It was a title off of the CNN homepage that caught my eye. A video about a topless celebration in Florida - not as titillating as I had hoped. Rather, what I had expected to discover was an expose about how Victoria's ultimate secret is that her shape-shifting bras, with their under wire of lift, are actually hazardous to women's mammary glands. Yes, people, you read me right. Those things that we are sold, and taught to believe are sexy, can actually kill us.
Instinctively, I have always listened to my body. I remember being barely 14-years-old and a freshman in high school. I had just passed the 100-pound marker and, yet, the children's size jeans that I had spent years residing in had increasingly grown too tight. One day, while wearing a pair of hip hugging and belly controlling pants, I was overcome by excruciating stomach pains. Although others offered the advice that it was 'just gas,' I knew that not only could I no longer wear these jeans but that I could not stomach to wear any item of clothing that restricted and restrained my waist. In college, my dance teachers would argue that I allow for my belly to hang out too far. "C'est la vie" was (and still is) my response, for my internal organs have got to breathe!
In high school, I also bought into the sexy allure of Victoria's Secret and her angels. However, it did not take long for my breasts to rebel. If you have ever worn under wire (which is literally a metal wire that is sewn into the bottom hem of a bra), then you have experienced the upthrusting lift that this ingredient adds to your bust line. More than likely, you have also experienced aching and sore breasts once you have removed said garment. After a few times of experiencing this, I said "to hell with it." In college, while visiting a dear friend's mother, I noticed a large amount of moles that had accumulated around her breasts. It was skin cancer, though benign at the time, and the doctor specifically told her that it was from the metal in her bras. Do I really need to point out current U.S. statistics which state that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with cancer of the breast in their lifetime in order for us everyday commoners to connect the dots?
In a recent Vision magazine article with Patricia Bragg, the daughter of Paul C. Bragg - a man who is regarded as the father of the holistic health movement - Patricia was asked what some of the keys to longevity and health wealth were. Patricia, who looks to be a sprite 70-something year old but who is, in actuality, closer to 90, responded by saying "Burn Your Bras." Okay, she did not literally say this, but she may as well have for she iterated a lot of what I had intuited, and she also said that the constriction of bras, around the ribcage, was also damaging to women's health.
Over ten years ago, I began solely relying on sports bras to provide the support I needed for my active body. Although I was, at times, painfully aware that my sexual-economy had been reduced in the eyes of many because of this choice, I choose it anyway. These days, however, I've been enjoying going without any support, whatsoever. Mainly, I like to do it upon waking in the morning and when I go for ambling walks. My breasts seem to like it too, for my body has always had a mind of its own.
My almost 70-year-old mother is of the generation that likes to be up on Hollywood gossip. Her two-story home is full of trashy tabloids, from Star to People and, even, Vanity Fair. (Although, we could debate how crappy VF is. Annie Liebovitz is one if its famed photographers, after all. Hey, did anybody hear that Annie is verging on bankruptcy??) Recently, I came across a color cover and an over five page spread that screamed, "Cellulite! Who's Got It and Who's Beaten It!" Inside, there were microscopic, before and after shots of celebrity women's asses and thighs. Some of these women were barely even out of their teens! What pained me is that this is a region in my own body that I struggle with accepting. After all, I am sitting here, typing this, and, as a writer, I have done a lot of sitting in my lifetime. Sitting is not conducive for strong, shapely thighs and buttocks, however. What it is conducive for is realizing that the third wave of feminism is here - it is now!
People, there is a reason why pop culture and mainstream media feels the need to respond with cleverly devised missives that attempt to keep women in the stifling box of being seen but not heard. Our job now is to realize that these voices aren't our own and that we can make everyday choices that feel good and lead to long term health wealth. Your youth and beauty will fade, that is a given. Wouldn't you rather be alive and healthy to revel in what comes next? In regards to our thighs and legs, Patricia Bragg also recommends NOT crossing your legs while sitting - ever. There is a major artery that passes behind each one of our knees. It would serve you to not constrict this passageway.
Now, don't even get me started on deodorant.
(If it is an antiperspirant, RUN - run in the other direction. Personally, I don't even do deodorant anymore. There is something about clogging up the skin's pores (as the skin, our epidermis, IS the largest organ in our bodies) that doesn't sit right with me. I lived through a period of absolute stank (as well as not shaving my pits) in my mid-twenties. One of my peers thought I smelled like pine (bless you, Andrew!), but most others simply thought that I was just pure funk. Today, I rely on a crystal stick and I try to stay away from cotton (it absorbs moisture and stays wet). Just some helpful hints from little old me to you.)
