‘Bras are a curse!’ How lockdown changed readers’ views of their breasts
‘Lockdown has released me from the bra’
I was a teen in the 70s and morphed into a feminist. I find bras hideously uncomfortable; I only started wearing one in 2018 when I went back to work and the lack of confidence that often besieges women over 60 made me too self-conscious to face the public brafree. Lockdown has released me from the bra, and the job, and I doubt I’ll wear one again. Jackie, writer, Midlands
‘Underwired bras now seem an unkind way to treat my body’
Underwired bras were my staple. That all changed in lockdown. I lost my job and within a few weeks had decided to retrain as a personal trainer. I’ve spent the past year in a sports bra. The rigidity and harshness of a wire now seems like an unkind way to treat my body. And lockdown has taught me a lot about being kinder. Recently I found a lump in my breast. Fortunately, it was nothing serious, but as I sat in the hospital waiting for the results of the tests, I knew some of the other women sitting with me would not be so lucky. That rather frightening experience further reinforced my appreciation for my little breasts as they are, and I’ll carry on being kind to them. Gabrielle O’Hare, personal trainer, Manchester
‘Gravity hasn’t had the drastic effect I feared’
I don’t wear a bra when I am at home or working in my studio. A year ago I said: ‘If this lockdown carries on for any length of time, my boobs will be down at my waist!’ But gravity hasn’t had as drastic effect as I feared (yet). Anonymous, Scotland
‘Given the culture of my island, nipples would cause havoc’
I used to always need underwiring, since I’m top-heavy. Post-pandemic, I have given up wearing bras at home and only wear them when out. I wish bras weren’t necessary, but given the culture of my little island, nipples would cause pure havoc, car crashes and maybe even something tabled in parliament. It’s interesting, given that photographs of native women before colonial rule include bare-chested women. How these notions of covering up integrated into our society is something I ponder often. Bras are a curse! Minal Wickrematunge, designer and artist, Sri Lanka
‘Perhaps I’ll never wear one again’
Bra-wearing was always an uncomfortable thing for me. Since I fed my three children, my breasts have grown to a size that made not wearing a bra