Vogue UK recently released an article titled “Desperately Seeking Cleavage” that has become quite controversial.
On Nov. 2, it promoted the story in a rather questionably phrased tweet that asked, “Is The Cleavage Over?”
There has understandably been criticism following this poor choice of wording. A lot of women snapped back at this article, saying they were offended by the idea that British Vogue was claiming their bigger chests are no longer in style.
One tweeter got more than 3,000 favorites on her tweet: “I’m glad Vogue has declared the cleavage over because it gives me ample time to get rid of my boobs and get new ones from Topshop.”
Several other women and even men spoke out on how breast size is out of a woman’s control, saying it shouldn’t be treated as a piece of clothing that has gone out of style.
While I see where offense could be taken, I still can’t help but speak against these tweeters and actually understand where British Vogue was coming from.
Growing up, teenage films always illustrated the quintessential “cool girl” to have fairly large breasts that were frequently flaunted. From the exotic foreign exchange student in “American Pie” wearing a revealing camisole in every scene to Regina George from “Mean Girls” showing off a deep-V in her bunny Halloween costume.
In the film “13 Going on 30,” we even see the main character Jenna Rink stuff her bra with tissues to impress the cool kids at her 13th birthday party.
However, now we are moving away from the assumption that if you have small breasts, you aren’t a “cool” or “sexy” woman.
The article states, “Rejecting the stereotypes of gender has been brought sharply into focus, with the days of women as eye-candy, their sexuality positively smouldering rather than subtly played out, officially over.” The publication was drawing on the idea that a woman’s body parts and how she decides to reveal them don’t define her or her sexuality any longer.
People who are highly criticizing this article might think twice if they asked themselves, would a magazine created for women readers intentionally write an article that offends all woman with large breasts?
According to the underwear company Triumph’s European Bra Size Survey from 2007, around 57 percent of women in the UK wore a D-cup. If more than half of the population has a larger breast size, it wouldn’t make sense that a reputable publication is trying to shame women with large breasts. It’s not the idea that bigger breasts are distasteful or unfashionable. It’s the idea that women who wear an A-cup no longer have to feel obligated to grab the “add two cup sizes” push-up bras from Victoria’s Secret to feel better about their appearance.
Vogue draws on the idea that all breasts are unique, and how attractive a woman is is no longer is defined by how much cleavage she chooses to display. No woman should be ashamed of how large or small her chest is, and we shouldn’t feel the need to push up and together what we have in order to look like the stereotypical sexy woman that films and society have created.
apoudrie@umail.iu.edu
