Body Image: Ideal Breast Size
Which Airbrushed Beauty is the Sexiest Woman of 2007? |
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| Jessica Alba |
Keeley Hazell |
Body Image: Ideal Breast Size
Which Airbrushed Beauty is the Sexiest Woman of 2007? |
|
|
|
| Jessica Alba |
Keeley Hazell |
"In general, though, our society does tend to place more value on big breasts. Go through a day in our world - watch television, pick up a women's magazine, go to the movies, walk down the street. Guaranteed you'll see more big breasts than you'll know what to do with." From the book Breasts: Our Most Public Private Parts by Meema Spadola.
Are large breasts as common in the media and life as Ms. Spadola suggests, or is this merely the perception of a woman with average sized (34B) breasts? Are female celebrities more likely to have breasts that are above average in size? Are you required to have large breasts to be considered sexy? The advertising and news media seems to suggest these statements are true. The media uses women with medium to large breasts to sell product and increase television ratings. This implies men and women prefer breasts of this size. It also suggests that women with small breasts could never attract anyone's attention, or so women with small breasts are often led to believe. Could Jessica Alba's image be used to capture people's attention, or would she always lose out to women like Keeley Hazell?
Average Bra Size
What size bra does the average woman wear? According to the book How Big is Big: The Book of Sexual Measurements, published in 1982, meaning the numbers are a bit outdated, the percentage of women who wear each cup size is given in the following table.
At that time, the average bra size was a 36B. Many articles on the internet say the most common bra size is now a 36C*. Some bra manufacturers are reported to be saying this, but they are tight lipped about their sales figures. I wasn't able to locate a scientific reference that substantiates this claim. Today, women are more likely to be overweight, so you would expect the average cup size, and band size, to have increased at least a little. For now, lets assume the percentages given above are somewhat close to what women wear today.
Even if an increasing number of women are buying bras with a C cup that doesn't necessarily mean women in general have larger breasts, as 70-80 percent of women are reported to be wearing the wrong size bra. Women frequently buy the size and style of bra they want to wear, not the one they should wear. Women who wear bras with a C cup may simply buy greater numbers of bras than those who buy other cup sizes. Women with above average sized breasts often have a hard time finding suitable bras and may have very limited options available to them, without the luxury of coordinating them with several different outfits. I have also heard that women with small breasts could be equally limited in their choices, especially given they probably don't want to be seen shopping for a bra in the little girl's section of their local store. It is also possible that increasing numbers of women with small breasts don't wear a bra, so they aren't buying them, or they are wearing them less often and buying fewer of them. Many of today's tops have built in shaping and support, which may lessen the need for women to wear a bra. There are many reasons why bras with a C cup may out sell the other sizes, and women having larger breasts is just one of them.
Specialty Bra Suppliers
To help women who don't have average sized breasts find comfortable and attractive bras I am providing the following resource. Suppliers who focus on the more common sizes are listed at the bottom of this list.
If you know of other specialty bra suppliers please email me with their name and URL.
AAA through A Cup
AA Lingerie - UK based, ships worldwide
Little Women - UK based, ships worldwideAAA through B Cup
Dainty Lady - Petite Lingerie, UK Based, ships worldwide
AA through A Cup
Lula Lu - Petite Lingerie - California based
AA through H Cup
Bra Smyth - NYC store, West Virginia mail order
AA through JJ Cup
Figleaves.com - UK & US based
Bra Experience - Texas based
Bare Necessities - New JerseyAA through K Cup
BiggerBras.com - Swim wear too - New Jersey based
Nearly A through DDD Cup
Playtex Bras - Numerous Distributors - 32 Nearly A through 54DDD
D through DDD Cup
Bra D'More - New Jersey based
D through JJ Cup
Bella forma - Australia based
D through I Cup
Trevoi's - Colorado based
Plus Size Apparel
Woman Within - Massachusetts based, Sizes 12W - 44W
Busty Blues - A Plus Size Bra Resource
Roaman's - Massachusetts based, Sizes 12W - 44W, 38B through 56J Bras
Just My Size - North Carolina based, 34DD, 38A through 58J BrasFamous or Popular Bra Suppliers
Frederick's of Hollywood - 32A through 42DDD
Victoria's Secret - 32A through 38DD, 40D
Jockey - 32A through 44DD
Celebrity Bra Sizes
What size bra does the average celebrity wear? I located several web sites that provide a list of female celebrities and their respective bra size. I sorted the celebrities by the cup size they wear. Based on that data, I was able to come up with the percentage of celebrities that wear each cup size, based on 557 celebrities.
If we compare the cup sizes for women in general to those who are celebrities, see the table shown below, we can see celebrities may have slightly larger breasts on average, but they don't have significantly larger breasts. While it appears celebrities are much less likely to wear a bra with an A cup, we don't know if this is actually true. Perhaps celebrities with small breasts don't want to admit to how small their breasts really are, wanting to live up to their media image. Several of the celebrities are reported to wear a larger cup size than I would have guessed.
MrSkin.com lists 2,233 celebrities with small, 8,277 with medium, 2,630 with large, and 144 with "Jamambo" sized breasts. Based on a total of 13,284 celebrities this equates to 17% with small, 62% with medium, 20% with large, and 1% with very large breasts. Since they are grouping women based on the size of their breasts, rather than their reported bra size, we don't know which cup sizes are included in each group. Even so, this information suggests my data doesn't accurately represent celebrities, which is good news for women with small breasts. Based on these numbers, celebrities with small breasts are almost equal in number to those with large breasts. It also says they are just as likely to have small breasts as women in the general population.
Note: The greater the number of adult film stars included in the celebrity populations, the more the bra sizes will be skewed from real to fanciful proportions.
Sexy Celebrities
FHM magazine ran a survey to determine the sexiest woman in the world for 2007. Here is a list of the women who placed in the top 10, and their respective bra size.
Eva Longoria
1. Jessica Alba - 34B
2. Keeley Hazell - 32E
3. Eva Longoria - 34A
4. Adriana Lima - 34C
5. Scarlett Johansson - 34C
6. Hayden Panettiere - 32B
7. Cheryl Tweedy - 36C
8. Angelina Jolie - 36C
9. Emily Scott - 34C
10. Elisha Cuthbert - 34CJessica Alba is considered the sexiest woman in the world for 2007, by participants in FHM's survey, which resulted in eight million votes being cast. This isn't a scientific survey, but the results must hold some merit. How is it possible that a woman with average sized breasts is considered sexier than a woman with large breasts? The third ranked woman, Eva Longoria, has even smaller breasts than Jessica, yet she beat out 97 other women. Eva was the most popular woman in Maxim magazine's 2005 and 2006 top 100 list, losing out to Lindsay Lohan (36B) in 2007. In October 2007, Esquire magazine voted Charlize Theron (36B) the "sexiest woman alive" for 2007. Doesn't this provide evidence to prove that women with small breasts can be and are considered attractive by a sizeable percentage of the male population?
Admittedly, women with C cup sized breasts were more likely to make the top ten, but this could have been a chance coincidence, or maybe not. If large breasts are truly considered sexier, wouldn't there be more women in the top ten that wore a D cup or larger, especially if a C cup is merely average sized by today's standards? What if breast size isn't the primary consideration that determines whether men find a woman sexy? As a whole, women with C cup sized breasts, assuming they are the most common size, would have a greater likelihood of having all the characteristics men consider sexy in a woman. Based on the percentages, there are simply fewer women with larger and smaller breasts for men to choose from. Perhaps the top ten list is the result of the laws of averages rather than any one single physical attribute. Rather than any one of these ten women defining what is sexy, all of them together represent sexiness. An even more inclusive definition of sexiness would include all the women of the world.
It is important to note that none of the women in the FHM survey received 100% of the vote, which means men have different ideas about what is considered sexy in a woman. One hundred women were included in the survey, so presumably each one is considered attractive by some percentage of men. Jessica may have beat Keeley by 1 or 1 million votes, we simply don't know. Something that is hard to convince women of is the fact that they will never be considered sexy by "everyone" they meet, regardless of their weight, height, the size of their breasts, etc. You can have surgery to transform yourself into a living Barbie doll, and you still wont be considered attractive by every man or woman in the world. Mister or Miss Perfect Match doesn't necessarily like large or small breasts, as they may not have a preference regarding breast size.
Does having above average sized breasts make you a more popular actress? Does the amount of money generated by the movies you star in provide an indication of how attractive the audience finds you, or only how good an actress you are? If breast size is any indication, having small to average sized breasts is beneficial to getting people to see your movies. Interestingly, only one of the top ten grossing actresses, for movies in which they played a starring role, has above average sized breasts. Based on what actresses are paid to appear in a movie, average sized breasts appear to dominate. Is this what you have been led to believe by the media, and your own expectations?
Top Actress By Total Box Office Gross of all Movies
Based on movies in which actress played a starring role.
Top Paid Actresses in 2006:
34C 36C
Breasts in the Public Eye
If women with small breasts are found so attractive, sexy, and desirable, why then do large breasts receive so much attention? Women's breasts are almost always viewed in a sexual context, and women with large breasts are perceived as being innately more sexual than other women. Women with large breasts are presumed to desire sex more often and have less control over those desires than other women. I believe, women with large breasts are seen as a socially acceptable outlet for men's sexual desires. As a result of this social expectation, men may desire sex with women with large breasts because they are expected to be readily available to fulfill their sexual needs, even if they aren't interested in pursuing a long term relationship with them. Men don't necessarily want to date and marry women they or society views as sexual.
On the other hand, I believe attractive women with small and average sized breasts are viewed as potential wives and mothers, because they are perceived as less sexual, and by default, more maternal. Society simply doesn't accept the idea of a sexual mother. From a social perspective, it is better not to be known for your breasts, as you are more likely to be considered a desirable partner and someone they can bring home to mom. If this logic holds true, there is a benefit to having small breasts, even if women do not believe it. This obviously creates a conflict for the woman with small breasts who wants to be perceived as sexual, and the woman with large breasts doesn't want to be.
Fulfilling Social Expectation
I believe men look at breasts of all sizes, but are more open and obvious about looking at women with large breasts. Society expects men to look at large breasts, because his "maleness" requires this behavior of him. They can't help themselves, and as a result they don't have to hide their actions. If a woman's breasts are attracting attention, society's believe is that she is in the wrong, not the man. The man becomes the "innocent victim" of his own maleness. Women are sensitized to this and may overlook the fact that men also look at small breasts.
Women with small breasts may not be aware of the attention their breasts receive because they don't expect it. Men are perhaps more subtle about looking at them, because it is less appropriate to show interest in small breasts, a "real man" wouldn't. Men aren't suppose to go bonkers over small breasts, i.e. preadolescent and adolescent looking women, and indeed, women with small breasts often compare their "status" to that of preadolescent and adolescent boys and girls. Men who admire small breasts are under social pressure to conceal this fact, for being less than manly. Women with small breasts may not value their breasts as a result.
Hidden in Plain Sight
Small breasts may attract less attention simply because they are more easily restrained by a bra and concealed by clothing. When women adapt the current style of bra, they homogenize their breasts to the point that they are all the same, with the exception of their size. There are no unique qualities that distinguishes one set of breasts from next, when they are hidden by a bra and clothing, and appropriately desexualized to fulfill social expectation. Even when women wear skin tight tops their breasts are often sterilized into lifeless mounds of varying sizes. Padded bras actually do more to conceal a woman's breasts than show them off, as her breasts have been minimized in the process, and people end up admiring her bra rather than her breasts. Push-up bras only work if you feel comfortable showing off the resulting cleavage, and it is acceptable to do so. As a result, men may look at small breasts less frequently because there is less uniqueness to admire, rather than because of a lack of interest.
Putting Your Breasts on Public Display
If women with small breasts showed off their breasts rather than their bras, their breasts would likely receive more attention. As the two photographs shown below demonstrate, it is possible for a woman with small breasts to gain a lot of attention using her breasts, even though the public perception is that she can't, and perhaps shouldn't. Why can't a woman with small breasts share in some of the attention women with larger breasts receive on a daily basis?
If a woman has the self confidence and appropriate attitude she can be rewarded for showing off her breasts, regardless of size. The reward being in the form of public attention and approval. The collection of plastic beads in this case is representative of men's approval and gratitude for allowing them to see her breasts. Some may argue it is inappropriate for a woman to show off her breasts to gain attention, to be a willing sex object. I would argue it is inappropriate for men and women to see her as a lesser person, a slut, for displaying her breasts; something women with larger breasts often can't help but do on a daily basis. We propagated the believes that a woman cannot be a sexual and contributing member of society at the same time, and that sexual women are automatically available to every man. These believes are detrimental to all women, as it limits who they can be.
Measuring Up to Womanhood
"While we often think how our breasts are judged by men, our relationships with other women can be central in how we look at ourselves. Dr. Eskenazi believes that most women get cosmetic breast surgery to fit in with other women, not to impress men." From the book Breasts: Our Most Public Private Parts by Meema Spadola.
The very fact that there are web sites featuring lists of celebrities that categorize them based on the size of their breasts indicates how important breasts are to men and women. An enormous amount of time and energy is invested in the subject of breasts. People love breasts, but as much as men like breasts, women like them even more. Yes, men like breasts, but women are more often obsessed with them.
Why are women often obsessed with their breasts? As the title of the book quoted above points out, a woman's breasts are what sets her apart from men, and each other, in the public eye. If there is one unique quality that sets women apart from men, that they can compete against each other with, it is their breasts, short of the number of children they can give birth to. Just about everything else men can do, and woman sure aren't going to brag about who has the largest clitoris. Breasts are synonymous with womanhood. If a woman is concerned with the size of her breasts, or status as a woman, she probably doesn't want to appear as though she has the smallest breasts in the room, is the lesser woman.
I know and have known several women who were more concerned with their small breasts than the men who know them. Many men find these women attractive, and if the woman is single, want to date her. This includes women who have tiny breasts, not just small breasts. These "attractive women" could be dating on a regular basis, having partnered sex, getting married, and having children and careers yet they still feel they don't measure up, or more importantly their breasts don't. They don't measure up to their own and other women's expectations of being a woman, rather than the true expectations of men.
More Than A Size
Obviously, women are concerned with more than just the size of their breasts. Socially we are fixated with size, but beneath woman's bras, breasts come in an infinite number of shapes, colors, and firmnesses, and their breasts possess nipples of equal diversity. The social ideal is for women to have firm round gravity defying breasts, just like Barbie. As the photographs on this website, and others, can attest, many if not most women don't have perfect breasts, regardless of size, at least by society's standards. My hope is that by seeing these images, women will realize there really isn't the level of competition out there that they perceive, based on how breasts are presented in the media. Women may wear a bra to conform to social expectation, but in the process of doing so they end up believing everyone else's breasts are more perfect than they truly are. Beneath all those deceiving bras they see each day are breasts of equal perfection as their own. A visit to your local clothing-optional beach or resort would clearly demonstrate this.
Closing Comments
This article wasn't intended to be solely about or in support of women with small breasts, though in the end it may appear to be so. It was meant to show how our perception of breast size diverges from reality, help women in general feel better about their breasts, and combat the media's image of women, which is far from the reality of the average woman. It is not meant in any way to minimize or put down women who have breasts that are larger than average. I hope the reader will see that society unfairly characterizes women because of the size of their breasts, regardless of size. Ideally, this article will cause women to reexamine their self image, see they are more perfect than they previously believed, and that breasts of all sizes are proportionately represented in the media, even if the media's loudest message appears to indicate otherwise.
At the time of this writing, June 2007, celebrities with slim figures, and perhaps as a result having small breasts, are considered attractive by men and women. While the size of women's breasts aren't going to change any time soon, what men idolize likely will, at least the media's message will. The popularity of actresses is likely determined more by the characters they portray in popular movies than by the shape of their body, though society does tend to define the body style that can play a given role. Both Natalie and Keira have portrayed exciting, adventurous, and self confident women, which men may find attractive regardless of the size of their breasts, though athletic women tend to have slim figures. Next year, women with larger breasts may top the lists referenced above, in which case, someone could just as easily use these same lists to write an article in support of women with large breasts.
You talk about how women with smaller breast sizes may feel unsatisfied and undervalued, but I am a natural 32DD pushing DDD, I'm not overweight, and all I want is normal breasts. A C-cup or a B would be wonderful. But I walk around feeling that because my breasts are large, people project their ideas of what that entails onto me. You said that women with larger breasts are viewed as more overtly sexual.
I'm not an overtly sexual person, yet my breasts make me feel people view me this way all of the time.
People criticize me when I wear a V-neck or something that exposes some cleavage, saying that this is why I feel this way. But a turtleneck makes them look larger than anything else I could possibly wear. A v-neck makes them look as normal as I can get them.
It is as if because I have larger breasts, I am not allowed to dress comfortably or attractively.
All I can wish for is plastic surgery to remove tissue and take my breasts down to a more 'attractive' size. But I feel that I shouldn't have to do this to feel normal or beautiful in an acceptable way.
At the same time, I can't help desiring smaller breasts.
A lot of this has to do with the general Feminine Mystique created by society that seems to be coming back into fashion as of late.
I guess I just wanted to point out that even though they are viewed as sexual, there seems to be a degree of disgust with them as well. As if only whores have large breasts or something. As if one could choose to have a more manageable breast size.
Quotes:
"Our average bra size has swelled from a 34B to a 36C — maybe even a 36D, says Macy's "bra lady" herself, body consultant Jane Dursteler." Source
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