In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

It’s National Cleavage Day!

Caperton

Get out the ladies, ladies! It’s National Cleavage Day! And I, your resident humorless feminist fuddy-duddy, am here to poop all over it.

National Cleavage Day is a day to celebrate having your boobs out and pushed together. Some outlets have reported that the holiday, which launched in South Africa in 2002 as a joint effort of Wonderbra and South African Cosmopolitan, was created as a way to somehow “help those suffering from leukemia and other life-threatening blood diseases,” but news coverage of the first observance made no mention of that. Wonderbra PR consultant Anita Meiring described it as “a day for women to realise that their cleavage is something unique and that they should be proud of it.” In 2006, Wonderbra brand manager Samantha Paterson said that “it gives women a chance to be beautiful and glow in the furtive, yet appreciative, glances their cleavage evokes from men.” And this year, the Sun reported that it is “held annually to celebrate women’s independence and power in their careers and relationships.”

A quick note about cleavage and careers: In my career (though certainly not everyone’s), it has to stay covered up. My wardrobe is busting (so to speak) with camisoles for this reason. A former colleague once didn’t make it through her probationary period for, among other offenses, trying to celebrate Cleavage Day every day. Trying to exercise Cleavage Power at my job would be both inappropriate and ineffective.

A quick note about cleavage and relationships: In my relationship (though certainly not all of them), Cleavage Day can be every day. But my power in our relationship doesn’t come from my boobs. The Boy and I both like to include them in many of our activities, of course, but there’s a whole love-and-mutual-respect thing that we like to do that far outstrips (so to speak) the Power of the Cleav.

A quick note about being bustifully beautiful and glowing in the furtive, appreciative glances of men: Live it up, because they’re just going to call you a slut as soon as you don’t put out. Or worse. Foundation undergarments giveth, and foundation undergarments taketh away.

Call me a joyless prude (together: “Okay, you’re a joyless prude”) but I’m just so done with boobs. We already get it every year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, whether we’re being told to save the tatas or to post our bra colors to raise awareness of whatever. Now we have Wonderbra–a company that makes its money selling women the means to create cleavage–taking a day to impress upon us the importance of cleavage (and of course offer assistance to those sad women who have none to speak of).

Listen: If you want to flash your tits, just flash your tits. I’m serious. You don’t need my permission or the endorsement of a national holiday. Whether you want to court the male gaze or the female gaze or your own gaze, it’s not mine to tell you not to (although I might anyway). But be straight about it: You’re taking your boobs out because you want to take your boobs out. “National Cleavage Day” is actually a great, what-it-says-on-the-tin kind of name for such an occasion, although I think “National Shake What You Got Day” would be more inclusive of those with minimal to no breasts.

Just don’t try to couch it in any of this crap about power, or strength, or beauty, or–dear God–womanhood. Those things don’t come from your breasts–they are personal, not anatomical, qualities. If you feel sexier or more confident in a low-cut top, good on you, but women without breasts are no less powerful, strong, beautiful, or womanly than those with cleavage to flash.

Among my friends are women whose cleavage is difficult to corral, women whose cleavage attracts nothing but unwelcome attention, women whose cleavage is difficult to create without the use of duct tape, and women whose cleavage has been surgically removed to save their lives. If you want to celebrate women, celebrate women, and if you want to celebrate boobs, celebrate boobs. But don’t try to scramble for some noble excuse to justify an act of perfectly understandable vanity. Embrace your vanity today, and embrace your power and strength and beauty tomorrow. Or do one in the morning or the other in the afternoon, or do it on even and odd days. Just don’t get them confused and start to think that what’s in your bra is what really matters.

68 thoughts on It’s National Cleavage Day!

  1. （I’m male)

    A quick note about being bustifully beautiful and glowing in the furtive, appreciative glances of men: Live it up, because they’re just going to call you a slut as soon as you don’t put out. Or worse. Foundation undergarments giveth, and foundation undergarments taketh away.

    Actually, Im more likely to be the opposite. I don’t really want to see ANYONE walk around in their underwear. And I don’t think that people should think they have to to be appreciated.

    If you feel sexier or more confident in a low-cut top, good on you, but women without breasts are no less powerful, strong, beautiful, or womanly than those with cleavage to flash.

    To anyone lacking confidence: I prefer them smaller anyway(not to sound inappropriate or anything, but I think its a preference that’s often forgotten amid all the advertisements).

  2. Thank you for your take on this…..I think cleavage is so beautiful and feminine, but as a breast cancer survivor, I don’t have any anymore. Thank you for pointing out that we are more than our breasts. That we can still be beautiful, strong, feminine and matter. 🙂

  4. If you want to celebrate women, celebrate women, and if you want to celebrate boobs, celebrate boobs

    Now I’m singing Cat Stevens.

  5. ack, I worry about cleavage at work all the time. I don’t work somewhere with a strict dress code, but my body type is just very prone to looking inappropriate if you give it the least bit of leeway. I was OK during the winter, but now I can’t wear wool jumpers any more, it’s just stressful finding work-y outfits that don’t show cleavage. Really I would prefer something that shows absolutely not even a hint of uncovered boobage but I have to settle for just trying to minimise it. Even camis show a bit, maybe I haven’t found the right place to buy them?Just… ugh. I hate having to spend this amount of time thinking about clothes. I had never heard of National Cleavage Day till I read this post, but I hate it with a passion.

  7. I struggled through adolescence feeling like I wasn’t “female enough” because I never had to deal with hiding and/or showing off cleavage. Now, as a woman who still can’t wear bras because they don’t make a cup size small enough, I’d say celebrating cleavage as synonymous to femininity is a slap in the face to a lot of actual women.

  8. How is the first post here some dude giving his opinion on boobs?

    Isn’t that our number one concern? I could have sworn that’s, like, line one in my pamphlet, “How to Be a Modern Woman” I received when I was 14. “1. When in doubt, ask a dude!”

    Tip: My confidence is not directly proportional to what you desire. What guys think is sexy is the cause of at least as many problems as it’s the solution to.

    Caperton: Right. On.

  9. I never used to have them at all (and I mean, at all–I was almost completely flat), but the one good, lasting thing that pregnancy did to my body was give me a fantastic rack (it certainly wasn’t the giant ass or the sciatica or the peeing every time I sneeze), so these days I will go out of my way to show them off on a pretty regular basis. Seems silly to only devote one day a year to it when for me, most every day is Cleavage Day.

    But to think that my rack is what makes me a woman, or strong, or intelligent, or powerful, or any of that is just plain silly. The one has nothing to do with the other.

  10. In no way was I trying to make a decision for you.
    Certainly not saying my opinion is the only one that matters. I don’t even feel qualified to give an opinion.
    Just trying to offer something, hopefully helpful. I only brought it up because it seemed to be a concern to caperton at the end, that society views the lack of breasts as bad, and women may lack confidence because of it.

    Going to run to a corner and die of embarrassment now.

  11. The enormous amount of attention given to breast cancer always looked just too much like tits are the only part of us that matter to anyone. Women do get cancer in other parts of our bodies, but media ignore that rough fact. We’re still defined by our bras.

    I was an Itty-Bitty Titty Committee member until my thirties, when raging hormones became a blessing instead of unmitigated curse. Cleavage-friendly bras, though, have been sent to the woodstove, replaced by camis or by cotton exercise bras.

  12. Jordan S – The problem isn’t so much at society views the lack of breasts as bad as it is that society basically attaches a woman’s full value to her breasts. That means that a woman with small (or no) breasts isn’t just sexually unappealing; she’s also less of a woman or less of a person. A woman who has a mastectomy without reconstruction is pitied because she doesn’t have “woman parts” anymore. A woman with very small breasts has to put up with comparisons to a boy. Society has this certain standard of beauty that influences women’s lives in ways that go way beyond sex appeal, and small breasts don’t conform to that standard.

    While I know you meant well, your statement kind of reinforced the idea of breasts as items for a man’s enjoyment and approval, when the situation is actually society-wide and pretty complex. But I know you did mean well. Don’t die.

  13. umami – If it’s any comfort, the colleague who was let go also seemed challenged by the Tights Are Not Pants rule, so it wasn’t just the low-cut tops that caused trouble. For me, I’ve come to accept that no matter how hard I try, there might always be a little bit of a shadow at the top of my shirt or cami, and if people are being professional they won’t be looking there anyway. The thing about large breasts is that after a point, the more you cover them up, the bigger they look. I look far more put-together and less hubba-hubba in a v-neck top and a cami than in a crewneck or turtleneck. There’s something about all that uninterrupted real estate that really emphasizes the hilliness of the terrain.

  14. Appreciate that feedback caperton. I don’t have these views (of them being attached to the value of women) and don’t suffer from them, so its a bit hard for me to pick them out.

    I offered my comment from that perspective, because if a woman was suffering or had low self-confidence as a result of it, I thought it would reach better if I offered from that perspective, and provided another which they could view from.

    I was actually embarrassed my statement was misinterpreted..and I don’t usually talk about this – and I have low self confidence.

  15. I only ended up here because a friend posted a notification of the “holiday” via foursquare. If I could, my comment would simply be an oversized question mark. I think that way too much focus is given to the effort of being sexy. There actually isn’t much that is necessary for a man and woman to eventually reach such a place.

    My number one beef is that it seems like is advertised but, often discouraged to seek. I place the clothing with words across carry the same effect when someone is caught “reading”.

    *sigh*

  16. I think there’s a fine line between reading a shirt (which can be done at a glance) and just plain staring. Are you saying that if a woman wears a shirt with writing on it she is automatically giving the OK to stare?

  17. This is why I read Feministe; a different perspective. I confess I’d have fallen into the same mental trap Jordan did, and noted that “I like all kinds of boobs so don’t stress, ladies!” without thinking about how I’d feel if I was being constantly rated based on the size of my dick or some other physical attribute. Even (especially?) if I had John Holmes-level gear, I think that would get kinda tiresome within about a week. The idea of living in a society built around such a rating system is alien to me, & I never would have thought about it unless I stumbled into a discussion like this one.

    This is couched in Comedy, but it’s also scarily true->

    http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html

    I vote for Universal Nudism, Free Love, & Death to Whomever Publishes Cosmopolitan Magazine.

  18. That’s kind of a horrible way to phrase it. It makes me feel worse.

    But again, I didn’t mean it in that sense. Actually, this is probably the first discussion I’ve ever had about breasts.

    I don’t rate people on physical properties. And it absolutely annoys me when people judge me by my physical properties, which is probably how I ended up here.

    I believe the point I was trying to make could better be summed up as speaking against the stereotype of the “ideal” man and woman, and what their roles should be that have become ingrained in society.

  19. Wow, I think Amanda disagrees with me (and Dave Wong). I hafta disagree with Amanda on this one, I think she’s reading some of her own stuff into the article:

    “This is why liberal dudes were licking it up, since it was a purportedly anti-sexist piece, but it still had a soothing message that men still somehow are more than women, because they are more alive, you know. They have more desire. They really like sex, in a way that you women can never understand…This article, while well-meaning, couldn’t get past the notion that women are dull, because we don’t have those all-important sex drives to create sharpness and ambition.”

    Wow, I didn’t get that at all. Am I missing something here? I’ve read the article in question several times, and nowhere did I find this:

    “Wong means well, but he’s letting men off the hook. By making misogyny about men’s supposedly overpowering sex drive, he makes it seem primal and nearly unavoidable. After all, if nature dictates that men want it and women don’t, then there’s not much you can do about it. “

    Overpowering? No; just as omnipresent as yours. Wong’s point was, I believe, that males have been conditioned differently than females in our society and that that is a bad thing. I don’t recall reading anything about females being “asexual” “unartistic” or “unambitious”. Amanda notes this, in fact:

    “More importantly, men get to feel hornier because they’re socially supported in this.”

    This part is dead-on, though->

    “..I think misogyny is rooted in something else…it’s about the will to dominate…It’s because they feel entitled to have women in a submissive position to them.”

    Long story short, I don’t entirely agree with Amanda’s conclusions , but I highly recommend her article. Even a website about silly lists and dick jokes can be instructive if you turn a really sharp brain loose on it.
    To answer your question, Marle, about why a guy was the 1st commenter on a Feminist website: because it’s a good one.

  21. Sorry, Jordan, didn’t mean to make you feel worse 🙁 I think about breasts quite a bit, myself. I never gave much thought to misogyny until I started reading ‘sites like Pandagon and Echidne and Feministe. Now I see it’s a rather deeper subject than I first thought. Seems worth learning about, especially since the modern GOP seems determined to build a Bridge to the 16th Century.

    I still like boob pics and fart jokes, though.

  22. How about next year in honor of this holiday we rent a giant billboard that says: “Stop fetishizing breasts, you asshats”?

    Sure, it won’t work, but we could just point to the sign whenever someone comes out with yet another Amazing Product to make our breasts more socially approved or more Insightful Commentary about breasts and womanhood. It would save quite a bit of labor. And I would get to call lots of people who are asshats, “asshats.” Win=Win.

  23. It’s slightly unsurprising that a thread about boobs has turned into a discussion of men patting each other and themselves on the back for being so progressive, mansplaining to Marcotte (mind you, it’s “Amanda” but “Dave Wong”, because we feminists are all so chummy), and amazed at how “deep” misogyny is, but, you know, boob pics and fart jokes! I feel like we’re a post away from a “what about teh menz” statement. But, you know, it’s ok, because all the men here show us that the site is “a good one.” The men approve of small boobs AND this site. It’s so generous, really.

  24. @Kordo

    Overpowering? No; just as omnipresent as yours. Wong’s point was, I believe, that males have been conditioned differently than females in our society and that that is a bad thing. I don’t recall reading anything about females being “asexual” “unartistic” or “unambitious”

    Me either, tho as somebody who dosen’t approach women the whole cultural standard of men “hunting” is a tough one to shake. I gotta admit I’m often guilty of the “thinking men don’t get hit on” trope and typically have to remind myself that women DO want “it” and it’s not men that don’t get hit on, it’s ME who dosen’t

    I suppose its the same dilemma non stereotypically “beautiful” women go through.

  25. Women with big breasts are already reduced to their breasts routinely. I’m pretty flat-chested and I’ve noticed in substantive ways how it’s actually an unearned privilege, because of underlying social stereotypes that suggest the less-endowed are smarter, etc. (“Mad Men” has done some interesting stuff satirizing that stereotype.) Creating a day for people to pat themselves on the back for the piss-poor way they treat women with large breasts is just, well, ick.

  26. I’ll add that knowing that some random dude on the internets will deign to have sex with someone despite their supposedly horrible booblessness doesn’t actually do anything for my self-esteem, nor do I imagine that of any other flat-chested women. Men really need to think before they assume that simply by virtue of having a dick that gets hard, they’re handing out gold medals.

  27. Guys who want to be allies: *This* is one of those key moments of shutting up and listening, not being defensive. ‘Cause Jordan and Kordo at least have demonstrated that they don’t know nearly as much as they would like to think they do. That they aren’t aware of how obvious this is from their comments is kind of case in point.

    Here’s a tip: right now you are just getting started figuring this stuff out. This is one of the times when you will be most tempted to gravitate toward explanations and arguments which you feel are sufficiently progressive but are still comfortable and make sense to you. This is a trap because you are still wrapped up in all of the cosy expectations and assumptions that come along with having be trained that your way is innately superior already (said not as a woman, but as a white person, for one, who’s been spending a long time and is still working on unlearning white privilege). Seek out the explanations that make you *uncomfortable* and people who disagree with you. When discussing identity politics, although not every member of a marginalized group will agree with each other (and that’s okay), seriously avoid prioritizing the perspective of a member of a dominating group over that of a marginalized one. Neutrality is a sham – perspective matters. When you do feel comfortable, then use a working assumption that you are wrong and re-examine your assumptions (not because you necessarily always will be, but because it is easier to take a self-critical approach from this perspective than the alternative). Disconnect your self-esteem from this assumption or else you will only succeed in making every discussion about you and your feelings – this is the last thing that should ever happen. Learn to process your emotions on your own time within your own support system and do not require other people on the Internet to process them for you. Intentionality rarely matters – action and outcome do. Remember that every time someone argues or discusses this with you, they are spending their time and energy on you – don’t demand it and don’t waste it. None of this is easy. It was never supposed to be. If you’re committed, that’s great, but be intrinsically motivated and don’t wait for us to hand out cookies, as that really defeats the purpose.

    I am making this comment as an investment in future savings on acetaminophen for all the times I hopefully won’t be banging my head against a wall about a comment thread.

  28. Where is my pecs appreciation day? Time to go shirtless for women’s ogling pleasure, hot guys, and time to feel like shit for not measuring up, guys without great pecs and washboard abs. It’s only fair. Then you can feel powerful and appreciated just like us women.

  29. I came here expecting to read a funny and spot-on critique of Cleavage Day. And I did! Because Caperton wrote a smart and funny article. Was it revolutionary? Not really, but we all knew that going in right?

    But then these dudes come along, and their minds are blown!

    “What’s that you say? People JUDGE women? Based on their BREASTS?!”

    In all their time reading their cache of feminist websites, learning the “depths” of misogyny (and boobs), they could not fathom that society would be so harsh as to judge women on a physical characteristic!

    It’s all so confusing to Jordan, Donald B.. and Kordo. Jordan has never had a conversation about boobs before you guys!

    Donald B. is only here because of a friend on foursquare, probably didn’t read the article, but just wanted to let us know:

    Have you noticed that sometimes women are NOT covering up their cleavage, but then act all offended when he stares at their boobs?

    Donald has noticed this. Donald is concerned. Maybe we should all talk about it?

    Kordo is more advanced than the other two though. Kordo reads many feminist websites (and is probably annoying on all of them!) and he thinks this feminist stuff might be worth learning about a bit. He thinks about boobs a lot, but has only recently been starting to think about misogyny as well.

    His mind was blown by this article because it is the intersection of two things that he thinks about! Because of all his feminist reading, he knows that this is called “intersectionality”.

    Seriously though, I was not expecting this much confusion after reading the article.

  30. You know that feeling you get, right after you discover you’ve put your foot in your mouth? Yeah, me too.

    Jadey: noted. thanks 🙂

    Shuttin’ up, and listening now…

  32. Jill –

    Just don’t try to couch it in any of this crap about power, or strength, or beauty, or–dear God–womanhood. Those things don’t come from your breasts–they are personal, not anatomical, qualities. If you feel sexier or more confident in a low-cut top, good on you, but women without breasts are no less powerful, strong, beautiful, or womanly than those with cleavage to flash.

    – and redcat –

    I’d say celebrating cleavage as synonymous to femininity is a slap in the face to a lot of actual women.

    – just about summed it up.

  35. You know that feeling you get, right after you discover you’ve put your foot in your mouth? Yeah, me too.

    Jadey: noted. thanks 🙂

    Shuttin’ up, and listening now…

    Been there since post one.

  36. Is this really a thing? I guess I missed it. I would have happily gone without a belt, exposing ample back cleavage in order to spread the objectification amongst the sexes, thus diluting it by a tiny amount.

  37. I just recently started reading Feministe (where have I been!? right?) and reading the first wave of comments on this article I thought this was going to be a feminist website in the same sense that Jezebel is feminist website.

    To the guys opining on boobs: please read Jadey’s comment, then re-read it, and actually internalize it, because that advice will save you so much time! (Trust me!)

    Love this website!

    [This has been a useless comment, brought to you by Another Dude.]

    1. Firstly, it was a stupid not thought out comment, I got it.
      I have read all the posts and taken note.

      Some people cannot develop their ideas from just reading, and asking us to stop talking until we’re a perfect feminist is a bit harsh. These traps are easy to fall into, regardless of gender, and certainly not just on the topic of gender. One stupid comment doesn’t mean I, or any of the other guys (who have posted here) are the same as the rest who don’t even have an ounce of awareness. It certainly doesn’t mean we’ve never read feminist articles. I’ve been reading the articles here for a while, and doing my best to remember the things mentioned.

      In response to jadey’s comment about disconnecting our self-esteem – I don’t have any self esteem to disconnect. (as I’ve mentioned earlier). Not all guys have some inherent sense that they’re dominant, or better than women, or are “powerful”. My comment didn’t have any self esteem at all. I was simply trying to refute society’s views. Granted it was stupid. I got it. And the fact that I know it was stupid, makes me feel all the worse.

  39. I for one say make every day cleavage day. In the dull drone office atmosphere of shades of gray and recirculated air… the occasional gift of cleavage is like a kiss by a rose on the gray.

  40. I was trying to think of what would be a male equivalent of “Cleavage Day” for men, and the best I could come was “Package Day”. With slogans like, “guys, be proud of your crotch bulge!” and “Wear tight pants to show you aren’t ashamed of your ‘manhood’ — and so everyone can see (and comment on) how well endowed you are [or aren’t].”

    Guys, doesn’t this idea just sound so empowering? (I know men are already pretty empowered, relative to non-men, but who couldn’t use a bit more?)

  41. *sigh*

    Okay, I’m annoyed at myself for continuing to get into this, but I will try one last time and then I’m going to stop contributing to the derail.

    Some people cannot develop their ideas from just reading, and asking us to stop talking until we’re a perfect feminist is a bit harsh.

    No one at all said anything like this – exaggeration is not helpful. But, yes, learning from seeing what other people do (and what mistakes other people make) is invaluable. If you can only learn by making all the mistakes yourself and not vicariously, then I’m going to suggest you need to work on on the perspective-taking part of empathy. Otherwise you will keep alienating people and taking away rather than giving back to the communities you try to participate in. (Yes, *your* learning can actually come at a cost to the people around you. Keep that in mind.) In which case, we actually are better off without you.

    It was more than one stupid comment, Jordan – it was a pattern of comments all the way through the thread, including this most recent one. The fact that you do not see how this most recent comment was as problematic as your first one (if not moreso) is cause for concern and reason enough for you to take a step back.

    I don’t have any self esteem to disconnect. (as I’ve mentioned earlier). Not all guys have some inherent sense that they’re dominant, or better than women, or are “powerful”. My comment didn’t have any self esteem at all. I was simply trying to refute society’s views. Granted it was stupid. I got it. And the fact that I know it was stupid, makes me feel all the worse.

    Yes, you do have a self-esteem. Even *low* self-esteem is still part of having a sense of self-esteem. And low self-esteem is not a justification or cover for any of your actions or comments. Many of us here struggle with low self-esteem in many domains of our lives. If you want to participate as an ally who contributes to a community rather than detracts from it, then it is imperative that you be able to take criticism and correction without turning the conversation into a discussion about how it makes *you* feel, regardless of what those feelings are. (Related reading from a different context: white women’s tears.) If you’re embarrassed, that’s a good thing – emotional reactions are part of how we learn. Use it as motivation.

    Privilege isn’t about having an innate sense of being more powerful and dominant. It’s about living in a society which endows you with that (relative) social position regardless of whether you seek it or not. What is up to you is the degree to which you exploit and feel entitled to that status. But you can’t make the privilege go away just by wanting it to or becoming enlightened about it, any more than a person could make their oppression go away by wanting.

    And I’m out.

  42. Put me in the camp of women who are so heavy topped that cleavage occurs in ANY bra. I showed them off on Friday but theyve earned the right to some fresh air by the time I’ve left the office for the day. I really dont care who looks or what they think.

  43. Some people cannot develop their ideas from just reading, and asking us to stop talking until we’re a perfect feminist is a bit harsh. These traps are easy to fall into, regardless of gender, and certainly not just on the topic of gender. One stupid comment doesn’t mean I, or any of the other guys (who have posted here) are the same as the rest who don’t even have an ounce of awareness.

    That’s the thing that irks me the most. I felt you were one sentence short of asking the community to feel grateful for ‘imperfect’ contribution. Your ‘ounce of awareness’ entitles you to feel superior to the other grobian, unenlightened men out there. It should never come down to ‘cut me some slack, I’m not as bad as X’. That pretty much sums up your interaction with feminism, based on what you’ve displayed here. You get a personal sense of satisfaction from being aware of some issues, it helps you project yourself on a high moral pedestal and not part of the oppressing class and you pretty much made it clear in this last comment! Jadey summed it up very well in hir last paragraph. As long you persevere in this it will forever hinder your actual understanding of privilege and oppression.

  45. I believe that since chest cleavage got its own day, it’s only fair that butt cleavage should have the same honor. April 3, y’all: National Coin Slot Day.

  46. I believe that since chest cleavage got its own day, it’s only fair that butt cleavage should have the same honor. April 3, y’all: National Coin Slot Day.

    *removes belt*

    *prepares for shiny windfall*

  47. lol “National Coin Slot Day”
    Although the postings on this topic have addressed the absurdity of National Cleavage Day fairly well, I feel like this subject cannot truly be exhausted. At least not until something finally clicks in society and women are no longer reduced to specific parts of their bodies.
    That being said, this objectification is permeating through the generations at an alarming rate.
    There are padded bras and swimsuits in stores like Target, Wal-Mart, and Abercrombie and Fitch that are tailored for young girls.
    And I mean young like in the second grade.
    I don’t know about you all, but I didn’t start wearing a bra until I entered middle school.
    Why?
    Because I was a little girl! I didn’t have to!
    Encouraging little children to modify the appearance of their bodies because they aren’t “good enough” is sick. Girls have the rest of their lives to suffer from low self esteem and compare their bodies to others. Why start the process any earlier?
    Also, who are we trying to please here? At that age other children couldn’t care less what little girls look like. So who are the push up bras for? Pedophiles?
    Anyway I’m getting on a rant here. I just wanted to say that I think this “National Cleavage Day” is celebrating how far we have digressed as a society. Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.
    (an article about push up swim suits geared toward 7 year old girls: http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=598093#.T3nX3lvLljs)

  48. Men really need to think before they assume that simply by virtue of having a dick that gets hard, they’re handing out gold medals.

    Hear, hear!

    I was simply trying to refute society’s views.

    There are more than two choices most places in life; you don’t negate the first by buying into the second.

  49. Woah, Emily… that’s beyond even some of the stuff my wife and I have noticed and diapproved of (like, say, the whole trend of writing across the butt of pants for little girls. To me, that’s on the same spectrum. Why are you looking at some little girl’s butt?). Ick.

    As for National Tits or GTFO day, what needed to be said has been said by others more qualified than I. 🙂

  51. I might have a different perspective on this since I went to a symphony over the weekend where a gorgeous violinist with impeccable cleavage did a wonderful rendition of Mendelssohn’s Concerto. Let’s just say that when she bowed at the end, it added an extra little thrill to the experience.

  52. “If you want to celebrate women, celebrate women, and if you want to celebrate boobs, celebrate boobs. But don’t try to scramble for some noble excuse to justify an act of perfectly understandable vanity.”

    Win. And ditto for “National Coin Slot Day.”

  53. Bitter Scribe — how is “I enjoy looking at breasts!” a “different perspective on this”?

  54. flightless – What I meant was, going to that particular concert gave me a slightly different perspective. Or reinforced a latent one, maybe.

  55. I don’t have any self esteem

    Jordan, maybe if you worked on gaining some self-esteem, you wouldn’t need to post kinda obnoxious and defensive comments when people give you helpful feedback and/or make fun of obtuse things you say. Just some food for thought.

  56. Yeah, April 3! Getting my coin slot ready for proud display!

    Bitter Scribe, why did you feel compelled to be such a douchenozzle?

  57. And btw, I’m interested in knowing exactly what defines an “impeccable” cleavage, as opposed to those that are less perfect.

    Tell us, oh Great Scribe.

  59. But so then, Bitter Scribe, what *was* your new perspective? “I used to be against National Cleavage Day until I saw these great breasts on this one woman”? Or was it a more general “let’s sex up the violin industry” kind of stance? Because the only perspective you actually described in your comment was the looking-down-someone’s-shirt perspective.

  60. flightless:

    Bitter Scribe might have been saying “I used to think cleavage was not okay, but cleavage and a concert has upgraded my opinion!”.  It’s hard to say, as it’s nearly indistinguishable from any given dude’s ogling.

  61. What I meant was, going to that particular concert gave me a slightly different perspective. Or reinforced a latent one, maybe.

    Is your explanation of this perspective caught in moderation?

  62. Pingback: National Cleavage Day! « thefeministblogproject

  63. I’m not a fan of Cleavage Day myself, but I’m really bothered by the idea that not covering your chest can only equal vanity. I’m supposed to be ashamed of the fact that I have breasts? By this logic, burkas have to be the ultimate feminist statement. Bodily shame=liberation? I’m not seeing how.

    I’m as flat as a board, and even I have cleavage when I wear camisoles on a hot day. But I’m not entitled to wear them without being judged as vain? And slut shamed, as I am here. (It’s okay to show your boobs to a single significant other. I have permission! Showing more than one person=ripe for judgment.)

    I’m sorry I’ve gone to the snippy side here, but this is not the first of Caperton’s posts to equate lack of bodily shame with vanity. I really don’t think dudes are judged this way for taking their shirts off.

  64. First, I have to argue with the implication that vanity is a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, whether it’s putting together an outfit you’re proud of, showing off a body you’re proud of, or, in fact, pushing out some cleavage for the enjoyment of others and/or yourself. I think it’s important to be able to take pride in some of your more fundamental aspects as well, but if you’re also proud of some of the physical aspects, that’s fantastic. I said it in the post: No one needs my approval to show cleavage for any reason or motivation. I actually wish more women could feel comfortable feeling sexy or naughty without waiting for a group effort in the name of breast cancer awareness.

    I just don’t like the implication that a) we have to connect our relative nakedness to some noble cause in order for it to be okay, or b) there is some kind of inherent connection between cleavage and strength or womanhood. When, of a Friday night, I’m out in a low-cut top (I don’t generally show cleavage, because the girls don’t really cleave, but I’ll flash as much inner-sideboob as I feel comfortable with), I want to be free to make the statement “I’m flashing sternum because I like the way I look in a low-cut top” without having to drag Woman Power or breast cancer into it.

    I also have to argue with the implication that vanity is the only reason one might bare some skin. Living in Alabama, where it hit 89 in February, I am inclined to cover myself with only as much fabric as is required by law. There, my statement is, “It’s 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity, and you can pry my tank top out of my room-temperature dead hand.”

  66. Yeah, I’m full agreement once you’ve elaborated. Vanity and self-acceptance are roughly the same thing. And my reaction to Cleavage Day is no different. All I have to add is that a soft summer breeze close to the more sensitive parts of your body is another lovely reason to minimize clothing. I think those sheer physical delights are something to be embraced, also!

  67. All I have to add is that a soft summer breeze close to the more sensitive parts of your body is another lovely reason to minimize clothing. I think those sheer physical delights are something to be embraced, also!

    QFT. The Boy is a devoted kilt-wearer, and it was actually he (him?) who introduced me to the joys of a short skirt on a breezy day.

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