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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Let's Talk About Boobs

Breasts, boobs, mammary glands, whatever you call them — they’re the two things every woman is stuck with.

They’re the ultimate frenemies. They draw unwanted stares and cause backaches. They get squashed into elastic and wire bastions of satin and lace to shut them up. Yet hours later, there they are, front and center, giving that extra boost of confidence that comes standard with any V-neck top.

Breasts, boobs, mammary glands, whatever you call them — they’re the two things every woman is stuck with. And like snowflakes, no two boobs — or relationship with the woman to whom they’re attached — are quite the same. 

As women grow older they realize just how crucial this relationship can be.

“A woman’s relationship with her breasts can be influenced by anything she sees, from commercials to her boyfriend’s porn,” says Jennifer Maher, senior lecturer in gender studies. Maher says if a woman has a positive relationship with her breasts it can help build self-confidence.

From powerful to content, three IU women share their thoughts on their most intimate relationship to date.

Kala Bradford, sophomore, 32C

Describe your relationship: My power source

Her ideal size: 36C

Less than a year ago, Bradford wore a 38C.

After months of cardio and weight resistance training, Bradford is 30 pounds lighter—and several bra sizes smaller.

Because Bradford says she has always looked to her breasts as a source of confidence it has been a challenge to adjust to her new, smaller figure. 

“If your boobs look jacked up you’re not going to feel good,” says Bradford. “If they look good, your confidence rises tenfold.”

Bradford says the change made her feel, in a way, a little bit less feminine. “I’m dumbfounded by the difference in the way I looked in pictures from a year ago,” says Bradford. “When something that drastic happens with your body you don’t realize until it happens that you didn’t want to change.”

Mimi Zakem, freshman, 32C

Describe your relationship: Enjoyable

Her ideal size: 32C

“It was all us girls at camp who decided together that I was going to have barrels one day. We joked because I was so flat at the time, but we knew one day I was going to just pop out some barrels.”

Zakem says she was on the smaller side throughout most of high school until her junior year. “I would say I was decently excited about my boobs growing, but at the same time a part of me continued to think it didn’t really matter.”

Alyssa Heilman, sophomore, 32A

Describe your relationship: Content

Her ideal size: A or B

Despite being on the smaller side, Heilman says her breasts give her the freedom to do lots of things more well-endowed women struggle with.

“I wouldn’t change them. I get to wear cute low-cut shirts without looking slutty (and) work out comfortably.”

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