Reasons You Should Totally Burn Your Bras

Plenty of women have love-hate relationships with their bras. The straps can dig into your skin. If you're small-chested, a bra can seem a bit unnecessary, since it more or less serves as a piece of non-functional lingerie worn during sexy time. If you are well-endowed, it's often hard to find an over-the-shoulder boulder holder that is both sexy and supportive. A bra may seem like a necessary evil that helps you keep your shape while defying gravity.

I'm not a bra hater. As someone who wears a double D cup, I rely on my bra. I see and feel a noticeable difference when mine comes off before bed or if I try and run down the steps after I've removed it. (Wait, are my boobs supposed to feel hot if I run, even a short distance, without a bra?) However, I completely understand that there are lots of cultural and physical reasons why you should burn your bra if you're not having any sort of love affair with it. These reasons are certainly even tempting enough for a busty girl such as myself to consider going bra-less for a week to see how I fare.

Screw bras! Who needs 'em? And while you're at it, screw the corporate machine and its bra-making companies. Ditch your bra if you want to be a legit rebel and a feminist. If you refuse to be constrained by a bra or to be forced to wear one because society and the entities that profit from your purchase of their product have decided that you need to, then by all means, get rid of it. Go bra-free. Let the girls swing in the wind. Emancipate your breasts from the tyranny of the patriarchy and capitalism.

There is something insanely and innately sexy about going bra-less, with your breasts unrestrained by straps and fabric. If you go bra-free in a loose tee, it's a tease. You can show a little, a lot, or just enough. Maybe a little nipple can poke through, since headlights can be sexy, too. Getting dressed without a bra also requires an incredible amount of self-confidence, and nothing is sexier than that.

Without the right fit, shape, silhouette, and support, a bra can be extremely uncomfortable... until you get used to it. But why should you have to put up with it until it's no longer a nuisance? If you don't like how a bra makes your body or your breasts feel, from the straps digging into your shoulder or into your back skin to how they restrict your lady lumps, then don't wear it. If there is no appreciable benefit, no difference in support levels, and no reduction in something like back pain upon ditching your bra, then why bother with the expense, the pain, and the utter lack of need in the first place?

A few years ago, a French study suggested that the "breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity" on the medical, physiological, or anatomical levels. The research indicated that women who didn't wear or rely on bras enjoyed more long-term bodily advantages. These women were able to develop strong muscle tissue, which provides natural support to the breast, as opposed to the bra's artificial lift. Bras were also said to prevent this tissue from growing. So rather than prevent sagging, bras apparently accelerate the drooping process; essentially, bras make boob muscles lazy. That said, the study was not indicative of all women, especially those who were bigger-breasted. So consider that if you decide to go au naturel.

Breaking up with your bra can be the ultimate act of self love. If you respect and cherish your body "as is," you can cease to wear a bra, since it is designed to change your body. Refusing to wear a bra is another way to say, "I am no longer accepting outdated cultural and societal norms that have been imposed on my body." Let the world know you love yourself as you are.

When it's hot, you want to wear as little clothing as possible without giving the authorities a reason to arrest you. In this case, a bra is another layer of clothes and it's the one that is closest your skin. Therefore, it both causes and soaks up sweat. Boob sweat is never, ever attractive. With boob sweat comes boob zits, since the bra can trap the dirt and oil. Gross!

A too-tight bra can cause things like headaches or poor digestion. An ill-fitting bra can also lead to poor posture, due to the way it fosters a lack of balance. Wearing a bra can cause a whole host of physical problems that you probably never even thought of. You have the option to get rid of it for a better, healthier, and more improved you, inside and out.