Why Do Women Wear Bra?

Over 90% of women wear a bra, without ever asking why. This article talks about different reasons women give for wearing a bra. Interestingly, bra wearing is not a necessity for most women for their breasts' sake; it is worn for cultural reasons.

History Of Bras
In olden days it is said that a strip of cloth tied under the breast to support and reveal them, or around the breast to flatten them.
Today, the bra has "evolved" from simple underwear into an actual sexual garment that emphasizes the sexual nature of breasts. This can be readily seen, for example, by the terminology used to advertise bras: enticing, hot, ravishing, seducing, etc. It is no wonder feminists symbolically threw their bras into the trash in the 60s. Even today, going bra-less is sometimes connected with feminism.

Are You Comfortable With or Without Bra?

Do you or your breast feel comfortable in bra or bra-less?
This mainly depends on your breast size and secondly to you or your habits.
If you have a very large and heavy breast then you must need to wear bras for support, If you don't wear you might will feel pain and discomfort.
If you are a small and medium sized breast's girl/women and used to of being bra-less then you no need to wear all the time. women tend to feel awkward or self-conscious without bras if they are used to wearing them. In fact, when a person gets used to automatically wearing bras, it's possible to not even notice or pay any attention to the slight discomfort from bras.
Thinking about it, can you sense any discomfort and/or tightness from your bra? When you take your bra off, do you feel something similar to the feeling when you have eaten your belly full at a restaurant, and you loosen your belt a little? Can you possibly even see little red marks on your skin after taking bra off? If you answer yes to these questions, your breasts may be trying to tell you something!

Why Do Women Wear A Bra
"Because breasts need to be supported."
This is largely a myth: "...wearing a bra... has no medical necessity whatsoever", says Susan M. Love, M.D in her "Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book". This is similar to the myth that women supposedly need corsets to support their stomach muscles.
Due to pain while and jogging and other active sports large and medium both breasted girl/women need to wear bra. They need support for their breast and to feel comfortable. So do what is comfortable for you.
In one study, large-breasted women removed the weight of breasts from their shoulders for two weeks, either by going bra-less or by wearing a strapless bra. Only one woman chose a strapless bra and all the others went bra-less. The researchers monitored the women for muscle pain and tenderness. Seventy-nine percent of patients decided to remove breast weight from the shoulder permanently because it rendered them symptom free!
(Ryan, EL, Pectoral girdle myalgia in women: a 5-year study in a clinical setting. Clin J Pain. 2000 Dec;16(4):298-303. 

If you need or want to wear a bra, find one that is fits your breast. Especially be careful about the underwires and side panels, because if the fit is not just right, the underwire can poke into the breast tissue, and the side panels can create extra pressure and tightness. Consider getting fitted right with a professional fitter. Also, give your breasts "free time". Take your bra off whenever you can, such as at home. At the very least do not wear it to sleep.

Also, while bras do give breasts support, they do not ultimately prevent your breasts from sagging. Gravity will eventually take its effect.

One possible reason for this is that the breast has ligaments, and since other bodily ligaments can atrophy when not in use, the same might happen to the breast ligaments under the constant artificial support from the bra, resulting in increased sagginess. Another possible reason for bra-wearing increasing shagginess is IF a woman wears an ill-fitting bra, which may force some of the breast tissue to "migrate", resulting in differently shaped breasts than otherwise.

"Because I feel immoral or indecent without bras."
This is actually a strange contrast to the sexual nature of bras. While many women accentuate the sexuality of their breasts with bras, equally many or more feel that bras are sort of a necessary "modest covering" for breasts.Is morality really dependent upon the type of underwear you wear? Women who feel this way have often been made to believe that their breasts are "dirty" body parts that need "tucked away" from sight; and bras become the means of doing so.Considering breasts as baby feeders, and realizing that breasts do NOT have to be considered a special sexual body part (such as genitals) can liberate these women from a mental "bondage" that says breasts are "immoral, obscene, or indecent" in themselves. 

"Because everybody does so, or in other words the unspoken rules of society so dictate." 

This is a common reason for wearing bras, and in many situations we women do have to confirm to the modern society's dress code. 

"I need to wear bras for my job since it's the dress code." 

This might be; however those ladies who would rather not wear one for whatever reason, still have some options even at workplace:Try a camisole/vest . A good camisole made out of elastic material will give some support to your breasts so they don't bounce around, and you will probably be surprised how little people notice. Companies that require bras may not have a policy that defines what a bra is. Some cropped camisoles look very much like bras. Some camisoles even have adjustable straps like a bra. Basically, if it looks professional, it should be OK.Try some other alternative for bra, such as bra cups worn inside the clothing.Try change the company's policy. I am not guaranteeing this will work; however in some situations it might be a viable option. 

"To hide nipples that poke through clothing."

This is a true reason for wearing bras for many women. But you can hide your nipples by wearing silicone nipple covers. The society views nipples that are just a tad visible through clothing as something "indecent" or inappropriate, but it is kind of silly to think that. No one thinks that of MEN's nipples, do they?And just because one's nipples stick out a little and are visible through clothing does NOT mean the person is sexually aroused. We all should know that! Most people's nipples are protruding outwards in their natural state. 

"Because I hate the thought of my breasts sagging so much."

 Bras provide support for the breasts and keep breasts from sagging while you wear them. This is often considered to be the "norm" or the dress code for professionals or otherwise. Some of us may also find discomfort in the sweat that collects under sagging breasts.Also, bras do not ultimately prevent your breasts from sagging. Gravity will eventually take its effect, sooner or later. Two scientific studies have even shown that wearing a bra causes the breasts to sag more. 

Discomform from sweat and 'slapping' 

If you suffer with a sweat rash under the breasts, one idea is to apply a good medicated body powder (not talc) after you have washed every day. One visitor suggested Lanacane as a good one. Then there is also a product called Swoobies that is designed to absorb the moisture (sweat) between the bra and breasts. 

 

"Because I want to give the illusion of a larger breast size." 

This especially happens among teenagers who are very self-conscious if their breasts end up on the smaller end of the scale. Small-breasted and flat-chested women often pad their bras or perhaps use other means to fill up the bra cup, such as silicone breast enhancers.If the society wouldn't have such a craze about large breasts being better, these girls and women wouldn't need to feel so self-conscious about this issue! 

"Because they jump up and down while I exercise and do sports."  

Sports bras can be extremely helpful in reducing breast bouncing while running or doing other types of active sports. In fact, the bouncing during jogging, for example, can actually damage the ligaments inside the breasts. Slight movement of breasts is probably just helpful, because movement of breasts aids the lymph flow. You need to judge the situation based on the type of activity.

"Because I am breastfeeding and I need to wear nursing bras."

 Nursing moms (or pregnant women) are indeed told to buy nursing bras and wear them. There is no medical necessity to wear nursing bras either. Of course nursing bras is a handy way to hide the leaking of breast milk, and maybe you want to wear one in order to avoid society's pressure. However be careful because wearing a nursing bra may cause breast engorgement or sore breasts. It might be safer just place a towel under you during the night to catch the leakage, and not worry about breast milk spots on your T-shirts at home, where you can easily go brafree. 

So Should I Wear Bra Or Not

The choice is yours to wear bra or not. Many of them wear because they are used to wearing bras and feel uncomfortable in public without them.Bra wearing is not going to kill you (or 'kill' your breasts) if you follow the simple guideline of giving your breasts free time as much as you can - at home, while sleeping. And, if you wear one, remember to always wear a good fitting bra. It should not leave marks on your shoulders or under your breasts, or feel tight. Find a professional bra fitter. Or order custom-made ones. Don't sacrifice your breast health to fashion.

Some Bra Alternatives
There are many healthy alternatives for dressing brafree (some women prefer the positive term "brafree" rather than "braless" because they say women don't really need to wear bras).

• Camisoles are inexpensive, and there is a huge variety at many department stores with variety of fabrics and weights, from silk to cotton. Some have straps similar to those of a bra, with adjustable clasps, so others may assume that a bra is being worn or that there is a bra under the camisole. You can find thin and/or cropped camis for summer.
• Men's singlet undershirts, also called A-shirts, sleeveless undershirts, etc. They are inexpensive and comfortable.
• Vests, similar to those of a man's 3-piece suit, over a blouse at work to hide breast outline or movement.
• Shirts with pockets over both breasts; extra fabric layer conceals.
• Coobie bras, tube tops, and camis are seamless, comfortable products where one size fits nearly everybody.
• New alternatives include tops with two layers in front and one in back.
• Loosely fitted tops.

• Bra tops are supportive and shaping due to a careful cut and stretch cotton/lycra.
• Leotards work as a bra alternative. The leotard usually has lining like a bust panel which is where the "bra" help comes in.
• Or simply wear no undergarment depending on weather, confidence, self image, and nature of overgarment.
• NuBra is just two adhesive cups that you place on your breasts. They keep the nipple from showing through clothing, if that is a concern.
• We got a comment that a bandeau bra is really comfortable without any straps to dig into the shoulders. It is a bra, yes, but might work well for some women as an alternative to regular bras.
• And there may be others, similar products that work as bra alternatives.