I have big boobs, and have had big boobs since I hit puberty. They have been huge, and awkward, and interfering in my life since they grew in. As an awkward middle school student, I used to be extremely ashamed of them. I was unable to wear the cute little tank tops and V-Neck shirts like my friends did to school, because I would get in trouble for my exposed cleavage. I wasn’t able to run as fast as everyone else because my boobs hurt when I ran, and the sports bras I would wear make my cleavage even more apparent. Society taught me that my breast size, though uncontrollable, made me more provocative than my friends because their boobs were smaller.Â
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that this example of body shaming points to a much broader issue than making young girls feel insecure about their bodies. The sexualization of our youth points to a much larger issue at hand that contributes to the rape culture in the United States. Rather than telling girls to stop wearing tank tops, maybe we should teach our children to learn enough self-control and self-discipline so as to not exploit our daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends. Instead of telling girls to put on a sweater to cover up their chests, maybe we should teach society to embrace the beauty that is the human body, as opposed to shaming people for the way their body has developed. It sounds completely idiotic to me to want to impose a standard on something that can only be explained by genetics, instead of changing the way our society thinks. Why is society telling me to cover up my chest because it “tempts” or “distracts” someone else? “Temptation” and “distraction” do not excuse the use of violence against another individual. “Temptation” and “distraction” do not justify an action that can cause permanent emotional and physical trauma. Another person’s “temptation” and “distraction” do not make me a slut and does not make me responsible for another individual’s disgusting actions.
Not all boobs were created equal and it doesn’t matter if they are large or small, perky or saggy, symmetrical or asymmetrical because all bodies are gorgeous. Just because an individual has more (or even less) of an asset does not make them any more or less attractive. Author Susan Ee, author of End of Days wrote, “If you’re worried about pervs breaking into the house, it’s not going to make a difference whether I’m in this outfit or in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. Either they’re decent human beings or they’re not. Their actions are on them.” The world is hard enough as it is. We need to stop telling girls to cover up and be ashamed of their bodies. We need to stop excusing rapists for their actions. We need to stop telling girls that it’s their fault that they were raped, and start holding people accountable for their crimes. My boobs are beautiful, and nothing anyone says could ever tell me otherwise.
Follow HCND on Twitter, like us on Facebook, Pin with us and show our Instagram some love!
The HCND application is now open! For more information contact Rebecca Rogalski at rrogalsk@nd.edu or Katrina Linden at klinden1@nd.edu.