adminMonica Cheru-Mpambawashe Living life to the max
Sexy or repulsive, large or small, perk or flaccid, round, pear shaped or flat, genuine or false, the objects of myths and fetishes; they really do come in all sizes and shapes and from the time we are born, they generally play a significant part in our lives.
I am referring to the human female mammary glands, more commonly known as breast. For babies they are feeding points. For some grown-ups they are an erogenous zone which, coupled with blatant and deliberate media packaging, have come to be highly sexualised objects.
But for medical personnel involved in women’s health, they are a place to watch as they tend to be the base for a disturbingly prevalent cancer. The Zimbabwe Cancer Registry places breast cancer prevalence rates at about 12,2 percent in women in the country. Although breast cancer is curable, locally mortality is high as most women do not seek help until it is too late.
Internationally breast cancer awareness is hyped in the month of October, normally with stories of survivors and those who succumbed.
But some survivors have dismissed the hype as ‘pinkfication’ and ‘pinkwashing’ during ‘Pinktober’. They say the whole campaign is designed to pressurise women who have been afflicted with breast cancer to be ‘fluffy’ about it. Some women who have undergone mastectomy say they do not feel ‘supported’ or ‘comforted’ by the sight of unaffected women flaunting their breast on October 13, one of the bra-less days. The other one is 9 July
Locally the rise in non-pandemic diseases including breast cancer have been linked to obesity, lack of exercise, ingestion of processed GMO foods which contain high salt and fat content and exposure to pollution in the air, water and food. This is supposed to explain why the affliction was almost unknown among our grandmothers.
But there is yet another lifestyle choice that recent research has linked to breast cancer: bras.
For a long time women have all heard how wired bras as well as mobile phones and money – especially coins tucked into the bra – could increase our chances of getting cancer. The underwire claim has largely been dismissed by experts as so much garbage, and very few people would consider the innocuous garment a potential killer.
According to a story carried in The Daily Mail, a UK publication Professor Robert Mansel, of Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales, and Simon Cawthorn, from Frenchay Hospital in Bristol carried out a study whose results showed that going braless reduced breast pain which is believed to be a harbinger of breast cancer.
The results have not been universally accepted with a breast cancer charity in the same country warning women not to panic.
But on the other hand, this is not the first study to link the wearing of bras by women to breast cancer. According to The Daily Mail: “There is already international evidence that cultures where women do not wear bras are free of the cancer.” In our local context the low levels of the cancer in our braless predecessors cannot be ignored.
Culturally, the bra has come to be an integral part of a woman’s being. It beats make-up, high heels and fake embellishments such as hair and nails. The depth of how women have been socialised to accept the bra can be seen in how it has been branded a girl’s best friend alongside diamonds. It is deemed to provide support and uplift both in physical and emotional senses.
Although women wore various breast covering garments in ancient times the modern bra was designed in 1889 by Herminie Cadolle, a man from France. It was a two-piece item called ‘le bien-être’ (the wellbeing). — funtrivia.com That name- wellbeing says it all. For most women, especially those who are heavily endowed, there is physical wellbeing to be found in a perfectly fitting bra. And there are modern designs like sports bras which flex to fit a woman’s body instead of forcing the body to conform to the bra’s structure.
Bra production has grown as part of the billion dollar lingerie industry that spans the world. Some bra labels like Victoria’s Secrets have become synonymous with the definition of sexy women.
The bra is a social institution and weaning women off it may prove impossible. Some women are so fond of their bras that they sleep in them.
Currently there is an equal rights issue in some parts of the world with gender equality activists saying that laws which deem women’s bare chests as indecent exposure while allowing men to go topless are discriminatory.
In that spirit of desexualising the female breast, going braless should not be viewed as immoral. The sight of women’s nipples poking through summer fabrics should not be taken as sexual invitation for every passing male to grab himself a handful, no matter the size or shape of the breast.
Only that way can women be free to make the right decision as individuals, outside social pressures. After all, their life may depend on whether or not they wear a bra.
Online Reporter