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Jun 06, 2020 » All bra adventures

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Jun 06, 2020

I am curious about other people's perspectives... Large and small can be somewhat subjective, and bra fitting and sizing is so bizarre (in the aggregate) that even people who are more "enlightened" don't agree on what the lines are. Maybe I have been spending too much time in bra fitting land, but a lot of people post reviews of bras that are in the upper range of sizes, and I look at the pictures and think, "they don't look *that* big". I look at mine and generally think, "they don't look *that* big". To be fair, I do not think an FF cup would actually be that big compared to the average, if everyone were in a properly fitted bra.

This is not meant to be judgmental, breast size obviously has no moral value whatsoever. It just strikes me as a bit odd that lately, rather large cups on smaller bands just don't seem objectively big to me. I know intellectually that an H cup on a bigger band is larger than an H cup on a smaller band, but it seems like they should look the same in terms of proportion, or even that the smaller band H cup should look bigger if it is on a slimmer frame.

Has your idea of big vs. small changed as you learn(ed) more about bras? As your body changes or changed? Is your idea of it based on your own size? (People often think of their various traits as "the average", regardless of where they actually lie on a spectrum.)

Filed under Boob and body issues

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7 comments

  • I used to wear 32DD and thought I had big boobs cause "32 = small back and DD = big". I'm 5'5 and my adulthood weight fluctuates between 110-120 lbs so I thought my boobs were big on my body, although I'm aware there are a lot more boobs bigger than mine.
    Then I found out my real size is 28F and realized it's only an average size on here. I get confused. It almost sounds like an identify crisis lol. I used to wish my boobs were smaller because I looked so bulky in certain clothing and I did ballet, and now I would be so happy if they were several cups bigger so I qualify having big boobs. I know several girls my size and we're considered big here (in Asia) although not uncommonly. I also realise that if I take pictures they don't look that big, but when I look down at my boobs or feel them with my hands they feel big.
    There's this recent thread on ABTF that discusses what's "big". https://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/comments/gu1ajb/i_have_big_boobs_too_even_though_some_people_do/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x

  • With the big versus small debate we can easily forget that breasts are attached to bodies with various sizes and shapes. The same amount of breast tissue can be perceived quite differently on different body types - and with different bra and clothing choices. We as women are whole packages that need to be viewed as a whole - not just the stripe of boob that we focus on here at bratabase (and perhaps society?!). How much of our identity is wrapped up in the size of our bra - for good or evil? Do not forget about the brainwashing of standard bra shops that size does not go past a D or DDDD!

    "Size" is so relative without layering on the highly charged letters past D. How do conversations go about a 32J bra when the majority of women would cram those puppies into a 38DDD and call 'er done?
    Talking about bra size is a bit of a taboo where I am so how do women get perspective on size? Does it really matter if we are able to slot ourselves into the big-small debate? Though it is unsettling as we find out our true measurement for a well-fitting bra which is so vastly different from the masses. It would be nice for women to realize that whole swathes of the population should not be buying bras at Victoria Secret. Perhaps that would normalize the sub-32 bands and the cups past D. Nobody likes to think that they have snowflakes for breasts.

    Photographing ourselves can be unsettling to our brain. Being told on google that the average bra size is 34B - take a look at a well-fitting 34B and see if you can pick out very many women that look like that! Not a lot of accurate data about breast size. Did you know that Dolly Parton is a 36E? Ha ha

    I say accept our breasts, put them in comfortable, well-fitting bras, and call that done - forget about judgments from all the corners of society. Barring surgery, we have what we have. It does not matter others' thoughts.

    Now the size of my butt is another matter...

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