Bare Boobs – Why I’m Furious About The Response To Adidas’ New Ad
BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER…There will be images of naked breasts in this article. If you feel seeing this would traumatise you feel free to skip on.
Yes, that’s right, today I’m talking bare boobs. Or breasts, tits, knockers, chebs or any other slang expression you might use. Sports brand Adidas has been making headlines due to its campaign advertising its new line in sports bras. However, rather than showing the bras being worn by a sportsperson or the latest celebrity, it shows a range of bare breasts. Here’s the ad in question:
Why I Love It
Besides our own, how often do we ladies really see other womens’ breasts? I don’t mean in movies or porn, because frankly, I don’t consider them particularly representative of the average woman’s bare boobs. Many have had augmentation surgery, they all belong to thin women unless it’s fetish porn, and they aren’t generally saggy, or post-mastectomy, or wrinkled. If you’re anything like me, you almost never see the average woman’s boobs.
So as with comparing our bodies to thin bodies, if we only have idealised boobs to compare ourselves to, we worry our boobs are unattractive, too big, too small, wonky, lopsided, or just plain wrong. Seeing a load of boobs at once is eye-opening! We realise that maybe, just maybe, ours are ok too. I’m all for more of this going forward.
The Internet Loses Its Shit
Naturally, for every positive comment, there are loads of complaints. Some accuse Adidas of exploiting these women, I’m sure some paperwork had to be signed, so these ladies knew what they were signing open for.
Others accused Adidas of doing it for shock value. That in itself is a problem; why should showing bare boobs be shocking? More than 50% of the world’s population has them. I’m sure if the campaign showed bare-chested men, there wouldn’t be a peep.
There are also, of course, fatphobic and judgemental comments, and I won’t even dignify those by repeating them. The body liberation movement has so far to go, and it just makes me tired.
The One That Drives Me Crazy
There is one other type of negative comment, and this one is the worst. The one that references the number of children that follow Adidas and how it may “corrupt them”, and yes, that’s a direct quote! Here’s a sample for you:
“Are you freaking kidding me with this post? You know how many kids follow you? I will never buy another product after this”
“Twitter is a public platform that’s also accessible to a lot of underaged kids, a tweet like this can corrupt someone. Do better”
Not relating to the corruption of young but here are more:
“Will you show us penises too (circumcised and uncircumcised) of different shapes and sizes for the pant/boxer set?”
Not a fair comparison, in my opinion. A penis equates to the vulva, vajayjay, lady garden, or whatever you want to call it, not bare boobs.
“Someone with a college degree thought this was a good idea? Maybe show the bras actually supporting the tits? This isn’t page three hun”
Back on topic, how, for the love of all that’s holy, does seeing naked breasts corrupt children? Why is there a narrative that women’s breasts are either seen as highly sexualised or so shameful as to be hidden at all times? Women’s breasts are completely natural and there to feed our young! They are beautiful, and they need to be normalised.
You only need to see the debate over public breastfeeding to know what a hot topic it is. I don’t understand this. Since the dawn of man, breastfeeding has been one of the most normal things in history. Further back, if you consider the animal kingdom. Why have we reached a place where breasts cannot just be breasts? A way to feed our babies and a perfectly normal part of a woman’s anatomy?
Before anyone chimes in, yes I know that there is a sexual element to breasts, but many men become sexually aroused when their nipples are sucked, and yet they can go bare-chested with impunity. Our boobs serve a purpose, men’s nipples don’t, yet they’re stigmatised? If this isn’t misogyny, I don’t know what is.
Applause
As a woman who believes strongly in equality in all things – gender, race, sexuality, religion and body type, I applaud this campaign. I don’t believe it’s shocking or exploiting women. I’ve said in. Previous articles that I believe we need to see all types of bodies and that definitely includes breasts.
What do you think? I know many of you may have strong opinions, so feel free to voice them, but please do it respectfully. We’re all grown-ups here; use your words!
