It should probably be ‘Bras Continued’, but I like the way ‘Revisited’ sits in my head.

My eldest daughter is nudging into teenage-hood and all those things that that entails.  We ventured out to find her some ‘not really’ bras for this transitional time.  It was a relatively pain-free experience.  We found something suitable.  What caused my brain to stutter a bit was the selection of the next step up from the ‘not quite’ bras.  All of them had their own boobs.  The ones that didn’t have underwire, had lace.  I pondered what we are communicating to our daughters?  What are these training bras training them for?  Are they being trained to deal with the discomfort, like a corset?  Are we training them to base their self worth and sexual identity by their breast size?  It is not who you are but how you fill out a t-shirt that matters?  We, as a culture have shown concern about our children’s self esteem and identity and have targetted areas of concern: internet content, bullying, cultural expectations, etc.  It is important to look closely at these larger influences, but I wonder about the subliminal messages that slip through the very large cracks of what children experience and draw influence from: television programs, advertisements, social media, clothing styles, toys, games, bras that have boobs for them…