Why I Don’t Wear a Bra

In our modern double-standard society of the sexualization of women’s breasts, pressuring societal expectations, and championing cries of “Free the Nipple,” it comes as no surprise that some women may feel reluctant to abandon the discomfort of bras.
Its my hope that my experience can give you the inspiration, assurance and confidence to explore and try this alternative way of living too.
I haven’t worn a traditional underwire bra in over a year and I can’t tell you enough how proud and happy of my decision I am. I was first intrigued to try going bra- free for the same reason I explore anything “radical in my life.”
I wanted to try something new, challenge myself and see what I would learn.
This pursuit would fall under similar ventures as trying no make-up, juice cleanses, discontinuing shaving and no longer wearing nail polish.
I have radically changed my lifestyle in terms of health, cleaning products, body hair removal, what I am consuming, where I live and things I do on a regular basis, so going bra free was another opportunity to explore what works best for me.
From middle school to my early years of college, I wore push up bras. For you who are not familiar, push up bras have a lot of extra padding and push your breasts up creating the illusion of larger breasts. As a smaller, petite person with smaller breasts, I felt pressured to wear push up bras to look and feel attractive. And that’s something I was lead to believe through my conditioning.
Perhaps you can relate and have felt as if your boobs needed to be different to be perfect. Well let me tell you, your boobs are perfect because they are natural… natural on your body.
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes and we should strive to celebrate our aesthetic diversity, including breast size and shape.
You don’t need to change your chest in any way. I’m grateful I know this now, even if I didn’t know it then. During college, I started to realize how uncomfortable these bras were, and with an increase in exercise I started wearing sports bras more and more. The difference in comfort was so apparent! And not wearing a bra to bed was even MORE comfortable.
I was truly given the assurance I needed when I met my friend Erin a year and a half ago. Erin didn’t wear bras and made a video sharing of her experience. In it she spoke to the constant discomfort she felt wearing bras and the questions that had arisen for her regarding conforming to society’s expectations in the face of obvious decrease in value of life. It was her video that gave me the inspiration to try it out and see how it felt.
She’s fairly petite like I am and doesn’t have large boobs, which many people will say is the only body type able to try going bra free. Many women with larger breasts have told me that its not possible for them to go braless and that they’re concerned about being in pain when exercising. This is completely understandable. Even as a smaller bust woman, I find more comfort in wearing a sports bra for support while I’m working out. So I can only imagine this is that much more true for women with larger breasts.
Perhaps there are also shirts you like to wear a bra with. I hope this does not leave you feeling limited in exploring the comfort of going bra-free all other times. Maybe you want to go bra-free only when you’re in the comfort of your home as a start. Go for it! Though I’d also encourage you to explore the more comfortable alternatives to a traditional padded or underwire bra, such as bralettes or bandeaus.
The topic of going bra-less often conquers the “controversial” issue of nipples showing. If there’s one take-away from this discussion, I’d beg for you to consider, is to challenge this conventional norm. While its socially acceptable in most places for men to be shirtless, women are shunned for allowing their nipples to be visible under their clothes.
Question these expectations and instead ask yourself…
Why does this expectation of “modesty” exists?
Do you want your nipples showing?
Does it seem inappropriate? Why?
Is it disgusting or weird?
What if our nipples get hard?
Do we shun away?
Is it okay to look?
Women’s nipples should not be sexualized the way that they are. Men have nipples. Are they expected to hide and cover them the way women do? I know there might be discomfort in addressing the subject, but you need to get over that, because nipples are NATURAL. Just as fingers and armpits are natural! You should not have to hide or feel embarrassed over what is natural. Be proud of it instead. Be proud of the shape of your breast, the amount that they show in a shirt, or don’t show!
Be proud of your body.
Challenge the norms.
When it comes down to it, this “experiment” helped me understand that I don’t see how wearing a bra benefits me in any way. If this resonates with you, maybe you want to give it a try too!
~ Gravitate towards and embrace comfort. Deny and reject anything that compromises your quality of life ~
Mahalo,
Alyse
Wow! This is so amazing Alyse. Your posts are getting so inspiring and I have always been self conscious of my breasts because they are uneven or not as small as other females, but you have now taught me to bend the norms and that if someone has a problem with my decisions then they can kick rocks! <3
This is so beautiful and powerful and so are you! 🙂
This is so beautiful and powerful and so are you!
I absolutely love this article! I wear bra’s and I think they are uncomfortable, I actually avoid them as much as possible. I Just started going vegan about 2 weeks ago and I’ve been watching your youtube channel for months and I love it. You have inspired me sooo much, and I do believe when I get into the right shape for my body I will feel more comfortable going bra-less, because right now I have very low self esteem. But the further I go into watching your videos. It makes me want to try new things and learn more, so thank you!
Have you ever tried sports bras?
Thanks for this article…. I’m now bra free… I don’t have small breasts, but have always found that ‘end of the day’ feeling the most comfortable… So about nine moths ago went bra free. If I need extra cover will wear a camisole.. it’s actually given me more self esteem and the motivation to get into shape…. brilliant article so thank you for making me feel’ normal’
It’s great you don’t feel the need to wear a bra. Bra with underwire can be comfortable though. I wonder if you’ve tried bras in bands size 26 or 28. I am 5ft7 and have a similar built. since I started wearing band size 30 I feel very comfortable. You probably bed a very small band size because you’re petite. “Professional” fitters will almost never say this, as shoes usually don’t sell sizes <32. If you ever feel like going back to wearing a bra, is recommend Reddit abrathatfits and the website database for finding your true size
I want to be inspired by this but I feel that it’s much easier to go bra free and be comfortable when you have small breasts. My breasts are large and saggy and I absolutely have to wear a bra if I want to leave the house. Personally I think part of self-care and challenging yourself might be getting the breast reduction that takes away back pain and gives you your confidence back. For myself, I’d much rather get a breast reduction and ease my back pain and maybe I’ll go bra free then.
As a high school student of a very large school, it is hard for me to step out of the norm and go bra-less. I am small and petite too, with small breasts as well. This is one of the reasons i don’t go bra-less though. I have ditched underwire and super padded bras as they made me feel unnatural and like i was trying to be someone i’m not. Today in society though, breasts are sexualized a ton and i feel that i would be more uncomfortable then without one. This is definitely going to be a challenge i will try to take on, and try to fight the fears of being judged by others. Thank you for sharing your story and experience! Much love.
I’m so happy you wrote this article. I for one, know the struggles of an oversized chest, and i even had a breast reduction done at 16. My advice, is go braless. It strengthens the muscles which support the ladies, and even though you may feel like your huge boobs are holding you back, physically or mentally, please try and challenge yourself before making a permanent decision. There are times I miss them and wish I could’ve persisted in loving my body the way it was given to me. With that being said, my small boobs brought me a lot of happiness and relief, and I try to go without a bra as much as I’m comfortable with. Much love (:
I’ve not worn a traditional bra in almost 3 years and I love it! On days where I feel like I need the support or I am wearing a shirt that I feel requires me to wear one or might be a liiiiitle see though, I just through on a comfy, cute bralette! I will admit I am smaller chested, but don’t be discouraged if you have bigger breasts! There are many places you can be bra free even if you don’t feel comfortable that way in public. Just do you and try not to worry about what others think, it’s not their body or their comfort level to worry about. 🙂
I wear c/d cups and I’ve been wanting to go completely braless for awhile. I had been wearing the t shirt bras without under wire. Since I broke my wrist and it’s hard to even put on a sports bra, I haven’t been wearing one at all!. It felt uncomfortable at first because my boobs were noticeable. But now I LOVE it. The only thing I miss is the extra pocket haha
Love this post! I’ve been wearing sports bras for years, and as of 2 years ago I go braless as much as I can! Where I’m from, southern Ontario, Canada, it is not illegal for women to be topless where men are allowed. I’ve been topless on many occasions, mostly by pools, lakes, beaches and boats. There’s nothing more freeing than being your natural YOU! I’m a perky 36D, and I’m proud to just be me!! Let them stare or talk, I am who I am and I don’t define myself by how others see me. It wasn’t always this easy for me, I suffer from body dysmorphia, but I’m learning to live in the now, be happy with who I am and know that I’m beautiful, strong and brave!!
I’ve only been wearing sports bras the last six years, regular bras are so uncomfortable! I still only would rather wear sports bras then be bra less but things change ?
Thanks for this article, being yourself and sharing your journey with us!
You encourage me and remember me everyday again to live my life the fullest and be proud of myself. I was long told that my body was inadequate and I should try to lose weight to fix it and that I should hide my imperfections. That led to self harm and years of war with my own body.
My healing process started with going vegan a few years ago and it’s still getting better and better since, especially through articles like yours. Thank you very much! (:
I really want to go braless but at the moment I still lack the courage but I hope that someday I’ll love my body enough to take this step.
Great confirmation for me, gracias! I’ve been trying to go bra-free as much as possible for years. I am a petite gal that doesn’t NEED one so why should i put up with the discomfort of the horrible encumbrance!? But for society. I am a teacher, so i do wear them when clothing can’t cover up enough. A shame we can’t be free like men are to show – or god forbid – bear “nipples”! I