This is wonderful! Write more! I remember when the popular girls at school started wearing bras. I could see the outline of the strap beneath their shirts and I desperately wanted one - needed one - but my mother didn't seem to notice and I couldn't bring myself to ask. Finally, one day when I was wearing a white blouse, she said I needed a bra and we went shopping. I was thrilled. Little did I know that not too much later I would develop large breasts and do anything in my power to minimize them!
Hi Barbara. I’m 74 & got my 1st training bra at Anna Globus Hill, where lots of Jewish girls got their 1st bras. I hated the embarrassing measuring exercise too! But I really wanted that bra! I also remember stuffing Kleenex in my undershirt & I’m sure I looked weird! Naomi Lapin
Barbara, thank you for sharing this piece. My mother’s experience was incredibly similar…when you wrote, “…so that I don’t enter a room leading with my boobs” I can hear her chanting with you. She was forever weighed down by them, until she decided to have them reduced. Something younger me couldn’t understand, because she always championed self love. I didn’t inherit the balloons though (which I am grateful for every day), so I couldn’t fully comprehend her experience, but older me sees the self-love in her decision. She died suddenly about 7 months after the surgery. I think she loved every moment she had with her new boobs, and perhaps it was one of the important details she needed to check off her list before her grand departure. ❤️
A beautiful piece! You speak for many of us!
This is wonderful! Write more! I remember when the popular girls at school started wearing bras. I could see the outline of the strap beneath their shirts and I desperately wanted one - needed one - but my mother didn't seem to notice and I couldn't bring myself to ask. Finally, one day when I was wearing a white blouse, she said I needed a bra and we went shopping. I was thrilled. Little did I know that not too much later I would develop large breasts and do anything in my power to minimize them!
Brought back memories.
On another note, I cycled the South shore starting from White Point Beach Resort and ending in Chester. Stayed a few days in Lunenburg. Lovely place.
Thanks for the memories. Mammaries?
Great piece ., sitting here in Tuscany with the cousin !! Brought back so many memories .
Congrats Barbie for harnessing that courage within to write "Breasts of Burden".
A new career awaits; you are a gifted writer.
Esther Simpson
Hi Barbara. I’m 74 & got my 1st training bra at Anna Globus Hill, where lots of Jewish girls got their 1st bras. I hated the embarrassing measuring exercise too! But I really wanted that bra! I also remember stuffing Kleenex in my undershirt & I’m sure I looked weird! Naomi Lapin
Hi Naomi,
My mother went there exclusively for all her bras until she moved to Nova Scotia in 1967. Glad the piece sparked some memories.
You’re a terrific writer, Barbara!
You are too kind! Thanks.
Hilarious and so true. Don’t stop writing. You are gifted.
Barbara, thank you for sharing this piece. My mother’s experience was incredibly similar…when you wrote, “…so that I don’t enter a room leading with my boobs” I can hear her chanting with you. She was forever weighed down by them, until she decided to have them reduced. Something younger me couldn’t understand, because she always championed self love. I didn’t inherit the balloons though (which I am grateful for every day), so I couldn’t fully comprehend her experience, but older me sees the self-love in her decision. She died suddenly about 7 months after the surgery. I think she loved every moment she had with her new boobs, and perhaps it was one of the important details she needed to check off her list before her grand departure. ❤️
Hi Savannah,
I’m glad you enjoyed this piece and most of all I’m happy that it brought back both memories and insight into your mother’s experience.