my friends. I was so hurt, but more than anything, I wanted to bang people's heads together and bloody educate them on how boobs work - and especially on the magical tools women use called bras.
Let me demonstrate.
Exhibit A: Me in a bodysuit, not wearing a bra (a regular occurance because ew bras) vs. me in a push up bra, a popular tool amongst many women across the globe.
Look at the difference a bra makes! On the left, I look like I have "saggy boobs" and on the right, with the help of a decent bra, I look like I have the most voluptuous cleavage in the world. Guess what? That's what bras are for! They pick your boobs up, give you a cleavage, make you look bigger and rounder than you are. It's the whole reason women wear bras! Forget about the support of a bra, we just wanna look good because that's what the media and society has made us believe is our number one priority!
Let me demonstrate again, just in case you're still dubious.
Exhibit B: Me in a strappy, unpadded bikini vs me in a padded, tie up front bikini.
Again, look at the different! Same girl, same boobs, very different looks - my boobs in their normal state on the left vs my boobs pulled together using the knot mechanism on the bikini on the right look so different. That's because bras make the world of difference, and if you think that all girls naturally have boobs that sit like mine do in a padded bra, you're mistaken. Some women do, of course they do! But only a small minority.
So often, I choose not to wear a bra, or to wear one of the aforementioned pretty, unpadded and therefore 0 support bralets. They're comfier, they're cuter and I don't give a damn if they make my boobs look saggy or not because I like wearing them. I thought I was the only one, going a bit crazy, but then something amazing happened...
At the end of 2017, influencer 'The Slumflower' brought to light her social media movement #SaggyBoobsMatter and it is just so needed! The movement has the aim of educating the world on the fact that everyone's boobs look different - they're different shaped, different sizes, sit in different places and even people's nipples differ massively too! No two sets of boobs are the same and that is totally okay! The Slumflower herself has what are labelled as "saggy boobs" and she rocks them. And with her confidence to show them off the way people show perky boobs off, many more girls have come out into the light to show off their natural, "saggy" boobs too - and all being very proud of them, as they should be!
"I love my boobs and I won't be shamed into thinking they aren't great"
Men are ridiculous for thinking that all women are going to have what I like to call "pornstar boobs" - big, bouncy, F cup boobs that sit under women's chins and never deflate ever in their lives, with a cleavage you could get lost in. Sadly boys, boobs are always changing. They change with your hormonal cycle, they change if you take the contraceptive pill, when you lose weight or gain weight, they change when you get pregnant, when you breastfeed and when you get old. There is a whole multitude of reasons as to why your boobs change and they happen often. For men - and even women - to think boobs will stay the same for your whole life is just yet another societal expectation most women will fail to reach.
I love my boobs and I won't be shamed into thinking they aren't great just because a handful of uneducated and misinformed individuals think they're "saggy" and therefore "gross". Welcome to the world of natural breasts, and whilst you're at it, go and do some research into the ever growing, world famous #SaggyBoobsMatter movement. You might just pick up a thing or two.
People need to remember that boobs are, first and foremost, lumps of fat designed to feed babies, much like udders on a cow. They're not sexual organs used solely for the pleasure of men. Never have been, never will be. Additionally, if you're about to comment on someones breasts, take a second to think about what you're about to say and why you feel like it's your place to say it. Lastly, if you're about to comment on someone's appearance in a negative way, make sure that you're a bang on ten out of ten yourself before you criticise someone else.
I love my boobs perky in a push up bra and saggy in a soft bralette. They look banging either way, and so do I.
In the words of The Slumflower herself, you should be very grateful you're even able to see my boobs.
Love from,
Florence Grace
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