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Photo of Kelly Bourdet
NOV 1, 2014 4:30
PMKELLY BOURDET

It�s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Refinery29 is doing its part by bringing the world un-retouched examples of real women�s breasts. Because while society may have a complicated relationship with the female anatomy � as evidenced by debates about everything from birth control to breastfeeding � the most important relationship is the one a woman has with her own body. What everyone else thinks is (or at least ought to be) irrelevant.

Which is why, in the age of Photoshop and impossible beauty standards, it�s great to see honest pictures of women and read their thoughts about their bodies. And Refinery29�s series, which features 25 photos of real women�s breasts, definitely fits the bill. But this isn�t just about the images, though seeing unfiltered pictures of women of all ages and sizes is both refreshing and inspiring. It�s about the stories that go with them. Each photo is accompanied by a brief passage as the woman photographed talks about how she feels about her breasts. And as one might expect, every story � and every relationship � is different.

Some of the women have big boobs, some don�t. Some wear bras, some don�t. Some have had breast augmentation surgery, some haven�t. Some have had mastectomies after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Some have lost loved ones to breast cancer. Each woman has her own feelings about her breasts, and reading them is touching and illuminating.


"I�m a short girl, so sometimes my big breasts threaten to overwhelm me. In fact, a lot of women in
my family � including my sister � have gotten breast reductions, so I've considered it. I might go
through with it someday, but I want to have kids and breastfeed them first. I also like a more natural
look. I think they�re shaped really well and they�re really firm for how big they are. I went through
puberty super early; I was already a D-cup by the fourth grade. I developed before all the other girls
in my class, and middle-school boys were really mean about it. They would grab [my breasts]. They don�t
realize that it's wrong because they�re so young. [My breasts] are definitely a focal point and have been
my whole life. Now, I've realized that they're just part of my body � I'm a curvy girl � so I really had to
embrace them."

We live in a world that makes a big deal about women�s breasts, meaning people are bound to have some complicated feelings about them. Somehow, our culture has managed to take a perfectly normal body part intended to provide nourishment for newborns, and make it hyper-sexualized and taboo, all at the same time� which is why it�s so great to have a photo series like this. If nothing else, it�s always nice to remind ourselves that we�re not alone in figuring out how we feel about our particular size and shape of boobs.

So this Breast Cancer Awareness Month, give your own boobs a little TLC � and check out these honest examples of photos of real breasts and real women talking about them.

Discussions around breasts are rarely controversy-free. To breastfeed, or not to breastfeed? That is one question. Others include: #Freethenipple, or no? Should women revel in the attention and free drinks that a low-cut top can bring, or should they practice modesty and cover up? What about breast augmentation, currently the second most common plastic surgery performed in the U.S.? Most women think about all of these questions at some point in their lives. And, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to explore the complex relationship women have with their breasts.

We so often compartmentalize our public coverage of breasts into discrete narratives: breasts as sexual, breasts as nurturing, breasts as the origin of cancer. But, the reality is that women experience the interplay between these narratives (alongside breasts' many other roles and stories) every day. Our breasts can be supremely sexually pleasurable; they can be a source of anxiety about "measuring up" to cultural expectations. They can be beautiful; they can be a source of illness and pain. Each woman's breasts � and each woman's story � are uniquely her own.

So, we bring you 25 women and their personal relationships with their breasts: difficult and celebratory, in sickness and in health.


"Almost everyone calls me the 'President of the itty bitty titty club." I don't think of my breasts as
sexual because they're not the size I would like them to be. I also hardly ever wear bras, and I can
wear cute [low-cut] tops without showing cleavage at all since...my breasts are so small."