Like most girls at a young age, I couldn't wait to get my first bra. I wanted to feel like a woman, I wanted to finally have breasts, and I wanted to look just like the girls in Victoria's Secret ads. I thought bras were the greatest thing ever invented— that is, until I realized just how much of a hassle they would prove to be. Underwire was uncomfortable, most bras didn't come in my size, I couldn't wait to get out of my bra most days, and my dream of looking like a Victoria's Secret model was crushed when I found out my breasts were only a size 32AA and would never grow any larger. As I got older, looking like a model became less of a concern for me and my comfort became a number one priority.

My senior year of high school I decided to put an end to the days of squeezing myself into wires, straps, and padding just to "lift" what little breasts I had and conceal the actual natural shape of them. Gone were the days of feeling restricted, of searching through bra sections struggling to find the right fit, and of counting down the minutes until I could get home and take the darn thing off. I finally felt free, but there were still a couple obstacles I would have to overcome if I wanted to continue this new life choice of mine. The first obstacle was learning to feel comfortable without one— I mean, physically it felt like heaven to be free of the boob traps, but being comfortable and confident enough to walk around in public knowing that people would be able to tell I wasn't wearing a bra was a whole different story. At first, I would just wear baggy shirts or sweaters to hide the fact that I ditched the over the shoulder boulder holder but that grew tiresome and I missed my normal clothing. I don't remember quite how long I had gone braless before I began wearing my normal clothes again but I do remember the reaction I got when people started to notice, which was the second obstacle I would have to overcome.

For the most part, the boys would just give me weird looks but the girls were a little more vocal about their thoughts on the matter. I got a range of reactions anywhere from, “How is that comfortable?” to, “Wow, that’s kind of slutty, don’t you think?” Thank gosh I was confident enough in my decision at that point that I really didn’t give much thought to how others perceived me, and I just went about my day. It’s been almost two years since I stopped wearing bras and now it feels so odd when I put one on that I can’t wear it for more than a couple of hours— I have no idea how I used to wear them all throughout the day. It feels so normal and natural that sometimes I forget it isn’t the norm not to wear a bra.

People still look down on me for not wearing bras, and I’ve even seen people attacking others for not wearing bras which truly makes me wonder what they love so much about these contraptions. Yes, they give support to women who have larger breasts, they smooth over your nipples, make your breasts seem perkier and in some cases larger, but there is no need to shame others for choosing to do something that makes them more comfortable. What really kills me is women tearing other women down. We know what the natural female body looks like, so why are so many women offended at the sight of the natural shape of a woman’s breasts or their protruding nipples? The simple fact is that our bodies are not the picture perfect Victoria’s Secret model bodies that we may sometimes wish they were, and we need to stop perpetuating the idea that they have to look that way. Wear a bra or don't wear one, it doesn't matter to me either way, but the shaming has to end. The idea that women have to wear bras in order to hide the natural state of their bodies is absolutely absurd, but what's worse is that for some reason us women can't come together and support each other no matter how different our styles may be.