Personal Statements
Sports have always been a large part of my life. From the time I was a stubby kindergarten kid, I was part of various sports teams. It wasn't until I became a lanky pre-pubescent that I actually figured out that I was pretty dang good at them. This was also around the same time that I needed a sports bra. The majority of my friends began to drop out of sports, claiming that they weren't athletic or that they didn't like playing anymore. While this may have been true for a handful of them, who were certainly not athletic individuals or did not favor the competitive atmosphere that developed as we got older, these were not the reasons that the majority of my friends left behind the years they had put into playing sports. Although I can only make assumptions at this point, I think that the requirement of a sports bra and recently enlarged body parts (thats right, boobs) may have had something to do with it.
Being perfectly honest, large breasts are definitely not something that I ever have (or ever will) have a problem with. Compression sports bras suit me just fine and have allowed me to be very successful in sports. For more than a decade I played a variety of sports. When I first entered high school, I narrowed them to soccer, basketball, and track. Soccer and basketball retained the same players through the years, as there was a very developed youth program in my town for each of these sports. The same girls that were on the top team in our town league were members of the team when I was senior and a captain. Track was a bit different. Not offered as an athletic program until high school, I was unsure of who would join the team when I stepped on the rubbery track on the first day of practice. To my surprise, many of the friends that had quit soccer and basketball years ago had signed up to be a part of the track team. The excuses of being "unathletic" and "opposed to competition" flew out the window, as track is one of the most competitive and athletic sports. I was glad to have such a large group of friends on the track team, for the time being.
It only took about two weeks for the majority of these girls to quit again. At the time, I thought it was most likely due to the track coach, who was a complete hard-ass and made us run in the most unpleasant of conditions. Yet, there were plenty of girls that were horrendous at running, or that the coach clearly picked on, that remained a part of the team. The girls that had left were of all different kids of talent and discipline levels, the only common factor? Their chest size. As a small-breasted woman, I had never put actually thought into the hindrance that large breasts might truly have on athletic ability. Sure, I've seen girls' boobs bounce and jiggle all over the place when performing activities, but I always thought it to be due to lack of appropriate support. Now, after researching the extreme discomfort that large-breasted women have to suffer through when simply exercising, I have a much clearer understanding of why my friends continued to quit these sports. The increasingly advanced sports bras that are being produced gives me hope for my friends, as they seem to tackle the exact problems that they are experiencing.
Personally, I do not know what I would do without the comfort that a sports bra provides me. Trying to play sports without them is the most uncomfortable thing ever. I would almost rather sit on the bench than have to play basketball in a regular bra, and basketball is one of my favorite hobbies in life. I love my sports bras so much that I actually wear them day to day now. They are more comfortable than a regular bra and provide the perfect amount of coverage under a t-shirt or sweat shirt. The sports bra as an article of casual clothing is comparable to sweat pants. Wouldn't you rather wear sweatpants around the house than jeans? The same goes for sports bras over regular bras.
-Brielle
This topic was of a large amount of interest to me because it is very relevant in my life today. I used to be an active athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse in high school. My worries consisted of how I played in a game or practice, and how to continue to get better, but never about any discomfort felt because of lack of support from a sports bra. In fact, I wear sports bras daily, and much more often than regular bras because I feel that they are incredibly more comfortable.
After being a student athlete for so long, it is hard for me to imagine why anyone wouldn’t want experiences like I had. Being part of a team and striving for one common goal was something that I’ll always consider myself to be lucky for, it made me who I am today and allowed me to meet some of the most important people in my life. Of course, there are those who don’t find sports appealing or fun, and obviously those people find other things to do with their time and still manage to find something they are passionate about. However, I never thought that girls would ever not participate in sports because of discomfort with their chests. Sure, I had heard other girls complain about having to wear multiple sports bras tons of times, I think all girls in high school have, but never did I think that it prevented them from participating in activities.
To investigate further what my peers really felt while in high school, I contacted a few of them and asked a few questions. I specifically targeted girls with different sized boobs and my findings were what I expected but also slightly surprising.
I first contacted my friend Caroline. She was a lacrosse player as well and has always been one of the skinnier friends I had in high school, as well as being skinny Caroline has also always had the smallest boobs of all my friends. Like normal teenage girls, we over-shared a bit with each other and there wasn’t much mystery left to who had what attributes that the rest of us wanted. We used to tease Caroline in fun, although it was no secret that at times she said she wished she had bigger boobs. When I called her up and asked her if she could, would she change the size of her breasts right now, she replied with, “No, I wouldn’t because although they are really small, they are very easy to manage. I never have to wear two sports bras like many girls and they always fit fine in clothes. Lots of clothes don’t fit skinny girls with big boobs and for me, I like to wear low tops and can get away without looking slutty because my boobs are small. I have also never had an issue with sports or working out because they never get in the way.” This answer surprised me, after all the jokes and complaining she had done over the years, when it came down to it, she didn’t want to deal with the problems we heard so many times from girls with bigger boobs.
To get an opinion from those girls themselves, I contacted two of my friends who, to put it lightly, are larger chested. Maddie is a friend of mine who ran track freshman and sophomore year, and then decided to stop. Though she cited the stop at the time to be due to too much time commitment, looking in the past helped put things in perspective for her. When I called her and asked the same question as I asked Caroline, she gave me a quick response in one short sentence, “Yes I would change them, I would make them smaller.” After a bit of probing, it was discovered that part of the reason Maddie could no longer participate in track is because she felt such a large discomfort when competing. “I had to wear two sports bras and it still didn’t help, they just didn’t fit me right. I tried different sizes, companies, etc. Nothing worked for me, my boobs are just too big and were not supported by anything out there.”
I got a similar response from my friend, Lauren, who competed in varsity level basketball for four years despite being a size DD. I was expecting Lauren’s answer to my question because she has been very vocal about how much she dislikes the size of her boobs. She responded, “Absolutely I would reduce the size of my boobs. It would have made basketball so much easier for me, especially since I had to learn to deal with the discomfort I felt so often. Sports bras weren’t especially effective for me, and even when I wore two of them, which was just about all the time, it didn’t seem to do much.’’
These results were compatible with just about everyone else I asked my questions of. Girls with smaller boobs would not change them; girls with big boobs would in a heartbeat. I also found that almost all the girls I asked that had large breasts claimed that they still had not found an effective sports bra that fit them correctly and did what it was supposed to. I was shocked that in today’s day and age there is not a single company that has conquered the feat of providing large chested women with an effective sports bra.
The final thought I have on this project goes back to what I mentioned earlier, when I said that I wear sports bras daily and without a doubt more often than I wear regular bras. I do not know what I would do without the invention of sports bras. After delving so deeply for information on the topic, I realize not only what kind of impact it has made on society but on my life as well. I find comfort in sports bras, something that I rank over appearance. Not only does the sports bra help me incredible amounts when I want to work out (ask any girl about the feeling of getting to the gym and realizing you forgot a sports bra; it is legitimately one of the worst feelings), it also helps me feel more athletic and comfortable in everyday life. I am definitely telling the truth when I say I do not know what I would do with it.
-Shannon
Being perfectly honest, large breasts are definitely not something that I ever have (or ever will) have a problem with. Compression sports bras suit me just fine and have allowed me to be very successful in sports. For more than a decade I played a variety of sports. When I first entered high school, I narrowed them to soccer, basketball, and track. Soccer and basketball retained the same players through the years, as there was a very developed youth program in my town for each of these sports. The same girls that were on the top team in our town league were members of the team when I was senior and a captain. Track was a bit different. Not offered as an athletic program until high school, I was unsure of who would join the team when I stepped on the rubbery track on the first day of practice. To my surprise, many of the friends that had quit soccer and basketball years ago had signed up to be a part of the track team. The excuses of being "unathletic" and "opposed to competition" flew out the window, as track is one of the most competitive and athletic sports. I was glad to have such a large group of friends on the track team, for the time being.
It only took about two weeks for the majority of these girls to quit again. At the time, I thought it was most likely due to the track coach, who was a complete hard-ass and made us run in the most unpleasant of conditions. Yet, there were plenty of girls that were horrendous at running, or that the coach clearly picked on, that remained a part of the team. The girls that had left were of all different kids of talent and discipline levels, the only common factor? Their chest size. As a small-breasted woman, I had never put actually thought into the hindrance that large breasts might truly have on athletic ability. Sure, I've seen girls' boobs bounce and jiggle all over the place when performing activities, but I always thought it to be due to lack of appropriate support. Now, after researching the extreme discomfort that large-breasted women have to suffer through when simply exercising, I have a much clearer understanding of why my friends continued to quit these sports. The increasingly advanced sports bras that are being produced gives me hope for my friends, as they seem to tackle the exact problems that they are experiencing.
Personally, I do not know what I would do without the comfort that a sports bra provides me. Trying to play sports without them is the most uncomfortable thing ever. I would almost rather sit on the bench than have to play basketball in a regular bra, and basketball is one of my favorite hobbies in life. I love my sports bras so much that I actually wear them day to day now. They are more comfortable than a regular bra and provide the perfect amount of coverage under a t-shirt or sweat shirt. The sports bra as an article of casual clothing is comparable to sweat pants. Wouldn't you rather wear sweatpants around the house than jeans? The same goes for sports bras over regular bras.
-Brielle
This topic was of a large amount of interest to me because it is very relevant in my life today. I used to be an active athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse in high school. My worries consisted of how I played in a game or practice, and how to continue to get better, but never about any discomfort felt because of lack of support from a sports bra. In fact, I wear sports bras daily, and much more often than regular bras because I feel that they are incredibly more comfortable.
After being a student athlete for so long, it is hard for me to imagine why anyone wouldn’t want experiences like I had. Being part of a team and striving for one common goal was something that I’ll always consider myself to be lucky for, it made me who I am today and allowed me to meet some of the most important people in my life. Of course, there are those who don’t find sports appealing or fun, and obviously those people find other things to do with their time and still manage to find something they are passionate about. However, I never thought that girls would ever not participate in sports because of discomfort with their chests. Sure, I had heard other girls complain about having to wear multiple sports bras tons of times, I think all girls in high school have, but never did I think that it prevented them from participating in activities.
To investigate further what my peers really felt while in high school, I contacted a few of them and asked a few questions. I specifically targeted girls with different sized boobs and my findings were what I expected but also slightly surprising.
I first contacted my friend Caroline. She was a lacrosse player as well and has always been one of the skinnier friends I had in high school, as well as being skinny Caroline has also always had the smallest boobs of all my friends. Like normal teenage girls, we over-shared a bit with each other and there wasn’t much mystery left to who had what attributes that the rest of us wanted. We used to tease Caroline in fun, although it was no secret that at times she said she wished she had bigger boobs. When I called her up and asked her if she could, would she change the size of her breasts right now, she replied with, “No, I wouldn’t because although they are really small, they are very easy to manage. I never have to wear two sports bras like many girls and they always fit fine in clothes. Lots of clothes don’t fit skinny girls with big boobs and for me, I like to wear low tops and can get away without looking slutty because my boobs are small. I have also never had an issue with sports or working out because they never get in the way.” This answer surprised me, after all the jokes and complaining she had done over the years, when it came down to it, she didn’t want to deal with the problems we heard so many times from girls with bigger boobs.
To get an opinion from those girls themselves, I contacted two of my friends who, to put it lightly, are larger chested. Maddie is a friend of mine who ran track freshman and sophomore year, and then decided to stop. Though she cited the stop at the time to be due to too much time commitment, looking in the past helped put things in perspective for her. When I called her and asked the same question as I asked Caroline, she gave me a quick response in one short sentence, “Yes I would change them, I would make them smaller.” After a bit of probing, it was discovered that part of the reason Maddie could no longer participate in track is because she felt such a large discomfort when competing. “I had to wear two sports bras and it still didn’t help, they just didn’t fit me right. I tried different sizes, companies, etc. Nothing worked for me, my boobs are just too big and were not supported by anything out there.”
I got a similar response from my friend, Lauren, who competed in varsity level basketball for four years despite being a size DD. I was expecting Lauren’s answer to my question because she has been very vocal about how much she dislikes the size of her boobs. She responded, “Absolutely I would reduce the size of my boobs. It would have made basketball so much easier for me, especially since I had to learn to deal with the discomfort I felt so often. Sports bras weren’t especially effective for me, and even when I wore two of them, which was just about all the time, it didn’t seem to do much.’’
These results were compatible with just about everyone else I asked my questions of. Girls with smaller boobs would not change them; girls with big boobs would in a heartbeat. I also found that almost all the girls I asked that had large breasts claimed that they still had not found an effective sports bra that fit them correctly and did what it was supposed to. I was shocked that in today’s day and age there is not a single company that has conquered the feat of providing large chested women with an effective sports bra.
The final thought I have on this project goes back to what I mentioned earlier, when I said that I wear sports bras daily and without a doubt more often than I wear regular bras. I do not know what I would do without the invention of sports bras. After delving so deeply for information on the topic, I realize not only what kind of impact it has made on society but on my life as well. I find comfort in sports bras, something that I rank over appearance. Not only does the sports bra help me incredible amounts when I want to work out (ask any girl about the feeling of getting to the gym and realizing you forgot a sports bra; it is legitimately one of the worst feelings), it also helps me feel more athletic and comfortable in everyday life. I am definitely telling the truth when I say I do not know what I would do with it.
-Shannon