Normal Breasts Gallery
May 28, 2008 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
I can’t tell you how often I hear women criticize their own breasts.
I often hear, I just want “normal” breasts. The owner of the breasts has generally stood before a mirror and compared her own image to the images she sees on television, in movies, in magazines and on the Internet.
But, those aren’t NORMAL breasts. Those usually aren’t even REAL breasts.
I once dated a guy who lived in LA. I was astounded and shocked that he believed those LA girls were born with those DDs. He would even argue that 5 foot tall Asian women we would see at a club had been genetically blessed with those DDs.
Give me a break! I would tell him. Living in LA has distorted your idea of what real women look like.
In the past 10 years, with the increase in plastic surgery and the invention of Photoshop there has been a dramatic increase in unrealistic images of breasts plastered all over commercials, television, movies, magazines and the Internet. I think most people now have a distorted idea of what real women’s breasts look like.
Enter the radical and brilliant Normal Breasts Gallery, where real women have posted anonymous images of their own breasts.
Have you seen pictures of normal non-sexual breasts? the Female Intelligence Agency who started 007b.com asks? It’s a valid question.
Along with the Normal Breasts Gallery they also sell a book, Female Breats: The Taboo – The Purpose and advocate reclaiming the breasts for nursing babies (gasp … even in public).
It’s wildly refreshing to see what God and Mother Nature made women to look like.
It’s very satisfying to see real women stand up and declare “This is who I am,” and talk about how they feel about their own mirror image.
Image Source: www.007b.com
Love this.. We are bombarded with unrealistic images of every part of the femal anatomy. These days you can’t even achieve a hollywood hairstyle with out inserting fake extensions.. you can’t get their tan unless you pay someone to spray it on and no matter how much you tone and sculpt a body you can’t achieve the level of perfection that plasic surgery brings.. I worry about our young girls. It is only natural for them to compare their bodies and appearance to media images and the media images of today are completely unrealistic..
Six foot tall, naturally thin girls DO NOT have huge breasts.. if a person is ‘naturally’ thin it means essentially that they don’t have much body fat – which is basically what makes up a big old boob.. The two just don’t really come as a package in nature.. But my husband doesn’t want to believe that all those models/maxim material have been,.. lets just say “enhanced.”
It’s not just implants. It takes like five seconds to make someone a bigger size in photoshop. I saw an ad recently where Kiera Knightley had been photoshopped into having boobs. Even she laughed at it.
You’re absolutely right Violet. Even if the breasts haven’t been surgically altered they probably have been graphically altered.
Have I ever told you that I have a real live license to breast feed in public? An actual paper one?
No. Why would you need such a thing?
I dug out my book: “The Complete Book of Breastfeeding (Third Edition)” by Marvin S. Eiger, MD and Sally Wendkos Olds. To quote from the “Nursing in Public” section, which begins on page 214… “should you encounter difficulty (breastfeeding in public) the law is almost always on your side”. In the subsection “Pressures Against Nursing in Public”, they state “Yet our culture’s insistence on defining the female breast as a symbol of eroticism has generated a taboo against showing it in public for its primary purpose. The sight of a mother suckling her infant – sanctified in paintings of the Madonna and Child and accepted in public areas of so-called less civilized countries around the world – is considered indecent in much of the Western world” and “One reason for the low breastfeeding rates in the U.S. is our society’s simultaneously lascivious and prudish attitude that sees breasts as sexual objects rather than as organs of nurturance. In the section “Your Right to Breastfeed Wherever You Are” (p. 217) they cited a case from April 1997 in Cincinnati, Ohio… “Eighty nursing mothers, babies, and fathers marched outside a Wal-Mart store after a woman nursing her 2 month old on a bench just outside the women’s dressing room had been asked to move to the lavatory. The marchers were there to educate the public and to urge state legislators to pass a law ensuring women the right to breastfeed when and where it was necessary.” As of the book’s publication (1999), the Ohio legislature had found probable cause of violation; a state senator had offered to sponsor a bill; and a great deal of support for breastfeeding had surfaced in the press and in the community”. There’s plenty more info in the book I referenced. These are just a couple of quotes from a well-respected book.
My translation of all of the above is: our society, as a whole, tolerates without so much as a complaint the checkout magazines like Cosmo with women’s breasts pushed up and spilling out of their clothes. At the same time, our society has a fair amount of people who – brace yourselves now, this isn’t me talking – are anything ranging from “uncomfortable” to “disgusted” at (GASP!) having to witness a woman feeding her child in a natural way (yes, the way nature intended).
After many months of preparation (books, classes, and videos) to breastfeed… something I had never witnessed done in my presence… thus my perceived need to prepare, I was forced to cut my time breastfeeding far short of what I intended after being put on a lifesaving medication that would pass into the breastmilk. I was saddened that I had to discontinue breastfeeding earlier than I had planned but I learned a lot during my prep time studying up on it during pregnancy.
NO WOMAN SHOULD HAVE TO HIDE IN THE SHADOWS TO FEED HER CHILD!
By the way, I wonder if the Wal-mart employee who asked the Ohio mom to “move to the lavatory” would enjoy eating his/her meals in a smelly public rest room (which knowing Wal-mart had probably not been cleaned very recently)?
By the way, a couple of years back, there was a controversy at ABC headquarters. I don’t remember all the details but there was a big “nurse-in’ outside ABC. I’m sure Google would yield some results on it.
This shouldn’t even be an issue in our society. Cosmo boobs a-spilling over OK, mothers feeding infants naturally not??? That is a messed up philosophy indeed.
I was asked several times – at JC Penny and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to name two – to go hide in the bathroom to nurse my baby.
I informed them I was within my rights under the law and if they were really nice and just walked away I wouldn’t make a big huge public scene.
They walked away.
You’re so hard Tracee! I’ll bet they just slinked back to the breakroom huh?
Ha ha! Tracee, you go girl! You crack me up! Your fearlessness is inspriring. Too many people are intimidated to simply “do as they are told” instead of “stand up for their rights”.
Isn’t it interesting that supposed “family friendly” companies like JC Penney and Wal-mart (I’m gagging as I write “family friendly” and “Wal-mart” in the same sentence… but that’s another post entirely) treat their law-abiding customers this way. (I once heard of an incident in Walt Disney World where a mom was similarly approached… but that doesn’t shock me either).
It’s also ironic that an art museum, of all places, would approach you. I wonder how many feet away you were from their nude paintings when they asked you to go hide in the bathroom? Are they kidding??
I thought that was pretty funny too – the Met. Whatever.
I think it’s more about the employee’s issue than the company’s. One was a crotchety old sales clerk and the other was an embarrassed male security guard.
Hard? I don’t know how to take that.
I knew my rights and I stood up for them. I know their fear – big public scene – and I used it to stand up for my right to feed my baby.
NO! I mean’t ‘hard’ as in a complement..like brazen, ballsy, quick with a witty response, etc..
I would have shrunk off to the bathroom where I would have stayed for the rest of day crying because I would have been too mortified to duck back out..
I meant that in a ‘good for you’, “you go girl” kind of way.
I’m not “that girl” so I can’t speak to what she meant when she used the word “hard” but I’m GUESSING that maybe she meant the same thing I did when I referred to your “fearlessness”. Tracee, the reason you are inspiring is that so many women in our society would allow such “crotchety” and “embarrassed male” employees to intimidate them out of what they have every right to do. Honestly, I don’t think most women in this country are even aware of their legal rights in this regard… much less the “embarrassed male” types you mentioned. The only reason I know about these laws is the research I did during my pregnancy. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the typical woman in the U.S. doesn’t even know her legal rights regarding breastfeeding. I was in my 30s before I saw a child breastfed… and that was on a breastfeeding video. Obviously our society is still pretty messed up on this issue if I could make it to my 30s without even once observing the natural act of a woman breastfeeding her child. The fact that too many hospitals send new moms home with formula samples doesn’t exactly promote breastfeeding either. Tracee, when I did my “breastfeeding research” while pregnant, I studied up on ways to get those troublesome employees to bug off. I was bracing myself for having to get into a confrontation with people and making note of the phrases suggested. The “legal right” issue was certainly mentioned repeatedly. What I don’t recall reading anywhere (and maybe I’m forgetting… it has been awhile) was the piece de resistance in your example: the classic biting sense of humor you have where you turn their fear of their PERCEIVED “spectacle of a nursing mother feeding her child publicly” (AS IS HER LEGAL RIGHT) into their even worse fear of you retorting: “you want a PUBLIC SPECTACLE!… GO AHEAD! MAKE A SCENE TRYING TO FORCE ME TO GO TO THE LAVATORY EVEN THOUGH IT’S AGAINST THE LAW TO DO SO… OF WHICH I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO JUST POLITELY WARN YOU! DO YOU **REALLY** WANT TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME?? OR WOULD YOU RATHER LEAVE ME BE, AS I AM WITHIN MY LEGAL RIGHTS AND YOU ARE NOT!”… Tracee, I know it all seems completely common sense and straightforward to you to speak up like this. However, I believe you are braver than you think. If more women reacted as you’ve described, I would think that (paired with additional supportive legislation, as needed by state) it would increase women’s comfort following your lead and decease our society’s ridiculous double standard on when it is/isn’t OK to expose breast (i.e. currently society seems to accept spilling Cosmo magazine checkout boobs but simulaneously has trouble with women breastfeeding their babies)! Tracee, I think you’re braver than you think. Congratulations on finding an effective method of dealing with such unfortunate incidents when they do occur.
Well thanks That Girl.
I don’t eat my lunch in a bathroom. Why should a baby?
I have stood up for other mothers too. Once I was at an outdoor Circus and a mother was poking fun of a breast feeding mother with her children.
“Where is she supposed to feed her baby, in the Porta Potty?” I asked.
“The car,” she said.
“It’s literally 110 degrees in a car right now. There’s no way that’s healthy. She has a right to feed her baby where ever she is allowed to be. I breastfed in public.”
If you don’t want to see breastfeeding mothers YOU could always go sit in the car or hangout in the bathroom until the breastfeeding mothers finish.
Good for you standing up for other breastfeeding moms who were being made fun of! Circus Lady’s notion that a 110 degree car would be the right place to do it just goes to show she was doubly ignorant.
I think many are ill-informed about the rights of breastfeeding moms but any moron would know that a 110 degree car would not be an appropriate, or even slightly healthy, place to breastfeed! Sounds like this woman clearly never breastfed a baby herself if her answer was “the car”.
Good for you to not simply stand up for the breastfeeding mom, not simply point out the ignorance of breastfeeding a baby in a 110 degree car, BUT ALSO to make it a teachable moment: to tell her that this woman has a right to feed her baby wherever SHE is allowed to be!
Whether the message will get through to someone like this is another matter, of course. But I’m sure some of your fellow circus-goers may have witnessed the exchange. Who knows? Maybe your comments got through to SOMEONE that day in a positive way!
Yeah, I have a feeling the various “breastfeeding protesters” we’ve discussed wouldn’t care to hang out in a public bathroom, 110 degree car or Porta Potty for any length of time yet they have no problem trying to impose this on innocent mothers and babies.
She said she did breastfeed in the car. But her’s was air conditioned.
Lots of women feel private about their breasts even while breastfeeding. Many mothers don’t want to breastfeed in public.
Frankly, I took a lot of crap from family for my doing so – embarrassing them by breastfeeding in public. But, I took it for The Cause!
Nice of her to assume everyone has the luxury of air conditioning in their car. If that’s how she chose to do it, that’s her business but she shouldn’t mock other women for exercising their legal right to do something as basic and natural as feed their babies.
Good for you not giving in to family pressure either.
I really do see this as endemic to our Western culture. Many breastfeeding books I read during pregnancy pointed out that this “taboo” regarding public breastfeeding truly is a Western society issue.
you’re right – it’s the sexualization of breasts.
books I read during pregnancy pointed out that this “taboo” regarding public breastfeeding truly is a Western society issue.
This is such an irony though because we censor sex/nudity in the media much, much more than in Europe or Asia.. we’ve created our own taboo.
I did not breastfeed my sons for long. The one thing I did find is that even when people chose to comment on what I was doing, they stared at me. Sometimes almost with an aggressive intent, as if to shame me into moving for the sake of their discomfort.
I really love the idea of the normal breasts gallery. Truth is, we all come in different shapes and sizes — and that’s normal.
I would like to respond to add, though, that some women do have naturally large breasts — even tall skinny ones like Ashley mentioned. I know. I was/am one. I’m 5′10 and had huge breasts even when I was super skinny (and had pretty much always been skinny). And by huge, I mean that I couldn’t find a bra that fit, even in plus size stores. It was really embarrassing for me because I knew that people thought they were fake and likely questioned why a girl my age would have porn-star breast implants (and yes, I developed early). Most of the time I hid in big t-shirts because I could get them large enough to fit, even if they made me look fat. When I started talking about getting a breast reduction, even people close to me said, “Just loose weight.” Then I’d raise up my shirt to show them how skinny I was — and boy did the jaws drop. (I can’t say I’m nearly as skinny now, but I don’t consider myself fat, either.)
I did have a reduction — best thing I ever did for me and especially my back. I only wish that the surgeon had gone smaller since they’re still double or triple Ds. But I do make a joke of it since yes, I have had work done on my breasts, just not the way people would expect.
Tall women with big breasts rock – normal is all different shapes and sizes.
I know lots of larger women feel the way you do about your breasts. Lots of actresses and celebrities get reduced too. Which makes it ironic that so many small women are envious and get them bigger.
I’m not even against having work done – necessarily.
I just hate the idea of all of women wanting to look the same or the idea that normal real breasts are “out of style.”
I’m 5′9 and skinny. I was a small B and never really had a prob with it. Then after 2 kids I had no fat left in breasts, just sagging skin really. My husband was in favor of implants, and honestly so was I. I got C implants, as I was scared of looking fake. After my surgery I regretted NOT getting them bigger after Housewives of Orange County came out, and pics in my husband’s Men’s Health mag. How sad is that? At my age being influenced by that crap. That website on real breasts is great – I just looked at it.
I am really glad I kept it reasonable now, though.
I have to say I do like my breasts now, and so does my husband.
I do know a lady who had hers reduced, and she is really happy with the results – I say go for what makes you happy, not what you see on TV.
This might be off subject, and I know I am being a hypocrite, but what is up with rear-end implants? The idea of having those is kind of scary.
Every white girl I know would never get a bigger butt.
But, I was in a dressing room with a black friend and she said, “OOW my butt looks big in this!” But she was super excited about it and it made her want to buy the dress. She said black women want big butts and I’ve heard Sherry Shephard say the same thing on The View.
I’m always a little jealous that black women have a body culture where they get to have a little meat on their bones – cause I do (have a little meat.)
I also know women with your same breast-after-baby-issue Merry. I can’t say I blame them for going for surgery. When it effects how you feel about your self – or whether you will get undressed with your husband – it’s a valid problem.
But, I like knowing that there is such a vast and wide variance in regards to “normal” breasts.
I liked the normal breasts variance sight, too. It makes me feel better about my bod in general. Never thought about the Black culture liking meat on a woman’s bones – how true! How shockingly healthy. Sir mix a lot sure thought so, while Vogue thinks Kate Moss.
I wish there wasn’t so much darn pressure and importance placed on appearance. It gets exhausting.
That’s an interesting subject. The pressure to be Kate Moss thin is really something white women put on themselves though.. I’ve never talked to one (white) man who thought that was sexy. Most men think the Victoria’s Secret models w/ the boobs and hips are sexy – but the super thin, flat chested models are only sexy to white women buying vogue, and in the fashion world..and do any of us actually live there? Men are naturally attracted to curves, there’s a big, big difference in the body shape of Maxim models and vogue models.. But unfortunately the Maxim model shape is unattainable for most us too. I don’t know what the solution is except to really promote websites like this (normal breasts gallery) and the Dove campaign and make sure we keep a rational perspective when ‘wishing’ for a better body.
Meg, you are a lucky duck, and I am super, super jealous right now.. But I stand corrected. And I’m sorry that you were self-conscious about them instead of enjoying the luxury of your genes.
That Girl – I completely agree.
I don’t think the beauty ideal is one that men put on women. I’ve found to be pretty happy around any naked woman (they’re really not that choosy.)
I think of the beauty ideal and self deprecation as an internal problem of the feminine consciousness.
Let’s face it – I take more care about what I look like when I’m meeting women than any other time. Around men I am much more relaxed about it. Because I know men are much more forgiving and accepting of me than other women are.
This happened again on the bus from Austin this weekend.
White woman said, “I have such a big butt.”
Black woman said, “You’re so blessed!”
There’s a huge difference in body culture between black and white. I’m so jealous. I lived in a predominantly black neighborhood in Brooklyn and it was great for my self esteem. I got lots of comments on how great I looked – even when I was 9 months pregnant. I’m convinced it’s because black people like to eat.
“Lookin’ Good Mama.” They would say when I passed them on the street.
“Thanks!”
Apology accepted Ashley, but the grass is always greener.
In addition the emotional issues from being harassed by guys and girls alike, I’ve also had a lot of physical ones from the added weight in front. My reduction was almost entirely paid for (except about $1000) by my health insurance company because THEY agreed that it was medically needed to combat horrible, horrible back pain — and if you know health insurance companies, that’s really saying something. I still have some pain from the weight, but the pain of the reduction was worth it to reduce the back pain.
And trust me when I say that shopping for bras and tops even at my current size is hard because most tops — especially the more stylish ones — just aren’t made for women with my size top. Shopping before was nearly impossible unless I wanted to wear stuff that looked like tents on the rest of me.
I do understand that being small-chested has its own issues, but there is a luxury to that as well. You can always add padding to fill out a top. I can’t take out my padding except through major surgery.
On the thin side of the fence – my husband would like me to gain some weight, so all that is written above about men liking extra curves has to be true. His mags also show that. I don’t think I look like Kate Moss. That said, I have heard “shouldn’t you gain a little weight?” or comments like it for the past 20 years, and not just from family and friends. I have actually had people say that (always women) who I had just met. It is annoying beyond belief. I would never be rude enough to comment on anyone’s body/weight, unless it was to say something positive. I think my bod is fine, and gaining 10 or 20 pounds will not turn me into Tyra Banks.
I do think women like Queen Latifah are very beautiful. But us skinnies aren’t so bad either…
Thanks for letting me rant!
Meg – I feel for you. The lady I know who had the reduction had terrible back pain, couldn’t jog, etc. I think she was a triple D and went to a C cause the doc said some of the fat tissue could come back. She was always accused of having fake breasts.
Thanks, Merry. It is tough. I stopped horse back riding as much when I hit puberty. Looking back, I realize why. Right now, I’m probably still a DD or even a DDD. I need to go try out some new bras, but part of me still hopes I can loose some weight and shrink a little. I don’t know why in the world I think that’ll work now, but maybe it’s because I still really dread bra shopping.
Meg – Can you go back to your Doc and complain of serious back pain, so your insurance will kick in again?
I have a horse I am in love with – nothing calms me down or gives me more joy than riding him, and I hate to see anyone cut down/or stop riding – best therapy in the world.
Gosh, I wish you the best of luck -
Don’t know, but I have a hunch that at this stage insurance may think it’s more cosmetic now because they’re still a lot smaller than they were. I have kept it in mind for the future, especially if they get any bigger, and especially if I have kids. While I don’t regret the first surgery at all and would do it again, it’s not the most pleasant experience.
Meg, I’d recommend buying bras online especially british brands like Panache or Freya. They have gorgeous bras in all sizes, all the way till J cup. Here are some links:
http://weblog.xanga.com/eternalvoyageur/652169948/buying-bras-online-a-short-guide.html
Hope that helps ! Bra shopping should not be an ordeal to anyone !
Thanks, eternalvoyageur! That’s a really helpful post!
I’m glad that helped ! I’m also happy to answer any questions you might have.
I learned to like my breasts after getting a bra of the right size. Also, I noticed that after wearing my “new” correct size, my breasts changed shape a bit — for the better. I used to stuff my poor girls into a 75c, and now I’m wearing a 65D, and I’ll never go back ! (I am small chested, BTW)
I LOVE HOW THOSE TITS LOOK
since all of u females are sticking up for the right to breastfeed in public, why not post your tits on the page
no, better idea
SEND IT TO MY EMAIL
that way i can look at them on the way to work at the strip club\porno factory.
If your boobs are nice enough,you might even get a job out of this