Bralessness

In Western society, since the 1960s, there has been a slow but steady trend towards bralessness among a number of women, especially millennials, who have expressed opposition to and are giving up wearing bras.{{cite web |last1=Mallenbaum |first1=Carly |date=19 July 2016 |title=Why Millennials are going braless |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/07/19/braless-millenials-bralette/87111292/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920084248/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/07/19/braless-millenials-bralette/87111292/ |archive-date=20 September 2018 |access-date=20 September 2018 |website=USA Today |language=en}} In 2016, Allure magazine fashion director Rachael Wang wrote, "Going braless is as old as feminism, but it seems to be bubbling to the surface more recently as a direct response to Third Wave moments like #freethenipple hashtag campaign, increased trans-visibility like Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover ... and Lena Dunham's show Girls."

A feminist protest at the 1968 Miss America contest is often seen as the beginning of the anti-bra movement, prompting manufacturers to market new designs that created a softer, more natural look.{{cite news |last1=Ahsan |first1=Sadaf |title=The only time we feel comfortable to go braless shouldn't have to be in our bedrooms |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/life/the-only-time-we-feel-comfortable-to-go-braless-shouldnt-have-to-be-in-our-bedrooms |access-date=9 June 2020 |language=en-CA |date=29 August 2016}}

The word braless was first used circa 1965.{{cite web |title=The definition of braless |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/braless |website=www.dictionary.com |access-date=18 February 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015625/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/braless |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=live }} Other terms for going braless include breast freedom, top freedom, and bra freedom.{{cite web|url=http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/modern/History-ofthe-Bra.html|title=The History of the Bra – History & Info on Bras and Breasts|publisher=Feminist Zine|access-date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906043237/http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/modern/History-ofthe-Bra.html|archive-date=6 September 2011|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Morrissey |first=Tracie Egan |date=5 April 2012 |title=My Six Months as a Dirty, Boob-Swinging Derelict |url=https://jezebel.com/my-six-months-as-a-dirty-boob-swinging-derelict-5897192 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827060608/https://jezebel.com/my-six-months-as-a-dirty-boob-swinging-derelict-5897192 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |access-date=4 February 2019 |website=Jezebel}}Menon, Dilip. "An Ordinary Country". The Journal of Asian Studies. 69.3 (2010): 687-690. Activists advocating going braless have referred to protests as a "bra-cott".{{cite web |last=Intern |first=Trevor Gray, Life+Arts |title=Teen removed from class for 'revealing' clothing |url=http://www.laloyolan.com/life_and_arts/whats_happening/teen-removed-from-class-for-revealing-clothing/article_27c246ef-4287-534f-b0e2-f09d293f12bb.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203195333/http://www.laloyolan.com/life_and_arts/whats_happening/teen-removed-from-class-for-revealing-clothing/article_27c246ef-4287-534f-b0e2-f09d293f12bb.html |archive-date=3 February 2019 |access-date=29 January 2019 |website=Los Angeles Loyolan|date=18 April 2018 }}

While it is a common belief that not wearing a bra causes breasts to sag, researchers have found that a woman's breasts sag due to four key factors: cigarette smoking, number of pregnancies, gravity, and weight loss or gain.{{cite book |last=Lauersen |first=Niels H. |url=https://archive.org/details/completebookofbr00laue_0 |title=The Complete Book of Breast Care |author2=Stukane, Eileen |publisher=Fawcett Columbine/Ballantine |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-449-91241-6 |edition=1st Trade Paperback |location=New York |quote=...there is no medical reason to wear a bra, so the decision is yours, based on your own personal comfort and aesthetics. Whether you have always worn a bra or always gone braless, age and breastfeeding will naturally cause your breasts to sag.}}{{cite journal |last1=Rinker |first1=B |last2=Veneracion |first2=M |last3=Walsh |first3=C |year=2008 |title=The Effect of Breastfeeding on Breast Aesthetics |journal=Aesthetic Surgery Journal |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=534–7 |doi=10.1016/j.asj.2008.07.004 |pmid=19083576 |doi-access=free}}

• {{cite news |author=Andrea Thompson |date=2 November 2007 |title=Breastfeeding Does Not Make Breasts Sag, Study Suggests |url=http://www.livescience.com/1998-breastfeeding-breasts-sag-study-suggests.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703153917/http://www.livescience.com/1998-breastfeeding-breasts-sag-study-suggests.html |archive-date=3 July 2012 |access-date=9 May 2015 |work=LiveScience}} Women sometimes wear bras because they mistakenly believe they prevent breasts from sagging as they get older.{{cite web |date=22 September 2011 |title=Don't burn your bra just yet |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/dont-burn-your-bra-just-yet-622008.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717232012/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/dont-burn-your-bra-just-yet-622008.html |archive-date=17 July 2018 |access-date=8 October 2018 |website=The Independent}} Physicians, lingerie retailers, teenagers, and adult women used to believe that bras were medically required to support breasts. In a 1952 article in Parents' Magazine, Frank H. Crowell erroneously reported that it was important for teen girls to begin wearing bras early. According to Crowell, this would prevent sagging breasts, stretched blood vessels, and poor circulation later on.{{cite book |last=Brumberg |first=Joan Jacobs |url=http://course1.winona.msus.edu/pjohnson/e111/e111f99/brumberg.htm |title=The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=0-679-73529-1 |page=336 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020328155254/http://course1.winona.msus.edu/pjohnson/e111/e111f99/brumberg.htm |archive-date=28 March 2002}} This belief was based on the false idea that breasts cannot anatomically support themselves.{{cite web |title=Female Intelligence Agency: Why Do Women Wear Bras? |url=http://www.007b.com/why_wear_bras.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831044824/http://www.007b.com/why_wear_bras.php |archive-date=31 August 2011 |access-date=10 May 2011 |publisher=007b Breast}}

Studies have indicated sports bras which are overly tight may restrict respiratory function.{{Cite journal |last1=Ocran |first1=Francisca Margarita |last2=Ji |first2=Xiaofen |last3=Zhai |first3=Lina |date=January 2022 |title=A study to evaluate pressure distribution of different sports bras |journal=Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics |language=en |volume=17 |doi=10.1177/15589250221118643 |issn=1558-9250 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last1=Kipp |first1=Shalaya |last2=Leahy |first2=Michael G. |last3=Sheel |first3=A. William |date=2024-06-01 |title=Sports Bra Restriction on Respiratory Mechanics during Exercise |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38350462/ |journal=Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise |volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=1168–1176 |doi=10.1249/MSS.0000000000003403 |issn=1530-0315 |pmid=38350462}}

Because finding a well-fitting bra is difficult, women who wear bras sometimes feel constricted. One study found that 70% of women wear bras that are too small. Sekhon says that bras can impede blood flow to back and chest muscles, contributing to sore back muscles. Women with large breasts who stop wearing a bra may experience improved blood flow more quickly than women with smaller breasts, as bras supporting larger breasts tend to fit tighter than those worn by women with smaller breasts.{{cite web |title=Go braless without guilt! 7 great things that happen when you stop wearing a bra |url=https://www.healthshots.com/preventive-care/self-care/go-braless-without-guilt-7-great-things-that-happen-when-you-stop-wearing-a-bra/ |website=Healthshots |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=5 June 2020}}{{cite web |last1=George |first1=Kat |title=11 Benefits Of Going Braless |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/11-benefits-of-going-braless-7281003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329150433/https://www.bustle.com/p/11-benefits-of-going-braless-7281003 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |access-date=7 June 2020 |website=Bustle |language=en}}

According to a study published in the Clinical Study of Pain, large-breasted women can reduce back pain by going braless, and they may find going braless as a preferred treatment instead of reduction with a mammaplasty.{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fGHhCJE1eM0C&pg=PA34 |title=The Secret of Health: Breast Wisdom |last2=Barnes |first2=Kathleen |date=1 February 2008 |publisher=Morgan James Publishing |isbn=978-1-60037-326-8 |page=167 |access-date=1 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512203924/http://books.google.com/books?id=fGHhCJE1eM0C&pg=PA34 |archive-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=live}}

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Women with large breasts feel increased comfort compared to women with smaller breasts. Some women who have gone braless while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic do not want to go back to wearing bras again.{{cite web |date=27 March 2020 |title=The Many Reasons Not To Wear A Bra During Self-Isolation |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/benefits-of-not-wearing-bra_ca_5e7bca84c5b6cb9dc1999297 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407093129/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/benefits-of-not-wearing-bra_ca_5e7bca84c5b6cb9dc1999297 |archive-date=7 April 2020 |access-date=7 June 2020 |website=HuffPost Canada |language=en}}

Upon returning home from a day at work, many women report one of the things they look forward to is taking off their bra as soon as they get home. One editor wrote, "Taking your bra off is an extremely liberating feeling, and one we females look forward to—every day, all day long."{{Cite web |title=Covid-19 coronavirus: Pros and cons of not wearing a bra for the lockdown | date=24 March 2020 |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12319748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418105654/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12319748 |archive-date=18 April 2020 |access-date=26 May 2020}}{{Cite web |date=10 November 2017 |title=Men will never know joy of taking off bra at the end of a long day |url=https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/men-will-never-know-joy-of-taking-off-bra-at-the-end-of-a-long-day-20171110138979 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617140357/http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/men-will-never-know-joy-of-taking-off-bra-at-the-end-of-a-long-day-20171110138979 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |access-date=26 May 2020}}{{Cite web |date=8 April 2020 |title=But Will We Ever Wear Bras Again? |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a32070316/bra-free-quarantine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526144457/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a32070316/bra-free-quarantine/ |archive-date=26 May 2020 |access-date=25 May 2020}} During the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent requirement for remote work, many women publicly admitted to forgoing wearing a bra at all times.{{Cite web |title=The Nipple's Place In Fashion History |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9816278/braless-fashion-visible-nipple |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526080122/https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9816278/braless-fashion-visible-nipple |archive-date=26 May 2020 |access-date=30 May 2020 |website=Refinery29}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/13/coronavirus-clothes-work-clothes-pajamas-braless-pantless-zoom/5181891002/ |title=Coronavirus fashion: Our quarantine wardrobes include more pajamas, fewer bras and pants |website=USA Today |access-date=2020-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523202206/https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/5181891002 |archive-date=2020-05-23 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=19 July 2021 |title=Is It Bad to Not Wear a Bra? |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/going-braless |access-date=16 October 2024 |website=Cleveland Clinic}}

Miami fashion blogger Maria Tettamanti gladly confessed that while working from home she is braless. "The only positive attribute coming out of this pandemic is the notion we can work from home braless{{Snd}}free of wires, overly snug, overly padded bras."{{cite news |last=Ogle |first=Connie |date=21 April 2020 |title='It's a happiness I've never known': Should you live the braless life in quarantine? |work=Miami Herald |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/miami-com/miami-com-news/article242137436.html}}

During April 2020, online bra sales dropped 12%.

Women welcomed the chance to avoid the normal discomfort that often accompanies wearing a bra.{{Cite news |last1=Manot |first1=Nikita |date=20 March 2020 |title=Women Going Braless Tweet Of Sweet Freedom Amid COVID-19 Self-Quarantine |newspaper=Storypick |url=https://www.storypick.com/no-bra-during-quarantine/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321102532/https://www.storypick.com/no-bra-during-quarantine/ |archive-date=21 March 2020}} One clothing manufacturer surveyed 1000 women and found that 35% of women were braless while working from home. They also reported that hashtags like #nobranoproblem and #bralessandflawless were common on Twitter.{{Cite web|url=https://tommyjohn.com/blogs/news/work-from-home-braless|title=35% of Women Work from Home Braless: Where Do You Stand?|website=Tommy John|date=24 April 2020 }}

A Harris Poll commissioned by Playtex in 2009 asked more than 1,000 women what they like in a bra. Among the respondents, 67 percent said they prefer wearing a bra to going braless, while 85 percent wanted to wear a "shape-enhancing bra that feels like nothing at all." They were split as regards underwire bras: 49 percent said they prefer underwire bras, the same percentage as those who said they prefer wireless bras.{{cite book |last1=Luciani |first1=Jené. |title=The bra book : the fashion formula to finding the perfect bra |date=2009 |publisher=Benbella Books, Inc |location=Dallas, TX |isbn=978-1-933771-94-6 |page=224}} Apparel company Ruby Ribbon surveyed 3,000 women in 2014 in advance of National No Bra Day about their attitudes towards their breasts and bras. Among respondents, 92 percent said they simply want support and comfort and are less interested in sex appeal or fashionable colors and designs. Twenty-one percent rated their bra "An Enemy—I wish I had never met her", and nearly half (46%) answered, "A Business Partner—I put up with her". When asked to describe their bra in one word, the most popular term was "uncomfortable".{{Cite press release |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ruby-ribbon-asks-3-000-women-whats-your-brama-300729067.html |title=Ruby Ribbon Asks 3,000 Women "What's Your BRAma?" |first=Ruby |last=Ribbon |website=www.PRNewswire.com |access-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327184314/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ruby-ribbon-asks-3-000-women-whats-your-brama-300729067.html |archive-date=27 March 2019 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Guerra |first=Julia |title=Half Of Women Do This One Thing As Soon As They Get Home & You Can Def Relate |url=https://www.elitedaily.com/p/taking-your-bra-off-after-a-long-day-is-a-mood-science-says-half-of-women-can-relate-12708435 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327184012/https://www.elitedaily.com/p/taking-your-bra-off-after-a-long-day-is-a-mood-science-says-half-of-women-can-relate-12708435 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |access-date=19 March 2019 |website=Elite Daily|date=22 October 2018 }}

A variety of factors make it difficult for women to find a bra that fits properly. These include widely varying international manufacturing standards and measurement methods, the variety of bra sizes, and the wide anatomical differences among women.{{cite web |title=Why Millennials are going braless (the reasons might surprise you) |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/health/why-millennials-are-going-braless-the-reasons-might-surprise-you/ |website=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=15 September 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915122518/https://chicago.suntimes.com/health/why-millennials-are-going-braless-the-reasons-might-surprise-you/ |archive-date=15 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Why Are Millennials Going Braless? |url=https://www.pointsprizes.com/blog/229/why-are-millennials-going-braless |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224220/https://www.pointsprizes.com/blog/229/why-are-millennials-going-braless |archive-date=15 December 2018 |access-date=16 September 2018 |website=PointsPrizes |language= |last1=Stembridge |first1=Liberty }} In some women, one breast is slightly larger than the other.{{cite book|last1=Love|first1=Susan M. |author-link=Susan Love |title=Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book|date=2015|publisher=Da Capo Press |location=U.S.|isbn=978-07382-1821-2|edition=6|chapter=1}} More obvious and persistent asymmetry in breast size occurs in up to 25% of women.{{cite web |url = http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/children/adolescenthealth/articles/aa_breast_development.aspx |title = Breast Development |publisher = Massachusetts Hospital for Children |access-date = 2 June 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101225165742/http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/children/adolescenthealth/articles/aa_breast_development.aspx |archive-date = 25 December 2010 |url-status = dead |df = dmy }}

Women tend to find a bra that appears to fit and stay with that size for a long period of time even though they may lose and gain weight.{{cite web |last=Cope |first=Samantha |date=26 April 2013 |title=Are you wearing the right bra? We go back to boob school |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/you-wearing-right-bra-go-1822813 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812083709/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/you-wearing-right-bra-go-1822813 |archive-date=12 August 2013 |access-date=30 July 2013 |publisher=Mirror}} Medical studies have shown that most women experience pain as a result of wearing a bra, and shown that it is difficult for women to find a correctly fitting bra.{{cite journal |last1=Greenbaum |first1=A R |last2=Heslop |first2=T |last3=Morris |first3=J |last4=Dunn |first4=KW |title=An investigation of the suitability of bra fit in women referred for reduction mammaplasty. |journal=British Journal of Plastic Surgery |date=April 2003 |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=230–6 |pmid=12859918 |doi=10.1016/S0007-1226(03)00122-X }}{{cite journal|last=McGhee|first=DE|title=How do respiratory state and measurement method affect bra size calculations?|publisher=Sports Medicine|year=2006|volume=40|pages=970–4|others=Steele JR|journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine|issue=12|doi=10.1136/bjsm.2005.025171|pmid=17021004|pmc=2577461}} As a result of these factors, 80 – 85% of women who wear a bra are wearing the wrong bra size. In one study, 70% of women wear bras that are too small and 10% wear bras that are too large.{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1= K |title=Breast Size, Bra Fit and Thoracic Pain in Young Women: A Correlational Study |journal=Chiropractic & Osteopathy |volume=16 |page=1 |year=2008 |pmid=18339205 |pmc=2275741|doi=10.1186/1746-1340-16-1 |last2=Cameron |first2=Melainie |last3=Fitzgerald |first3=Kylie |doi-access= free }}{{cite journal|last1=McGhee|first1=D. E.|last2=Steele|first2=J. R.|year=2006|title=How Do Respiratory State and Measurement Method Affect Bra Size Calculations?|journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine|volume=40|issue=12|pages=970–974|doi=10.1136/bjsm.2005.025171|pmc=2577461|pmid=17021004}}

Women complain of breast, shoulder, neck, and back pain, migraines, indigestion, skin abrasions, and restricted breathing due to wearing bras.{{cite web |last1=F |first1=Eddie |title=Brassière - Bra Vogue |url=http://www.lexicolatry.com/2013/10/brassiere-bra-vogue.html |access-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015814/http://www.lexicolatry.com/2013/10/brassiere-bra-vogue.html |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=usurped }}{{cite web |title=Is your bra making you ill? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/is-your-bra-making-you-ill-1044078.html |website=The Independent |language=en |date=2 December 2008 |access-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015756/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/is-your-bra-making-you-ill-1044078.html |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=live }} Women who have large breasts are more likely to experience discomfort. Large cup size has been correlated with an increase in shoulder and neck pain.{{cite journal |last1=Oo |first1=Myint |last2=Wang |first2=Zhuo |last3=Sakakibara |first3=Toshihiko |last4=Kasai |first4=Yuichi |title=Relationship Between Brassiere Cup Size and Shoulder-Neck Pain in Women |journal=The Open Orthopaedics Journal |date=4 April 2012 |volume=6 |pages=140–142 |doi= 10.2174/1874325001206010140 |doi-access=free|pmid=22509231 |pmc=3322448 |issn=1874-3250}} One researcher found that 40% of women who rode horses reported breast pain.{{cite journal |last1=Burbage |first1=Jenny |last2=Cameron |first2=Lorna |title=An investigation into the prevalence and impact of breast pain, bra issues and breast size on female horse riders |journal=Journal of Sports Sciences |date=3 June 2017 |volume=35 |issue=11 |pages=1091–1097 |doi=10.1080/02640414.2016.1210818 |pmid=27454814 |s2cid=205515773 |issn=0264-0414|url=https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/an-investigation-into-the-prevalence-and-impact-of-breast-pain-bra-issues-and-breast-size-on-female-horse-riders(0547127f-1b5e-409f-95e3-ffd1d7d51199).html }} Women often cite the discomfort and pain associated with wearing bras as the primary reason for disliking them and for giving up wearing one.

Susan M. Love, a Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCLA, is a founder of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. She wrote, "Except for the women who find bras especially comfortable or uncomfortable, the decision to wear or not wear one is purely aesthetic - or emotional. If you don't enjoy it, and job or social pressures don't force you into it, don't bother."Love, Susan, MD. Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book 2015 Da Capo Lifelong Press {{ISBN|978-0738218212}}

Some women choose not to wear bras because they worry that it might increase the risk of breast cancer. This idea was promoted in a controversial 1995 book Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras. A 2002 survey found that 6% of women agreed that "Under-wire bras can cause breast cancer", 63% disagreed with this claim, and another 31% did not know.{{Cite journal |last1=Stein |first1=Kevin |last2=Zhao |first2=Luhua |last3=Crammer |first3=Corinne |last4=Gansler |first4=Ted |date=1 September 2007 |title=Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of beliefs regarding cancer risks |journal=Cancer |language= |volume=110 |issue=5 |pages=1139–1148 |doi=10.1002/cncr.22880 |pmid=17657733 |s2cid=30535198 |doi-access=free}}

There is no credible scientific evidence that wearing bras causes cancer.{{cite web |last1=Sampson |first1=David |date=14 April 2014 |title=Bras and Breast Cancer: A Theory that Lacks Support |url=https://acspressroom.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/bras-and-breast-cancer-a-theory-that-lacks-support/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031501/https://acspressroom.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/bras-and-breast-cancer-a-theory-that-lacks-support/ |archive-date=16 December 2018 |access-date=13 December 2018 |website=ACS Pressroom Blog |language=}}{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Lu |last2=Malone |first2=Kathleen E. |last3=Li |first3=Christopher I. |title=Bra wearing not associated with breast cancer risk: a population-based case-control study |journal=Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention |volume=23 |issue=10 |pages=2181–2185 |doi=10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0414 |pmid=25192706 |pmc=4184992 |date=October 2014 | quote=Because bra wearing was ubiquitous among our participants, we were unable to compare risks among women who never wore a bra to those who regularly wore a bra, and instead, our primary comparison was based on the average number of hours per day women wore a bra. }} The United States National Cancer Institute states that bras have not been found to increase a woman's risk for breast cancer,[http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/pregnancy Fact Sheet on Breast Cancer Risk Factors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514064810/http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/pregnancy|date=14 May 2011}}, from the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Accessed 10 July 2008. and the American Cancer Society stated, "There are no scientifically valid studies that show wearing bras of any type causes breast cancer."{{cite web |date=6 September 2017 |title=Disproven or Controversial Breast Cancer Risk Factors |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/disproven-or-controversial-breast-cancer-risk-factors.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716111823/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/disproven-or-controversial-breast-cancer-risk-factors.html |archive-date=16 July 2018 |access-date=16 July 2018 |publisher=American Cancer Society |quote=Internet and e-mail rumors and at least one book have suggested that bras cause breast cancer by obstructing lymph flow. There is no good scientific or clinical basis for this claim, and a 2014 study of more than 1,500 women found no association between wearing a bra and breast cancer risk.}}

Misinformation about bras and cancer spread across the internet "mostly inspired by one study with several scientific flaws...The study, never published in a peer-reviewed journal, did not adjust for known breast cancer risk factors that might be associated with bra-wearing behavior, like weight and age. Also, study participants knew the hypothesis before taking the survey."{{cite news |last=Ray |first=C. Claiborne |date=15 February 2010 |title=Bras and Cancer |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/science/16qna.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327183812/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/science/16qna.html |archive-date=27 March 2019}} A well-regarded 2014 study by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found no direct link between wearing a bra and developing breast cancer.{{cite web |last1=JoNel |first1=Aleccia |date=5 September 2014 |title=Bras cause breast cancer? No support for that claim, Fred Hutch study finds |url=https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2014/09/Bras-dont-cause-breast-cancer-hutch-study.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216032103/https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2014/09/Bras-dont-cause-breast-cancer-hutch-study.html |archive-date=16 December 2018 |access-date=13 December 2018 |website=Fred Hutch}} The report noted, "no aspect of bra wearing, including bra cup size, recency, average number of hours a day worn, wearing a bra with an underwire, or age first began regularly wearing a bra, was associated with risks" of breast cancer.{{cite journal | journal=Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev | title=Bra wearing not associated with breast cancer risk: a population-based case-control study. | vauthors=Chen L, Malone KE, Li CI | volume=23 | issue = 10 | year=2014 | pages=2181–2185 | doi=10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0414 | pmid=25192706 | pmc=4184992}} The study included detailed studies of women's lifestyle and bra-wearing habits and found no correlation between bra use and cancer.{{cite news |year=2014 |title=Putting to rest the myth that bras can cause breast cancer |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://health.heraldtribune.com/2014/09/30/putting-rest-myth-bras-can-cause-breast-cancer/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217142534/http://health.heraldtribune.com/2014/09/30/putting-rest-myth-bras-can-cause-breast-cancer/ |archive-date=17 December 2014}}

{{Further|Ptosis (breasts)}}

A common misconception is that bras are required to keep breasts from sagging later in life.{{cite web |date=22 September 2011 |title=Don't burn your bra just yet |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/dont-burn-your-bra-just-yet-622008.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717232012/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/dont-burn-your-bra-just-yet-622008.html |archive-date=17 July 2018 |access-date=8 October 2018 |website=The Independent |df=dmy-all}}{{cite web |title=5 Myths and Facts About Sagging Breasts |url=https://www.health.com/condition/breast-cancer/what-causes-breasts-to-sag |website=Health.com |access-date=7 June 2020 |language=EN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530112506/https://www.health.com/condition/breast-cancer/what-causes-breasts-to-sag |archive-date=30 May 2020 |url-status=live }} There is no relationship between wearing a bra and whether breasts sag.{{Cite web |date=14 July 2015 |title=5 Myths About Breast Sagging That Need To Go Away |url=https://www.prevention.com/health/a20468124/sagging-breasts-myths/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209222755/https://www.prevention.com/health/a20468124/sagging-breasts-myths/ |archive-date=9 February 2020 |access-date=30 May 2020}} Wearing a bra for any amount of time does not arrest, slow, or in any way affect breast ptosis.{{cite web|url=http://www.007b.com/sagging.php|title=Female Intelligence Agency: What Causes Sagging of Breasts?|publisher=007b Breast|access-date=6 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018091042/http://www.007b.com/sagging.php|archive-date=18 October 2006|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} John Dixey, former CEO of bra-maker Playtex, explained on a British TV Channel 4 interview, "We have evidence that wearing a bra could not prevent sagging, because the breast itself is not muscle, so keeping it toned up is an impossibility. ... There's no permanent effect on the breast from wearing a particular bra. The bra will give you the shape the bra's been designed to give while you're wearing it."{{cite web |date=9 July 2014 |title=Happy National No Bra Day! Do Bras Make Breasts Sag And Vulnerable To Cancer? |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/1342831/happy-national-no-bra-day-do-bras-make-breasts-sag-and-vulnerable-to-cancer/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009052703/https://www.inquisitr.com/1342831/happy-national-no-bra-day-do-bras-make-breasts-sag-and-vulnerable-to-cancer/ |archive-date=9 October 2018 |access-date=8 October 2018 |website=The Inquisitr}}{{Cite web|url=https://trakt.tv/shows/dispatches/seasons/2000|title=Dispatches Season 2000|via=trakt.tv}}

{{Tone|date=January 2025|section}}

Modern women have been socialized to believe that perky breasts are desirable. Laura Tempesta, bra expert and founder of bra manufacturer Bravolution, stated, "Lifted breasts are considered attractive in our culture which is why bra-wearing is a cultural development." Women feel pressured to wear bras because society expects their breasts to "stay firm and in the right position", or that if they are braless, it means she is promiscuous, loose, or slutty. An increasing number of millennial women reject these ideas as holdovers from earlier eras when a "woman's existence is for the male gaze."

An increasing number of women, especially those among the millennial generation, feel more comfortable about not wearing a bra, and what they wear is based more on what they want and not due to social norms or feminist ideology. With the increasing acceptance of the Me Too movement, co-workers and others have finally realized that they do not have the right to say anything about a woman who chooses not to wear a bra.{{cite web |title=Why Women Are Going Braless at Work & What Your Boss Can (Or Can't) Say About It |url=https://www.cbs8.com/video/syndication/veuer/why-women-are-going-braless-at-work-what-your-boss-can-or-cant-say-about-it/602-47ced1c1-1900-4ace-9ea8-7f492c40fdf1 |website=cbs8.com |date=12 February 2020 |access-date=9 June 2020 |archive-date=9 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609050334/https://www.cbs8.com/video/syndication/veuer/why-women-are-going-braless-at-work-what-your-boss-can-or-cant-say-about-it/602-47ced1c1-1900-4ace-9ea8-7f492c40fdf1 |url-status=dead }} Jennifer Maher, a gender studies professor at Indiana University, says wearing or not wearing a bra is no longer "a feminist tenet".{{cite web |title=Your bra, your choice: Women find freedom going braless |url=https://www.idsnews.com/article/2018/10/entnobras101618 |website=Indiana Daily Student |access-date=15 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330032456/https://www.idsnews.com/article/2018/10/entnobras101618 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live }}

During the 1960s, a few feminists embraced bralessness.{{Cite book |last1=Farrell-Beck |first1=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtRbdACUkqgC&pg=PA139 |title=Uplift: The Bra in America |last2=Gau |first2=Colleen |date=22 October 2002 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-1835-0 |pages=139 |language=en}} However, most Western women continued to wear bras, despite complaining about how uncomfortable they were.

In 1968 at the feminist Miss America protest, protesters symbolically threw a number of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can". These included bras,{{cite journal |last=Dow |first=Bonnie J. |year=2003 |title=Feminism, Miss America, and Media Mythology |url=http://www.public.asu.edu/~kleong/missamericacommodificationfeminist.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Rhetoric & Public Affairs |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=127–149 |doi=10.1353/rap.2003.0028 |issn=1094-8392 |jstor=41939812 |s2cid=143094250 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083234/http://www.public.asu.edu/~kleong/missamericacommodificationfeminist.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=16 January 2014}} which were among items the protesters called "instruments of female torture"{{cite magazine |last=Duffett |first=Judith |date=October 1968 |title=WLM vs. Miss America |magazine=Voice of the Women's Liberation Movement |page=4}} and accouterments of what they perceived to be enforced femininity. A local news story in the Atlantic City Press reported that "the bras, girdles, falsies, curlers, and copies of popular women's magazines burned in the 'Freedom Trash Can'".{{cite news|last=Boucher |first=John L. |title=Bra-Burners Blitz Boardwalk |work=(Atlantic City) Press |date=8 September 1968}}{{cite book |last=Campbell|first=W. Joseph|year=2010|title=Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism|url=https://archive.org/details/gettingitwrongte0000camp|url-access=registration|location=Berkeley, California|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-26209-6}}{{rp|109–110}} But individuals who were present said that no one burned a bra nor did anyone take off her bra.{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Gail|author-link=Gail Collins|year=2003|title=America's Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines|url=https://archive.org/details/americaswomen00gail|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=HarperCollins}} Reporter Lindsy Van Gelder drew an analogy between the feminist protesters and Vietnam War protesters who burned their draft cards, and this parallel between protesters burning their draft cards and women burning their bras was encouraged by some organizers including Robin Morgan. "The media picked up on the bra part", Carol Hanisch said later. "I often say that if they had called us 'girdle burners,' every woman in America would have run to join us."{{cite web|last=Greenfieldboyce|first=Nell|title=Pageant Protest Sparked Bra-Burning Myth|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94240375&from=mobile|publisher=NPR|access-date=6 February 2012|date=September 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109083508/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94240375&from=mobile|archive-date=9 November 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Feminism and "bra-burning" became linked in popular culture.{{cite web |url=http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2006/09/rush-limbaugh-gloria-steinem-jane.html |publisher=Radio Equalizer |date=14 September 2006 |title=Rush Blasts Greenstone |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616231246/http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2006/09/rush-limbaugh-gloria-steinem-jane.html |archive-date=16 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://heuriskein.blogspot.com/2006/01/so-called-ginsburg-standard.html |publisher=heuriskein |date=9 January 2006 |title=The So-Called 'Ginsburg Standard' |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616231251/http://heuriskein.blogspot.com/2006/01/so-called-ginsburg-standard.html |archive-date=16 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} While feminist women may or may not literally have burned their bras that day, some stopped wearing them in protest.{{cite book |last=Kornblum|first=William|year=2011|title=Sociology in a Changing World | edition=9th| location=Belmont, California|publisher=Wadsworth Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-30157-6}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hipmama.com/node/755 |title=Motherhood, Feminism and the Graveyard of Unwearable Bras |first=Violet A. |last=Shearer |access-date=7 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722204152/http://www.hipmama.com/node/755 |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} Feminist author Bonnie J. Dow suggested that the association between feminism and bra-burning was encouraged by individuals who opposed the feminist movement. "Bra-burning" created an image that women were not really seeking freedom from sexism, but were attempting to assert themselves as sexual beings. This might lead individuals to believe, as Susan J. Douglas wrote, that the women were merely trying to be "trendy, and to attract men".{{cite book |last=Douglas |first=Susan |author-link=Susan J. Douglas |year=1994 |title=Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media |location=New York |publisher=Random House |page=160}}{{rp|130}}{{cite web |url=http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/unknown/viewarticle.aspx?id=299050 |author=Loughran, Jane |title=You Don't Have to Be a Bra-Burning Feminist to Want to Keep Your Name |publisher=News & Star |date=11 January 2005 |access-date=8 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230647/http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/unknown/viewarticle.aspx?id=299050 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}{{cite magazine |url=http://menz.org.nz/menz-issues/october-1996 |last=Williams |first=Ginny |title=Women of Goodwill |magazine=MENZ Issues |date=October 1996 |volume=1 |issue=4 |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717013212/https://menz.org.nz/menz-issues/october-1996/ |archive-date=17 July 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}{{cite journal |last=Campo|first=Natasha|year=2005|title='Having It All' or 'Had Enough'? Blaming Feminism in the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, 1980–2004|journal=Journal of Australian Studies |volume=28|issue=84|pages=63–72|doi=10.1080/14443050509387992 |s2cid=145446215| issn=1835-6419}} Some feminist activists believe that anti-feminists use the bra burning myth and the subject of going braless to trivialize what the protesters were trying to accomplish at the feminist 1968 Miss America protest and the feminist movement in general.{{cite magazine |last=Lee |first=Jennifer |date=11 June 2014 |title=Feminism Has a Bra-Burning Myth Problem |url=https://time.com/2853184/feminism-has-a-bra-burning-myth-problem/ |magazine=Time |location=New York |access-date=24 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723220901/http://time.com/2853184/feminism-has-a-bra-burning-myth-problem/ |archive-date=23 July 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}{{cite journal|last=Dow|first=Bonnie J.|year=1999|title=Spectacle, Spectatorship, and Gender Anxiety in Television News Coverage of the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality|journal=Communication Studies|volume=50|issue=2|pages=143–157|doi=10.1080/10510979909388481|issn=1745-1035}}{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/history/american/burnbra.htm |title=Red Hot Mamas (bra-burning) |date=27 November 2000 |publisher=Snopes.com Urban Legends}}

The trope of feminists burning their bras was anticipated by an earlier generation of feminists who called for burning corsets as a step toward liberation. In 1873 Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward wrote:

{{blockquote|So burn up the corsets! ... No, nor do you save the whalebones, you will never need whalebones again. Make a bonfire of the cruel steels that have lorded it over your thorax and abdomens for so many years and heave a sigh of relief, for your emancipation I assure you, from this moment has begun.{{cite book|last=Phelps|first=Elizabeth Stuart|author-link=Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward|year=1873|title=What to Wear?|url=https://archive.org/details/whattowear01phelgoog|location=Boston, Massachusetts|publisher=James R. Osgood and Company|lccn=09022399|access-date=25 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712210114/https://archive.org/details/whattowear01phelgoog|archive-date=2017-07-12|url-status=live}}}}

Some feminists began arguing in the 1960s and 1970s that the bra was an example of how women's clothing shaped and even deformed women's bodies to male expectations. Professor Lisa Jardine listened to feminist Germaine Greer talk about bras during a formal college dinner in Newnham College, Cambridge, in 1964 (Greer had become a member of the college faculty in 1962):

{{blockquote|At the graduates' table, Germaine was explaining that there could be no liberation for women, no matter how highly educated, as long as we were required to cram our breasts into bras constructed like mini-Vesuviuses, two stitched white cantilevered cones which bore no resemblance to the female anatomy. The willingly suffered discomfort of the Sixties bra, she opined vigorously, was a hideous symbol of female oppression.{{Cite news |first=Stephanie |last=Merritt |author-link=Stephanie Merritt |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,6000,1057077,00.html |title=Danger Mouth |work=The Observer |date=5 October 2003 |access-date=5 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418060254/http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,6000,1057077,00.html |archive-date=18 April 2008 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}}}

Greer's book The Female Eunuch (1970) became associated with the anti-bra movement because she pointed out how restrictive and uncomfortable a bra could be.{{cite web | url=http://www.biographyonline.net/writers/germaine-greer.html | title=German Greer Biography | access-date=7 April 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726121315/http://www.biographyonline.net/writers/germaine-greer.html | archive-date=26 July 2011 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }} "Bras are a ludicrous invention", she wrote, "but if you make bralessness a rule, you're just subjecting yourself to yet another repression."{{cite book |last=Greer |first=Germaine |author-link=Germaine Greer |year=2009 |title=The Female Eunuch |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins|title-link=The Female Eunuch }}{{rp|xviii}}

Susan Brownmiller in her book Femininity (1984) took the position that women without bras shock and anger men because men "implicitly think that they own breasts and that only they should remove bras."

Feminist author Iris Marion Young wrote in 2005 that the bra "serves as a barrier to touch" and that a braless woman is "deobjectified", eliminating the "hard, pointy look that phallic culture posits as the norm." Without a bra, in her view, women's breasts are not consistently shaped objects but change as the woman moves, reflecting the natural body. Young also argued that training bras are used to indoctrinate girls into thinking about their breasts as sexual objects and to accentuate their sexuality. She wrote in 2007 that, in American culture, breasts are subject to {{nowrap|"[c]apitalist,}} patriarchal American media-dominated culture [that] objectifies breasts before such a distancing glance that freezes and masters."{{rp|31}} Academic Wendy Burns-Ardolino wrote in 2007 that women's decision to wear bras is mediated by the "male gaze".{{cite book |last=Burns-Ardolino |first=Wendy|year=2007|title=Jiggle: (Re)Shaping American Women|location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-1299-1}}{{rp|30–32}}

In March, 2017, actress Emma Watson was braless in a Vanity Fair photo shoot. She was criticized by some{{who|date=January 2023}} who thought she was a hypocrite for supporting feminism and showing some skin. She responded, "Feminism is about giving women a choice; feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It's about freedom, it's about liberation, it's about equality. I really don't know what my tits have to do with it."{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/emma-watson-defends-vanity-fair-shoot/|title=Emma Watson Defends Braless Vanity Fair Shoot: 'Feminism Is About Giving Women a Choice'|website=www.thewrap.com|date=6 March 2017|access-date=2019-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325231928/https://www.thewrap.com/emma-watson-defends-vanity-fair-shoot/amp/|archive-date=2019-03-25|url-status=live}}

In 1970, bra and girdle sales{{where|date=January 2023}} were about $900 million, down from $1 billion the prior year. But the reduction in sales was due to sharply lower girdle sales, which have been negatively affected by the increasing popularity of panty-hose and shorter skirts.Barmash, Isadore [https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/bra-industry-reacts-to-womens-lib.html "Bra Industry Reacts to Women's Lib"]. The New York Times. September 13, 1970.

Manufacturers designed and marketed products that appealed to consumers' personal pride. Themes included "Be Some Body with Formfit Rogers" and "Exquisite Form Loves Women in Full Flower". Bra sales increased sharply. But bra makers also noted the beginning of a trend in which women would rather not wear bras, especially when relaxing at home or in other informal surroundings.

In the 1960s, some hippie women went braless to make political statements about sexual liberation or their relationship with nature and their bodies.{{Cite book|last=Pereira-Ares|first=Noemí|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRVBDwAAQBAJ|title=Fashion, Dress and Identity in South Asian Diaspora Narratives: From the Eighteenth Century to Monica Ali|date=2017-11-30|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-61397-0|pages=96–97|language=en}} In 1966, during the height of the hippie era in San Francisco, two women students at San Francisco State College protested a proposed law that would require women to wear bras by walking topless near the campus.{{cite web |title=FALSE: Hillary Clinton Went Topless in the 1960s |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-topless-1960s/ |website=Snopes.com |date=28 October 2016 |access-date=21 September 2018}}{{cite web |title=Nude Fine Art Print from San Francisco State College, 1966 at Wolfgang's |url=https://www.wolfgangs.com/photography/nude/fine-art-print/GAP0008.html |website=Wolfgang's |access-date=21 September 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114805/https://www.wolfgangs.com/photography/nude/fine-art-print/GAP0008.html |archive-date=2018-09-21 |url-status=live }} On August 1, 1969, an Anti-Bra Day was declared in San Francisco to protest societal pressure to wear constrictive, feminine garments. The protest drew large crowds, blocking traffic, and a few women took their bras off from under their clothing in the Financial District.{{cite web|url=https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/231116|title=Anti-Bra Protest in Downtown San Francisco - Bay Area Television Archive|website=diva.sfsu.edu|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921115246/https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/231116|archive-date=2018-09-21|url-status=live}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svE1UqlqbWsC|page=139|title=All the People|first=Joy|last=Hakim|date=10 September 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780195153385|access-date=10 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131041158/https://books.google.com/books?id=svE1UqlqbWsC|archive-date=31 January 2019|url-status=live}}

In 1968, shortly after the feminist protest against bras and other feminine products at the Miss America pageant, actress Marlo Thomas began going braless on the prime-time television series That Girl. "God created women to bounce, so be it." Thomas said in an interview in Good Housekeeping magazine. "If I bounce, I'm glad to be a girl."{{cite web |last1=Klemesrud |first1=Judy |title=Braless Look: 2 Years Ago a Daring Fad, but Now It's a Trend |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/05/archives/braless-look-2-years-ago-a-daring-fad-but-now-its-a-trend.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Archives&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article |website=The New York Times |access-date=15 March 2019 |date=5 August 1970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329234416/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/05/archives/braless-look-2-years-ago-a-daring-fad-but-now-its-a-trend.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Archives&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news | last = Riordan | first = Teresa | title = Patents; In bra technology, an incremental improvement can translate into comfort | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/28/business/patents-in-bra-technology-an-incremental-improvement-can-translate-into-comfort.html?sec=technology&spon=&pagewanted=all | access-date = 2009-04-21 | date = October 28, 2002 | newspaper = The New York Times | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090423032636/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/28/business/patents-in-bra-technology-an-incremental-improvement-can-translate-into-comfort.html?sec=technology&spon=&pagewanted=all | url-status = live | archive-date = April 23, 2009 }} On August 5, 1970, the New York Times wrote that "the braless look has established a beachhead in Manhattan. ... Generally speaking, the braless woman is under 30 and small-breasted. But grandmothers are also among the throngs, as are C and D cuppers—who get the most comment, both pro and con, from male oglers."{{cite web |last1=Klemesrud |first1=Judy |title=Braless Look: 2 Years Ago a Daring Fad, but Now It's a Trend |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/05/archives/braless-look-2-years-ago-a-daring-fad-but-now-its-a-trend.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Archives&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article |website=The New York Times |access-date=23 March 2019 |date=5 August 1970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329234416/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/05/archives/braless-look-2-years-ago-a-daring-fad-but-now-its-a-trend.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Archives&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live }}

In 1971, activist and actress Bianca Jagger broke tradition and wore a tailored Yves St. Laurent Le Smoking jacket to her Catholic wedding with nothing underneath. Singer, songwriter, model, and actress Debbie Harry was well known for going braless during the 1970s. Model and actress Jerry Hall set an example during the same period when she was frequently photographed braless and featured in fashion magazines.{{Cite web |url=https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/gmp23601470/no-bra-movement-history/ |title=The History of the No-Bra Movement |access-date=2020-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124033848/https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/gmp23601470/no-bra-movement-history/ |archive-date=2020-01-24 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.brides.com/story/mick-bianca-jagger-wedding-photos |title=TBT: Mick and Bianca Jagger's Wedding Photos |access-date=2020-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017222604/https://www.brides.com/story/mick-bianca-jagger-wedding-photos |archive-date=2019-10-17 |url-status=live }}

French journalist, writer and social influencer Sabina Socol is known for never wearing a bra.{{cite web |title=The #FreetheNipple Movement Came Stateside in 2017—But French Girls Have Been Doing It for Decades |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/free-the-nipple-rihanna-bella-hadid-kim-kardashian-french-women-france |website=Vogue |date=27 December 2017 |access-date=29 March 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329180757/https://www.vogue.com/article/free-the-nipple-rihanna-bella-hadid-kim-kardashian-french-women-france |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live }} She attributes it to discomfort.{{Cite web |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/amp32070316/bra-free-quarantine/ |title=But Will We Ever Wear Bras Again? |date=8 April 2020 |access-date=2020-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426153140/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/amp32070316/bra-free-quarantine/ |archive-date=2020-04-26 |url-status=live }}

{{Blockquote|I realized at a very young age, as a teenager, that bras are uncomfortable, at least for me. I don't like it when you can see them through T-shirts. I don't care at all if we can see my nipples or the shape of my breasts. We all have them. I don't think it's offensive.}}

The young female characters on Lena Dunham's controversial HBO show Girls (2012–2017) were often without bras."{{cite magazine |last1=Gibson |first1=Megan |title=Girls and Nudity: Why Naked Women Don't Have To Be Titillating |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/10/girls-and-nudity-why-naked-women-dont-have-to-be-titillating/ |magazine=Time |date=10 January 2014 |access-date=15 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318000943/http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/10/girls-and-nudity-why-naked-women-dont-have-to-be-titillating/ |archive-date=18 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=The 9 Most WTF Moments of HBO's 'Girls' |url=https://www.hercampus.com/culture/entertainment/9-most-wtf-moments-hbos-girls |website=Her Campus |date=15 January 2014 |access-date=15 March 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330005852/https://www.hercampus.com/culture/entertainment/9-most-wtf-moments-hbos-girls |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Lena Dunham's No Bra Look: Actress Goes Braless On Set Of 'Girls' |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/lena-dunham-no-bra-braless_n_3044206.html |website=Huffington Post |access-date=15 March 2019 |date=9 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211184720/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/lena-dunham-no-bra-braless_n_3044206.html |archive-date=11 February 2017 |url-status=live }}

An increasing number of women question previously accepted medical, physiological, anatomical, and social reasons for wearing bras.{{cite web |title=Female Intelligence Agency: Why Do Women Wear Bras? |url=http://www.007b.com/why_wear_bras.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808162120/http://www.007b.com/why_wear_bras.php |archive-date=8 August 2011 |access-date=10 May 2011 |publisher=007b Breast |df=dmy-all}} They recognize that they wear bras for psychological, aesthetic, or practical reasons.{{cite web |last1=Orr |first1=Deborah |title=Bras: a male professor is no expert |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/12/bras-male-professor-no-expert |website=The Guardian |access-date=7 March 2019 |date=12 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307173912/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/12/bras-male-professor-no-expert |archive-date=7 March 2019 |url-status=live }} An informal movement advocates breast freedom, top freedom, bra freedom, or simply going braless.{{cite web |url=http://www.goingbraless.net |publisher=GoingBraless.Net |title=Going Braless |access-date=26 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901212233/http://goingbraless.net/ |archive-date=2011-09-01 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.thebreastsite.com/bras/going-braless.aspx |publisher=The Breast Site |title=Going Braless |access-date=2018-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808033728/http://www.thebreastsite.com/bras/going-braless.aspx |archive-date=2011-08-08 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.focusonstyle.com/Call-My-Stylist/braless |title=Going Braless... Top shelf dress tips |date=29 November 2003 |access-date=26 April 2010 |publisher=FocusOnStyle.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061722/http://www.focusonstyle.com/Call-My-Stylist/braless |archive-date=2011-07-21 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/modern/History-ofthe-Bra.html|title=The History of the Bra – History & Info on Bras and Breasts|publisher=Feminist Zine|access-date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725085545/http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/modern/History-ofthe-Bra.html|archive-date=25 July 2011|url-status=live}} There are a large number of magazine articles and YouTube videos in which women describe their motives and offer guidance on how to go braless. Poet Savannah Brown of London published a YouTube video, "sav's guide to going braless", which has nearly one million views.{{cite web |title=sav's guide to going braless |website = YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGu5RAbFxoE&index=15&list=PLYOFgYIVW3MFhbCjMtuP2qqfAiz9WbilV&t=0s |access-date=15 September 2018 |date=17 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131041158/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGu5RAbFxoE&index=15&list=PLYOFgYIVW3MFhbCjMtuP2qqfAiz9WbilV&t=0s |archive-date=31 January 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Ladies – It's Time To Take Off Your Bras For Good! |url=http://www.simpleorganiclife.org/burn-bra/ |website=Simple Organic Life |access-date=14 September 2018 |date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702163258/http://www.simpleorganiclife.org/burn-bra/ |archive-date=2018-07-02 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Guide To Going Braless |url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19037081/how-to-go-braless/ |website=Women's Health |access-date=14 September 2018 |date=8 July 1982 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807002618/https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19037081/how-to-go-braless/ |archive-date=2018-08-07 |url-status=live }}

In 2009 Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabaab forced women to shake their breasts at gunpoint to see if they were wearing bras, which they called "un-Islamic".{{Cite news|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE59F1K420091016?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|title=Somali Islamists Whip Women for Wearing Bras|date=16 October 2009|work=Reuters|access-date=8 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211120303/http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE59F1K420091016?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} A resident of Mogadishu whose daughters were whipped said, "The Islamists say a woman's chest should be firm naturally, or flat."{{cite web|title=Fouettées pour un soutien-gorge|language=fr|trans-title=Lashes for a Bra|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2009/10/16/008-somalie-soutien-gorge.shtml|work=Radio-Canada Info|publisher=Société Radio-Canada|agency=Reuters|access-date=4 February 2012|date=16 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916010907/http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2009/10/16/008-somalie-soutien-gorge.shtml|archive-date=16 September 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}

Women took part in the Free the Nipple campaign after a movie of that name was made in 2015. They protested the legal prohibitions and cultural taboos attached to exposing female breasts in places where it is legal for men to be topless.Esco, Lina. Free the Nipple. Disruptive Films Inc., 2014{{cite web |url=http://www.etonline.com/news/154681_the_naked_truth_behind_the_free_the_nipple_movement/ |title=The Naked Truth Behind the 'Free the Nipple' Movement |publisher=Etonline.com |date=3 December 2014 |access-date=2015-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403090818/http://www.etonline.com/news/154681_the_naked_truth_behind_the_free_the_nipple_movement/ |archive-date=3 April 2015 |url-status=live }}

The Free the Nipple campaign was sparked in part due to double standards and the fteen vcensorship of women's bodies on social media. Its advocates believe that women's nipples should be legally and culturally acceptable.{{Cite web|url=https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/g23601470/no-bra-movement-history/|title=The History of the No-Bra Movement|first=Summer|last=Lin|date=October 13, 2021|website=CR Fashion Book|access-date=February 15, 2022|archive-date=February 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062533/https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/g23601470/no-bra-movement-history/|url-status=dead}}

In many Western countries, women used social media to show their support of the right to go topless or without a bra. In Iceland during Free the Nipple day in 2015, some female university students purposefully wore clothing that revealed they were not wearing a bra and a few others chose to go topless for the day.{{cite web|url=http://www.mbl.is/english/news/2015/03/26/a_tidal_wave_of_nipples_sweeps_iceland/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150327020451/http://www.mbl.is/english/news/2015/03/26/a_tidal_wave_of_nipples_sweeps_iceland/|url-status=dead|title=A tidal wave of nipples sweeps Iceland - mbl.is|date=27 March 2015|archive-date=27 March 2015}} Teen Vogue reported that the Free the Nipple movement may have initially focused on being actually topless, but it has grown to include the idea of going braless under clothes. Women are seeking to free the nipple beneath the outer clothing they wear.{{Cite web |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/you-dont-have-to-wear-a-bra/amp |title=Why You Don't Have to Wear a Bra |date=30 November 2018 |access-date=2020-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424202311/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/you-dont-have-to-wear-a-bra/amp |archive-date=2019-04-24 |url-status=live }}

One outgrowth of the resistance to bras was the formation of No Bra Day in 2013. In 2017, the unofficial day was observed by women in 30 countries,{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} including New Zealand, Romania, Malaysia, Scotland, India, and Ghana.{{cite web|url=https://minnambalam.com/k/2016/10/15/1476469828|title=பெண்கள் மார்புக்கச்சை அணியாத தினம்!|website=மின்னம்பலம்|date=22 February 2018 |language=ms|access-date=2018-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919094331/https://minnambalam.com/k/2016/10/15/1476469828|archive-date=2018-09-19|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=NO BRA DAY JULY 9 2012 |url=https://diversityhuman.com/hollywood/Friend-Blogs/national-no-bra-day-july-2012 |website=diversityhuman.com |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919062315/https://diversityhuman.com/hollywood/Friend-Blogs/national-no-bra-day-july-2012 |archive-date=September 19, 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Ghanaians Go Braless To Celebrate World 'No Bra Day' (PHOTOS) |url=https://thelead.com.gh/2017/10/14/ghanaians-go-braless-to-celebrate-world-no-bra-dayphotos/ |website=thelead.com.gh |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919062115/https://thelead.com.gh/2017/10/14/ghanaians-go-braless-to-celebrate-world-no-bra-dayphotos/ |archive-date=September 19, 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=National No Bra Day |url=https://diversityhuman.com/hollywood/2012/07/04/no-bra-day-july-2012 |website=diversityhuman.com |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919062026/https://diversityhuman.com/hollywood/2012/07/04/no-bra-day-july-2012 |archive-date=September 19, 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://noizz.ro/connected/no-bra-day-bucurestencele-s-au-lasat-fotografiate-fara-sutien/74lp7yx|title=No Bra Day: bucureștencele s-au lăsat fotografiate fără sutien|date=October 13, 2017|language=ro|access-date=2018-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919061802/https://noizz.ro/connected/no-bra-day-bucurestencele-s-au-lasat-fotografiate-fara-sutien/74lp7yx|archive-date=September 19, 2018|url-status=dead}} More than 82,000 women posted pictures on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #nobraday.{{cite web |title=Today Is 'No Bra Day'—Here's Why People Are Pissed About It |url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19947644/no-bra-day/ |website=Women's Health |access-date=September 19, 2018 |date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919132209/https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19947644/no-bra-day/ |archive-date=2018-09-19 |url-status=live }}

Some media outlets have capitalized on the no bra phenomenon with exploitative stories. The tabloid website TMZ posted an item about "Happy No Bra Day" with an image of Selena Gomez wearing a see-through top. Another site{{which|date=January 2023}} featured a photo gallery titled "#NoBraDay: 15 Celebs Who Frolick About With Their Fun Bags Freed".{{cite web |last1=KATZ |first1=LESLIE |title='Very distasteful': Not everyone supports #NoBraDay |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/ditch-the-bra-says-controversial-nobraday/ |website=CNET |access-date=September 23, 2018 |language=en |date=October 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924033512/https://www.cnet.com/news/ditch-the-bra-says-controversial-nobraday/ |archive-date=2018-09-24 |url-status=live }}

Whether a woman wears a bra or not has progressed in some social circles{{which|date=January 2023}} from discussions about appropriate clothing to "the body shaming and sexualizing of women"{{attribution needed|date=January 2023}} and a "societal debate on the equality of men and women, as it pertains to their bodies."{{attribution needed|date=January 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-private-school-bra-dress-code-1.4691826|title=The fight to go braless: Montreal students push back against school's directive|publisher=CBC News|access-date=September 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907184627/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-private-school-bra-dress-code-1.4691826|archive-date=2018-09-07|url-status=live}}

One woman{{who|date=January 2023}} commented, "The reason is that I tried being braless, and I liked it better. It wasn't a political decision, except insofar as everything a woman does with her body that isn't letting someone else dictate what she ought to do with it is a political decision."{{attribution needed|date=January 2023}}{{cite magazine |last1=Brenhouse |first1=Hillary |title=The Joy of Not Wearing a Bra |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/the-joy-of-not-wearing-a-bra |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=15 September 2018 |date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114817/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/the-joy-of-not-wearing-a-bra |archive-date=2018-09-21 |url-status=live }}

French journalist Sabina Socol commented, "I never liked wearing bras; I always felt suffocated in them." She grew up in a household where going braless wasn't seen as sexual or taboo. "Even as a woman with breasts, I do what I want with my body. Every human has nipples. There shouldn't be any shame [in showing them], but if you want to hide them, that's okay, too, as long as the choice is yours."

In June, 2017, Sarah Starks organized a protest in Charleston, West Virginia, in response to the social expectation that women and girls must wear bras and shirts to avoid offending or arousing others. "It's sexual because people say it is", she added. A West Virginia University professor of social work commented that "if other people are made uncomfortable by it, that's cultural and that's social". Starks commented that breasts are "like this separate, sexual part of us, and if you want to be taken seriously as a woman, cover them up."{{cite web|url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/protesters-plan-to-go-braless-topless-to-break-barriers-around/article_7d97e30b-0e8e-5981-b826-12fbb9ded108.html|title=Protesters plan to go braless, topless to break barriers around breasts|first=Erin|last=Beck|date=18 June 2017 |access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507081733/https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/protesters-plan-to-go-braless-topless-to-break-barriers-around/article_7d97e30b-0e8e-5981-b826-12fbb9ded108.html|archive-date=2019-05-07|url-status=live}} The protest's purpose was to show that nipples and breasts are not sexual objects. Some of the marchers went braless, others topless, and others fully clothed.{{cite web |last1=Coyne |first1=Caity |title=Dozens go topless, braless in Charleston to normalize female bodies |url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/dozens-go-topless-braless-in-charleston-to-normalize-female-bodies/article_cb0864ee-5710-5ab6-a852-691048af1025.html |website=Charleston Gazette-Mail |date=24 June 2017 |access-date=14 September 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512044703/https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/dozens-go-topless-braless-in-charleston-to-normalize-female-bodies/article_cb0864ee-5710-5ab6-a852-691048af1025.html |archive-date=12 May 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{main|Training bras}}

In Western culture, the bra is sometimes viewed as an icon of popular culture,{{rp|192}} and purchasing a girl's first bra is seen by some as a long-awaited rite of passage into womanhood,{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXgKXNFbQNYC&pg=PA198 |chapter=Bra |title=Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1 |first1=Claudia A.|last1= Mitchell |first2=Jacqueline |last2=Reid-Walsh |pages=198–199 |publisher=Greenwood |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-313-33909-7}}{{rp|36}} signifying her coming of age. The age at which girls first wear bras is sometimes controversial.{{cite web|url=http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art48877.asp|title=The First Bra|last=DeSantis|first=Violette|access-date=12 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011000936/http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art48877.asp|archive-date=11 October 2008|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Pitts-Taylor|first=Victoria|title=Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body|url=https://archive.org/details/culturalencyclop00pitt_226|url-access=limited|year=2008|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-34146-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturalencyclop00pitt_226/page/n82 43]}} Within Western cultures that place great value upon youth, bras are marketed to women of all ages by emphasizing their ability to preserve a youthful appearance.

Young girls may begin to develop breasts as early as age 9 or as late as 18. The early stage of breast development is known as "breast budding" and is measured on the Tanner scale.{{Cite web |url=https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/breasts-bras.html |title=Breasts and Bras |access-date=2019-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727164449/https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/breasts-bras.html |archive-date=2019-07-27 |url-status=live }} Some believe that girls who are developing breasts may be self-conscious and desire a bra to conceal their emerging breasts and for psychological comfort.{{cite web|title=Developing Breast|url=http://www.buzzle.com/articles/developing-breast-stages-development-teen-girls.html|access-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623231136/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/developing-breast-stages-development-teen-girls.html|archive-date=23 June 2011|url-status=usurped}} A girl developing breasts has no physical need for support, so training bras serve only social and psychological purposes. Bras of all kinds are often designed and marketed for fashionable rather than functional purposes.{{cite web|url=http://www.quiltersofsc.org/artfullbras/artfullbras.htm |title=The Artful Bras Project |last=Baker |first=Sandra |access-date=14 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303172339/http://www.quiltersofsc.org/artfullbras/artfullbras.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2009 }} The training bra is marketed to help young girls become accustomed to wearing lingerie.{{cite web |url=http://www.love-of-lingerie.com/training-bra.html |title=Training Bra - First Bra - Teen Lingerie |publisher=LoveOfLingerie.com |access-date=July 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227101113/http://www.love-of-lingerie.com/training-bra.html |archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live }}

Critics of training bras say companies are appealing to very young girls' desire to feel more sexy and attractive.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0DxB3v0Y_HoC&pg=PA83|title=On Female Body Experience: "Throwing Like a Girl" and Other Essays|first=Iris Marion|last=Young|page=192|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=USA|date=27 January 2005|doi=10.1093/0195161920.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-516192-2|access-date=13 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060502/https://books.google.com/books?id=0DxB3v0Y_HoC&pg=PA83|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live}} The opponents believe that manufacturers market training bras as a way to sexualize young girls and indoctrinate them into thinking about their breasts as sexual objects. The critics believe that businesses benefit financially by encouraging precocious sexuality in girls and exploiting their fears about self-image and social norms.{{cite book |url=http://course1.winona.msus.edu/pjohnson/e111/e111f99/brumberg.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020328155254/http://course1.winona.msus.edu/pjohnson/e111/e111f99/brumberg.htm |isbn=978-0-679-73529-8 |page=336|title=The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls|archive-date=March 28, 2002|first=Joan Jacobs |last=Brumberg|year=1998 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}{{cite web|title=Bra Styles, Colors, and Types|url=http://www.bra-shop.com/bra-styles-types-training-bra.asp|access-date=14 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730114756/http://www.bra-shop.com/bra-styles-types-training-bra.asp|archive-date=30 July 2012}}

{{Excessive examples|date=January 2019}}

The number and variety of legal issues faced by women about whether to wear a bra or not illustrates the depth and complexity of the subject in society.

In 2013, at the same time that Vancouver police required women to remove their bra, York Regional Police were required by a judge to change this concordant ligature policy, amending it from a blanket requirement to a case-by-case assessment.{{cite web|url=https://chathamvoice.com/2016/07/28/c-k-police-amend-policy-on-undergarments/|title=C-K police amend policy on undergarments|date=28 July 2016|access-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131041158/https://chathamvoice.com/2016/07/28/c-k-police-amend-policy-on-undergarments/|archive-date=31 January 2019|url-status=live}}

In 2014 the right of prisoners to choose bralessness was affirmed in the province of Ontario, Canada.{{Cite book|last1=Parent|first1=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHdqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA288|title=Ethics and Canadian Law Enforcement|last2=Parent|first2=Catherine|date=2018-08-22|publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press|isbn=978-1-77338-073-5|language=en}}

In 2016 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, police came under criticism after it was revealed that a woman held in custody was required to remove her bra before a breathalyzer test. The police stated that they required women in custody to give up any item which could be used as "ligatures for self-harm or strangulation" – including necklaces, ties, shoelaces and bras. According to her lawyer, the woman didn't normally go braless in public and was "terrified and upset" by this requirement.{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2836294/chatham-police-reviewing-policy-after-woman-ordered-to-remove-bra-while-in-custody/|title=Police reviewing policy after Ontario woman ordered to remove bra while in custody|access-date=2018-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913113516/https://globalnews.ca/news/2836294/chatham-police-reviewing-policy-after-woman-ordered-to-remove-bra-while-in-custody/|archive-date=2018-09-13|url-status=live}}

In a similar case in Osaka during 2017, a female defendant was forbidden from wearing a bra while in custody. Although police rules allow women to request a bra for a court appearance, her request was denied. Her attorneys filed a complaint with the Osaka Bar Association, claiming that denying the woman's right to wear a bra was a "breach of human rights".{{cite news |title=Lawyers bust police for forcing woman to go braless in court：The Asahi Shimbun |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201712070045.html |access-date=14 December 2018 |work=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215122226/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201712070045.html |archive-date=2018-12-15 |url-status=live }}

Some employers continue to require women to wear bras.{{cite web |first1=Kathy |last1=Gurchiek |date=June 14, 2016 |title=Employees Dressing Too Casually? Clarify Your Dress Code |url=https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/employees-dressing-more-casually-educate-them-on-dress-code.aspx |website=Society for Human Resource Management |access-date=14 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223157/https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/employees-dressing-more-casually-educate-them-on-dress-code.aspx |archive-date=2018-12-15 |url-status=live }} Relevant laws governing workplace dress codes may enable employers to instill coverage requirements that differ between genders,{{Cite web |date=2019-06-26 |title=Can Your Boss Make You Wear A Bra To Work? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/legally-braless-at-work_l_5d110f28e4b07ae90da1b757 |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} however in New York state, human rights law prevents employers from "applying grooming or appearance standards that impose different requirements for people based on gender."

In January 2011, a German court ruled that employers can require female employees to wear bras or undershirts at work. The case involved an airport security firm defending the essentiality of bras, as part of the dress code, in order to "preserve the orderly appearance of employer-provided uniforms."{{cite news |date=13 January 2011 |title=Court orders women to wear bras and keep fingernails short at work |work=News.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/court-orders-women-to-wear-bras-and-keep-fingernails-short-at-work/news-story/c8cf91cbe3d80e481cb266f3fbdc4362 |url-status=live |access-date=19 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115174607/http://www.news.com.au/business/business-smarts/court-orders-women-to-wear-bras-and-keep-fingernails-short-at-work/story-e6frfm9r-1225987439571?from=public_rss |archive-date=2011-01-15}} The case enabled employers and companies in Germany to require their female employees to wear brassiere and to dismiss female employees who do not comply.{{Cite web |url=http://www.deferolaw.com/legalnews/dress-codes-can-you-force-female-staff-to-wear-bras-to-work/ |title=Dress Codes: Can you force female staff to wear bras to work? |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527202517/http://www.deferolaw.com/legalnews/dress-codes-can-you-force-female-staff-to-wear-bras-to-work/ |archive-date=27 May 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}

School dress codes are increasingly contested by students who resist rules that are supported by weight or gender discrimination. Bras are a focal point among students who think the codes have become too invasive.

After a bad sunburn, 17-year-old American high school student Lizzy Martinez wore a boy's loose, oversized, long-sleeve, crew-neck T-shirt without a bra to school in April 2017. Called out of class to the dean's office, Martinez was told she was in violation of the School District of Manatee County's dress code (although the district's dress code did not require females to wear a bra){{cite web |date=April 17, 2018 |title=Code of Student Conduct 2017-2018 |url=https://www.manateeschools.net/cms/lib/FL02202357/Centricity/domain/1115/documents/2017-2018_Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf |website=www.manateeschools.net |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417200314/https://www.manateeschools.net/cms/lib/FL02202357/Centricity/domain/1115/documents/2017-2018_Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf |archive-date=2018-04-17 |url-status=live }} and was causing a "distraction," stating that boys were "looking and laughing.” Notifying them of her sunburn, she was required to wear an additional shirt and due to the continued visibility of her nipples through her T-shirt was told by the dean to obtain adhesive bandages from the school's clinic in order to cover them. The American Civil Liberties Union wrote a letter to the school district protesting what they described as their discriminatory enforcement of the school's dress code.{{cite news |title=Is Your Body Appropriate to Wear to School? |first1=Hayley |last1=Krischer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/style/student-bra-nipples-school.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=17 April 2018 |access-date=15 September 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129034135/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/style/student-bra-nipples-school.html |archive-date=2018-11-29 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/womens-rights-education/its-sex-discrimination-not-my-chest-thats-disrupting|title=It's Sex Discrimination, Not My Chest, That's Disrupting Class|date=30 April 2018 |access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924074653/https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/womens-rights-education/its-sex-discrimination-not-my-chest-thats-disrupting|archive-date=2018-09-24|url-status=live}} Martinez continued to refuse to wear a bra to school, stating, "I was wearing a shirt given to me by a male friend and I'm 100 percent sure he wasn't wearing a bra the countless times he wore it to school." Martinez went on to comment on the discriminatory and victim-blaming nature of the code, stating that "If the boys in my class were so distracted, shouldn't they have been talked to and educated about the situation and not me being pulled out of class?"{{cite web |title=Student challenges dress code after dean asked her to cover nipples with Band-Aids |url=https://www.nbc4i.com/news/u-s-world/student-challenges-dress-code-after-dean-asked-her-to-cover-nipples-with-band-aids/1107161948 |website=WCMH |access-date=15 September 2018 |date=8 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502014241/http://www.nbc4i.com/news/u-s-world/student-challenges-dress-code-after-dean-asked-her-to-cover-nipples-with-band-aids/1107161948 |archive-date=2018-05-02 |url-status=live }} She organized a "bracott" two weeks later during which she encouraged female students to attend school without a bra, or to wear a shirt with a supportive message.{{cite web|url=https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article211728429.html|title=After nipple controversy, Manatee school district wants to tweak dress code|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614112832/http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/education/article211728429.html|archive-date=2018-06-14|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/womens-rights-education/its-sex-discrimination-not-my-chest-thats-disrupting |title=It's Sex Discrimination, Not My Chest, That's Disrupting Class |first1=Lizzy |last1=Martinez |date=April 30, 2018 |access-date=2018-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924074653/https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/womens-rights-education/its-sex-discrimination-not-my-chest-thats-disrupting |archive-date=2018-09-24 |url-status=live }} During the protest, about 30 female students did not wear bras, and several students marked their backpacks with adhesive bandages in the shape of an X. University of Richmond law professor Meredith Harbach, who has written about sexualization and public school dress codes,{{cite web |last1=Harbach |first1=Meredith J. |title=Sexualization, Sex Discrimination, and Public School Dress Codes |url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2275&context=law-faculty-publications |publisher=University of Richmond |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417200314/https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=2275&context=law-faculty-publications |archive-date=2018-04-17 |url-status=live }} said that the school was "foisting this notion that unrestrained breasts are sexual and likely to cause disruption and distract other students."

In Montana, senior Kaitlyn Juvik at Helena high school was reprimanded on May 25, 2016, for wearing an off-the-shoulder black top without a bra, being told that she was causing male students and staff to feel "uncomfortable". The school handbook does not require bras, but forbids students from showing a bra strap.{{cite web|url=http://www.krtv.com/story/32087887/alleged-dress-code-violation-triggers-protest-at-helena-high-school|title=Alleged dress-code violation triggers protest at Helena High School|first1=Chris|last1=Owsalt|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415232528/http://www.krtv.com/story/32087887/alleged-dress-code-violation-triggers-protest-at-helena-high-school|archive-date=2018-04-15|url-status=dead}} The principal insisted the issue was not about whether she wore a bra, but her dress that made others uncomfortable and prompted him to ask her to "cover-up". A friend of hers created a Facebook group named "No Bra, No Problem" about the issue, which quickly attracted over 1,200 members.{{cite web |title=This Girl Got in Trouble at School for Not Wearing a Bra |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/girl-trouble-school-not-wearing-bra-dress-code |website=Teen Vogue |date=7 June 2016 |access-date=18 February 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015718/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/girl-trouble-school-not-wearing-bra-dress-code |archive-date=19 February 2019 |url-status=live }} About 300 fellow students joined her in protesting her treatment by attending school on May 27 without a bra. Several male students wore bras outside their shirts to support the protest. The incident drew international attention due to the school's reaction and her protest.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/17/no-bra-day-helena-high-school-kaitlyn-juvik|title=Why I organized a 'no bra day' at my high school|first1=Kaitlyn|last1=Juvik|first2=Sam|last2=Levin|date=17 June 2016|website=The Guardian|access-date=2019-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216030901/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/17/no-bra-day-helena-high-school-kaitlyn-juvik|archive-date=2018-12-16|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/fashion/80837287/high-school-student-stages-protest-after-being-told-to-wear-a-bra|title=High school student stages protest after being told to wear a bra|website=Stuff|date=7 June 2016 |access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307174216/https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/fashion/80837287/high-school-student-stages-protest-after-being-told-to-wear-a-bra|archive-date=2019-03-07|url-status=live}} Juvik stated that the issue of women wearing or not wearing a bra is larger than whether a woman wears an article of clothing. She told People that it's about "the body shaming and sexualizing of women". "Wearing a bra is a personal choice. It's my body. Why is it anybody else's business whether I'm wearing a bra, especially when I'm covered up and dressed appropriately?"{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/students-stage-braless-protest-after-girl-punished-for-violating-school-dress-code-a7069711.html|title=Students stage braless protest after girl punished for 'violating school dress code'|website=Independent.co.uk|date=8 June 2016 |access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216201930/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/students-stage-braless-protest-after-girl-punished-for-violating-school-dress-code-a7069711.html|archive-date=2018-12-16|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.good.is/articles/no-bra-no-problem|title=After Posting The Bra-Less Outfit That Got Her In Trouble At School, A Movement Has Begun|date=28 October 2017|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216030936/https://www.good.is/articles/no-bra-no-problem|archive-date=2018-12-16|url-status=live}}

In Quebec, Canada, the Facebook group “Les Carrés Jaunes” was launched by four students at Joseph-François-Perrault High School against the “restrictive and sexist" school dress code. During March 2018 the group organised a protest which saw the students wear yellow squares on their clothing to protest this “archaic” code and demand the right to go without bras. One of the organisers, Célestine Uhde, wrote that bras can be uncomfortable. The students "launched the movement to fight the culture of rape and hypersexualization. We want the equality of men and women both in our treatment and how the world views our bodies." She said, "We as women shouldn't be put down because of our bodies."{{cite web |last1=Solé |first1=Elise |title=Teens protest school dress code for the right to go braless |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teens-protest-school-dress-code-right-go-braless-013339549.html |access-date=15 September 2018 |date=April 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914152712/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teens-protest-school-dress-code-right-go-braless-013339549.html |archive-date=2018-09-14 |url-status=live }}

Morality police are bodies within some countries that function to police and enforce strict codes of coverage and clothing. There have been reported instances of these police reprimanding women for bralessness.

In July 2019, a woman was arrested in Iran for not wearing a bra, her actions potentially “[arousing] men”.{{Cite web |title="I Got Arrested Because I Wasn't Wearing a Bra" |url=https://iranwire.com/en/features/66219 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=iranwire.com |language=en}} Within Iran the Guidance Patrol (Gasht-e Ershad) act as undercover agents who implement, enforce, and uphold state interpretations and expectations of morality, including rules of dress. Supported by Basij militia and established by the Iranian judiciary and police,{{Cite news |last=Erdbrink |first=Thomas |date=2014-05-08 |title=When Freedom Is the Right to Stay Under Wraps |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/world/middleeast/when-freedom-is-the-right-to-stay-under-wraps.html |access-date=2022-03-26 |issn=0362-4331}} the Guidance Patrol hold a primary focus on enforcing the observance of hijab, with all Iranian women (including tourists) required to uphold the coverage rules underpinned by religious conservatism. The arrested woman, Narges, was moved into a van by three women of the Guidance Patrol after they noticed her bralessness soon after she stepped out of the metro station. She claimed that due to medication utilised to treat an acute fibrocystic disease her skin and breasts had become sensitive and painful, further justifying her position in stating that, “I do not wear bras at home, at work or even at parties.” For her release, Narges was coerced into signing a pledge declaring that she would not repeat the action.

Prior to strict enforcement of the Hays Code in mid-1934, actress Carole Lombard was always braless, as was Jean Harlow.{{cite book |last1=Matzen |first1=Robert |title=Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 |date=2017 |publisher=Paladin Communications |isbn=9780998376325 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjXdDQAAQBAJ |access-date=26 March 2019 |page=171 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Clark Gable |url=http://www.emol.org/film/archives/gable/index.html |website=www.emol.org |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326015811/http://www.emol.org/film/archives/gable/index.html |archive-date=26 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Jean Harlow: Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.classicmoviefavorites.com/actresses-featured-at-classic-movie-favorites/jean-harlow/jean-harlow-biography/jean-harlow-frequently-asked-questions/ |website=Classic Movie Favorites |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326025823/https://www.classicmoviefavorites.com/actresses-featured-at-classic-movie-favorites/jean-harlow/jean-harlow-biography/jean-harlow-frequently-asked-questions/ |archive-date=26 March 2019 |url-status=live }} Many pre-code movies were characterized by sexual energy, including scenes of women obviously braless. After the code was enforced, bralessness was not shown in film again until the 1960s.Smith, Bonnie G. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EFI7tr9XK6EC The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Volume 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122235631/https://books.google.com/books?id=EFI7tr9XK6EC |date=2015-11-22 }}{{cite magazine |last1=Schrobsdorff |first1=Susanna |title=Jean Harlow - All-Time 100 Fashion Icons |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513_2110627_2110858,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=26 March 2019 |date=2 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312193012/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513_2110627_2110858,00.html |archive-date=12 March 2016 |url-status=live }}

Notable instances of women going braless in popular culture include:

• Clara Bow plays Nasa "Dynamite" Springer in the 1932 pre-code film Call Her Savage. Wearing a white blouse, she is braless in multiple scenes.{{cite web |title=Movies: TCM fest – Call Her Savage |url=http://tomvonloguenewth.blogspot.com/2012/04/tcm-fest-call-her-savage.html |access-date=25 March 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325035654/http://tomvonloguenewth.blogspot.com/2012/04/tcm-fest-call-her-savage.html |archive-date=25 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://epdf.tips/american-cinema-of-the-1930s-themes-and-variations-screen-decades-american-cultu.html |last1=Ina Rae Hark |title=Screen Decades: American Culture - American Cinema of the 1930s, Themes and Variations |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey and London |access-date=25 March 2019 |year=2007 |page=85 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325035648/https://epdf.tips/american-cinema-of-the-1930s-themes-and-variations-screen-decades-american-cultu.html |archive-date=25 March 2019 |url-status=live }}
• In April 1957, Italian actress Sophia Loren was being welcomed to Hollywood by Paramount Pictures at a dinner party at Romanoff's restaurant in Beverly Hills. American actress Jayne Mansfield was seated at a table between Loren and Clifton Webb. Braless and wearing a deeply plunging neckline, Mansfield at one point purposefully stood up and leaned forward, exposing her breasts and her left nipple.{{cite web |title=Jayne Mansfield 8x10.25 still '55 candid sitting in chair with her measurements on it, Illegal {{!}} #1863346453 |url=https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jayne-mansfield-8x10-25-55-candid-1863346453 |website=Worthpoint |access-date=26 March 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326052514/https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jayne-mansfield-8x10-25-55-candid-1863346453 |archive-date=26 March 2019 |url-status=live }} Photographer Delmar Watson captured Loren staring at Mansfield's breasts, and Joe Shere caught Loren looking side-eye at Mansfield's bust. Both pictures went viral, receiving world-wide attention.{{cite web |title=Sophia vs Jayne: The OTHER Photos Behind That Sideways Glare |url=https://www.messynessychic.com/2013/04/01/sophia-vs-jayne-the-other-photos-behind-that-sideways-glare/ |website=Messy Nessy Chic |access-date=25 March 2019 |date=1 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325044130/https://www.messynessychic.com/2013/04/01/sophia-vs-jayne-the-other-photos-behind-that-sideways-glare/ |archive-date=25 March 2019 |url-status=live }}
• The success of the television show Charlie's Angels was sometimes attributed to the scanty or provocative clothing frequently worn by the female stars. Actress Farrah Fawcett once said the TV show's success was due to what critics described as "Jiggle TV".{{cite book |last1=Dresner |first1=Lisa M.|title=The Female Investigator in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture |date=2006 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-0786426546 |page=89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDTkBQAAQBAJ |access-date=10 April 2019}} She said, "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra."{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlies-timeless-angels-women-who-transformed-television-413911.html |title=Charlie's timeless angels: Women who transformed television |work=The Independent |date=2006-08-30 |access-date=2010-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301174040/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlies-timeless-angels-women-who-transformed-television-413911.html |archive-date=2009-03-01 |url-status=live }}
• Director George Lucas required actress Carrie Fisher to forego wearing a bra during filming of Star Wars. He told her, "There's no underwear in space."{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Nigel G. |title=Why Princess Leia Went Commando in "Star Wars" |url=http://www.thegeektwins.com/2010/08/why-princess-leia-went-commando-in-star.html |website=The Geek Twins |date=16 August 2010 |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326041242/http://www.thegeektwins.com/2010/08/why-princess-leia-went-commando-in-star.html |archive-date=26 March 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Shanee |title=From hair inspired by Mexican revolutionaries to being asked to lose weight, Carrie Fisher spilled it all in her final memoir |url=https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1131120/carrie-fisher-the-princess-diarist/ |website=SheKnows |access-date=26 March 2019 |date=11 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326021127/https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1131120/carrie-fisher-the-princess-diarist/ |archive-date=26 March 2019 |url-status=live }} He later explained to her that human bodies expand in space, and that her bra might have strangled her. She replied sarcastically, "Really? Now I understand it."{{cite web |last1=Castro |first1=Adam-Troy |date=14 December 2012 |title=Why George Lucas convinced Carrie Fisher to take her bra off |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/how_george_lucas_convince |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326021138/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/how_george_lucas_convince |archive-date=26 March 2019 |access-date=26 March 2019 |website=SYFY Wire |language=en}}

• Going commando
• History of bras
• Toplessness

{{reflist|30em}}

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