# Braless women **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598 "2002-04-25T18:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/61 "2002-04-26T19:28:10Z")
I wear a bra in public always and in private only when people are visiting or I’m exercising. I’m a bit above average in size, but thanks to prodigious use of the butterfly press, I don’t actually _need_ a bra for support (yes, I am bragging). I’m a rather conservative person when it comes to my body, so I would be very uncomfortable going out in public without one. In fact once I did just that by accident because I was wearing a t-shirt and overall shorts, and I was conscious of the fact the entire time, even though no one would likely have known due to the overall bib covering the vital parts. ---
**Author:** ![kevals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@kevals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevals)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/62 "2002-04-26T19:44:28Z")
Ahhh, Summmerrrtiiiiimme, how lovely it is to have the good weather back. Yes, around here (chicago) in the summer, one tends to see more women out, and one also gets to see MORE OF them. So hurray to the OP for starting such a timely thread, and I must say that I am rather suprised at the overwhelming majority of women here who do not wear bra’s. [Mr. Burns on] Excellent [Mr. Burns off] And being a guy, I doubt I need to mention that Yes, I do look, although as of late I’ve been trying to be more and more inconspicuous about it. Not to change the subject, but I lived in France for a while and remember how over there it was a little wierd how openly all the Frenchmen leered at the ladies. Anyway I jsut wanted to give my support (ha!) to all you braless ladies out there, keep 'em bouncin and thank you. ---
**Author:** ![ivebeenabadboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b77776/32.png) [@ivebeenabadboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivebeenabadboy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/63 "2002-04-26T23:03:06Z")
Thanks for all the responses, everyone, just to clarify, I deplore idiot assholes who react crudely to women’s bodies instead of quietly appreciating them for the mindblowingly beautiful phenomena that they are. I hope you ladies don’t mind a silent, discreet sideways glance from me & my peeps when you’re showing. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/64 "2002-04-27T03:53:55Z")
This is a really fun thread. I’ve learned a lot about women by reading it. BTW, is there a name for a male brassire? Do they just call it a man-sire or is there an actual name for these. Do they even exist for that matter? I’m sure some obese men would beenfit from having one. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/65 "2002-04-27T06:28:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Incubus \* > \*\*This is a really fun thread. I’ve learned a lot about women by reading it. > > BTW, is there a name for a male brassire? Do they just call it a man-sire or is there an actual name for these. Do they even exist for that matter? I’m sure some obese men would beenfit from having one. \*\* Remember the Seinfeld where Frank Costanza and Kramer develop a male bra? Kramer wants to call it the “Manziere” and Costanza “the Bro”. The scene where they get walked in on while trying the thing on to mambo music is so funny. ---
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/66 "2002-04-27T06:45:44Z")
Now I am envying all you smaller-chested women who can go braless all the time! ☹ Bras are often itchy and confining (I only own one that actually FITS, which might be part of the problem) but I am large enough that it’s also uncomfortable to my back if I don’t wear one. So it’s bras most of the time. But when I’m lounging around the house in the evening, I will sometimes just wear a sweatshirt over my top and go ‘commando’ for a while. I don’t usually sleep in a bra, but I used to when I first started wearing them when I was an early teen, and sometimes when I crash for the night in my clothes, for whatever reason, the bra stays on. On another tangent–this one’s for the girls–I like to be well supported but underwires poke. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/67 "2002-04-27T06:55:25Z")
Years ago I picked up a typed sheet on a sidewalk in the old section of Torrance, CA, about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The text–which is maybe fiction, maybe fact–is a letter to Dear Abby (supposedly), written in the first person and sounding very much like something from Penthouse Forum. This young woman, a bank teller, says she doesn’t wear a bra under a particular cream-color blouse, claiming the material is heavy and nothing shows through it. Oddly enough, she wears that blouse without a bra even though the buttons keep coming undone in front. I am hard put to see how the teller’s supervisors would condone such exhibitionism and, for all I know, the letter may have been written by a man. (I have had it for more than ten years now and have never mentioned it to anyone before now.) In several earlier postings in MPSIMS I have mentioned a fictitious woman who wears bras in public, but she is hard-to-fit and usually does not wear them at home, because they are custom-made and cost more than mass-produced ones ---
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/68 "2002-04-27T06:57:38Z")
The other thing I was going to say… I certainly don’t think that women should be leered at by guys and thought of completely as sexual objects, but I don’t think it’s terribly unreasonable to take men’s actions/reactions into consideration when you are choosing clothing. There’s a certain element of consideration for one’s neighbors that includes noticing if what you are doing will have an effect on them, and at least thinking about whether that should alter a planned course of action. For example, there may be some guys who would find it as much a sexual assault for a girl to wear skin-tight clothing as the girl would feel it would be for a guy to gawk at her. YMMV of course. Then, of course, there’s the guys that’ve posted here saying “the more the merrier.” 🙂 At any rate I don’t think it’s a bad idea to be aware of other peoples’ responses (male or female) to our clothing choices. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/69 "2002-04-27T10:06:16Z")
I’m wondering what the reaction of non-American dopers is to this thread. It seems that we prudish Americans are much more titilated _(sorry)_ by the sight of an exposed female breast than people of other countries. I mean, here we are, freaking out because we might catch a glimpse of a **gasp** bare breast! Meanwhile, in Europe and South America, women go to the beach–topless–without a second thought. So tell me EuroDopers, do threads like this make us Americans seems a bit, ah…_immature_ when it comes to human sexuality? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/70 "2002-04-27T14:28:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Frink \* > So tell me EuroDopers, do threads like this make us Americans seems a bit, ah…_immature_ when it comes to human sexuality? It’s not only Americans who get hung up about this stuff, but maybe Europeans and South Americans are _less_ hung up about it than you guys are. The way I look at the situation is that, here in April in the UK, the days are longer since the DST clock change, the sky is bluer, there’s blossom on the trees outside my window right now and the women are going to be wearing less and less over the next couple of months. All very nice. There’s more than enough about this crappy world to depress us all - so why spoil the good stuff too? ---
**Author:** ![GopherGod72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@GopherGod72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GopherGod72)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/71 "2002-04-27T15:52:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\*I’m a bit above average in size, but thanks to prodigious use of the butterfly press, I don’t actually _need_ a bra for support (yes, I am bragging). > > \*\* Throatshot… how _YOU_ doin’??!?! ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/72 "2002-04-27T17:11:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nenya\_Elizabeth \* > \*\*On another tangent–this one’s for the girls–I like to be well supported but underwires poke. Any suggestions? \*\* Try catalogues with travel clothing. A lot of that stuff is desgned purely for comfort. (Don’t ask me why they think you only need comfortable bras when traveling.) There’s a company called title nine sports that has some good stuff. Most of their bras are obviously sports-bras but a few look like they could work for everyday wear. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/73 "2002-04-27T20:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nenya\_Elizabeth \* > \*\* > On another tangent–this one’s for the girls–I like to be well supported but underwires poke. Any suggestions? \*\* I was in the same boat as you, but found that same bras billed as having “flexible underwires” or “padded, flexible underwires” provide the support without the poking. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/74 "2002-04-27T20:04:46Z")
I grew up in a third world country and have seen a lot of women that never wore a bra. By the time they get to 35-40… euuughhh… Let’s just say that a good friend of my family breast fed her son by hanging her breast over the coller of her t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/75 "2002-04-27T21:46:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > \*\* > Band…nah. Too obvious.😉 \*\* Damn, you beat me too it! ---
**Author:** ![crazy4chaucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/76 "2002-04-27T22:23:20Z")
I had breast reduction surgery a year ago, went from a DDD down to a C. And I have to confess that I enjoy going braless on Saturdays while I’m out shopping. Although being a good Mormongirl, nothing is showing that shouldn’t be showing!! ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/77 "2002-04-27T23:45:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GopherGod72 \* > \*\* > > Throatshot… how _YOU_ doin’??!?! \*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/78 "2002-04-28T01:50:56Z")
I always wear one-except of course, when I’m sleeping. I find that if I don’t put one on, it doesn’t matter what I’m wearing-I feel like I’m still in my jammies. Although, sometimes, somedays if I’m home and just have old clothes on, I might go braless. But I HATE that nipple-showing look. I don’t care what anyone says, to me it looks tacky and it’s just NOT classy. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/79 "2002-04-28T05:22:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > \*\* > > I’m having a _really_ hard time getting the image of someone smoking underwear out of my head. And I don’t like it. It sounds like some sexual perversion that I don’t share. Although god knows there’s probably a site devoted to smoking underwear out there, somewhere. \*\* Apparently not… look at the last paragraph: [http://tsehanson.tripod.com/abus02.html](http://tsehanson.tripod.com/abus02.html) ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598/80 "2002-04-28T06:17:35Z")
Well, being an 18-year-old male, I have no comment, except that it’s quite convenient to have an ostensible reason to wear sunglasses in the summer, as that often conceals the **real** reason – _nobody can tell what my eyes are looking at_. 😃 don’t-click-submit-don’t-click-submit-don’t-click-submit-oh-no…too-weak [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/braless-women/105598.md?page=3)