Big boobs, big burdens? Three women testify: “My chest bothers me every minute of the day”

A cap K. Ines, 36, does not hide it. It is not always easy to live with his bulky breasts. “In the summer, I especially hate it,” she explains. The young woman has a sore neck every day. His posture is bad. She always leans forward. And her husband sometimes tells her, “Straighten your shoulders!” But it’s really not easy. “All my life, I’ve had complexes about my breasts,” says Ines.

“In any lingerie store, you don’t see pictures of women with very large breasts. It hurts. You immediately realize that you are not ‘the norm’ and you feel inferior. ‘Wow, what a nice set, I’ll take it’, that never happens to me on a normal shopping day. Luckily, I found a store that has nice bras. Previously, I often had to make do with just one suitable bra.”

Summer is particularly difficult for Ines: “I love wearing dresses. But even if I find a model that suits me, each time a button opens between my breasts. Every time I buy a dress, I have to take it to a designer to add an extra hook.”

“I don’t want others to see me as ‘the one with the big boobs'”
Ines

Not to mention the boobsweat. “Yes, I sweat under my breasts when it’s hot. I hate that”. “Sometimes I really feel like people are thinking ‘look at this’ when I walk past them. I don’t want others to see me as ‘the one with the big boobs’. I keep looking for nice clothes and taking care of myself. But I still would have liked to have had a few less cups”.

Ineke, 24 years old

Since puberty, Ineke has also been bothered by her chest, but she talks about it openly, because it relieves her. She even talks about it with men. “It’s especially among them that there is still a lot of ignorance,” she says.

At the age of 16, Ineke’s breasts kept getting bigger. “I was tall and narrow, but my breasts went from a D cup to a G or I cup. When my mother took me to a specialty lingerie store, the saleswoman made me realize that I was only not the right bras. She showed me five ugly bras, from which I could choose with tears in my eyes”.

“There you are, young lady, embarrassed to show your breasts, with those awful bras around your body at the saleswoman.” And to add: “During the physical education lessons at school, I changed always very fast so that no one sees my bra.”

“I asked a surgeon, but the breast reduction operation seemed really difficult, with possible complications”
Ineke

Ineke avoided dresses and other feminine clothing. “I wore baggy clothes and had become a specialist in concealing breasts. Over time, I went to school every day wearing a tight sports bra, which flattened my breasts. They seemed smaller, but at night I was in pain. With my friends, I couldn’t talk about it. They joked, ‘Give me some’. Others were talking about breast augmentation. I felt like it was better for me to shut up.”

She started considering breast reduction when she was 17. Her parents supported her in this process. “But I also thought it was scary and taboo to think about plastic surgery at that age. I questioned a surgeon, but the operation seemed really difficult, with possible complications. In adolescence, we also fear for our sex life, with these scars on the breasts.

It wasn’t until she was older and a close friend had breast reduction surgery that Ineke also took the plunge. “In hindsight, I should have done it much earlier. A whole new world opened up to me after the operation. If I hadn’t had this friend, I would never have swept away this great insecurity”.

“I always had to put myself aside”

Ineke

That’s why Ineke is sharing her story today. She wants to reach the many women who are going through the same thing. Not to encourage them to perform a breast reduction, but to tell them: “You are not alone”. And she wants the world to understand just how big a bust can be.

“Before the operation, I slowly found the right brands and shopping online gave me relief. But I always had to step aside. Shame is great and many lingerie brands pretend we don’t exist. Fortunately, feeling understood, even a little bit, makes the difference.”

Kim, 43 years old

At 16, Kim, now in her 40s, already had a C cup, so visits to lingerie stores were very embarrassing for her from an early age. “I had the choice between expensive models, white, black or flesh-colored. During this time, my girlfriends bought colorful bras from the Hunkemöller, perfect for the first steps in love. I paid five times more than them to feel confident”.

Kim: “Only one brand, Shock Absorber, has a sports bra in my size.” © DR

Even today, Kim has to put her hand in her pocket for good bras. “A support quickly costs me a hundred euros. I consider it an investment. An investment that allows me not to have back pain and to feel good about myself. Today, I have an I cup. At each fitting, the sales assistant’s advice is necessary. I’ve been going to the same lingerie store for twenty-five years. Luckily, there are now nicer options in larger sizes.”

But the situation becomes even more difficult when Kim is looking for something other than a bra. A bikini, for example. “For my sports bra too, I had to go on a crusade. Only one brand, Shock Absorber, offers one in my size. I wanted to order a second one, but they stopped their collection”.

“I can’t reach the top shelf in the supermarket without knocking something off the bottom shelf.”
Kim

“You can’t find anything larger than a size 44 or a C cup in sports stores. Aren’t women with big breasts allowed to play sports, maybe?” Kim doesn’t exist for the fashion world either. “I can’t close the buttons, or everything is so tight that my breasts are flattened. If I wear a size above, I feel like I’m wearing a potato sack. Wrap dresses don’t fit well, thin straps make my chest look even bigger. I don’t look well at all”.

Kim’s breasts limit her. “Ever tried to run to your crying child with heavy breasts? Or take the train, or shelter from the rain? I can’t reach the top shelf in the supermarket without bumping into the bottom shelf. My breasts bother me in yoga, in the car, when I carry a backpack, when I eat soup. Every minute of the day”.

And yet, Kim would never want her breasts reduced. “I have fantastic cleavage. This is my positive side. Many women would like to have the curves that I have, I am aware of that. As long as I don’t suffer physical inconveniences, I will cherish them and take care of them as best I can”.