Jamie Reidy comments on the results of a new British brasier study.
“The study consisted of 60 videos of female participants aged 20 to 55, filmed in everyday interactions. Some of the women were wearing push-up bras while others donned the everyday bra. Not surprisingly, women who had that extra lift smiled more — at least 73 per cent more — than women wearing the everyday bra.”
The ladies in the super bras also reported getting faster service from valet parkers, doormen, and bartenders. (And lawyers, doctors, Congressmen…)
Unmentioned in the study: Men in the presence of women wearing push-up bras also smiled 73% more often.
Did you notice that the person leading the study, Professor Geoff Beattie, is a guy? Talk about an upside to being inside academia.
Professor Beattie hopes these results will convince women considering breast implants to simply buy the super bras, instead. I hope he’s right.
Do you agree with him?
Photo by: angel with horns
I’m 6’1” and my wife is 4’11” and she’s big on top and I like it that way. More then a mouthful is not a waste. She’s talked about breast reduction years ago and it wouldn’t bother me in the least. I’m more of a leg man ….very happy stacked heals came back. 38 years later, she still has GREAT legs. I fell in love with the women, not her looks. 🙂
Blarg. I know this is a dumb study or whatever, but it still frustrates me. I totally believe that women are more confident with push-up bras, because our most important asset as women is our looks. Being sexy is how we get people to pay attention to us and it is the standard by which women are valued primarily. That being said, I do love my push-up bras. It definitely doesn’t make me smile more. High heels though, normally make me more confident, or at least more assertive. I can tower over people or at least see eye-to-eye with some… Read more »
1.)I can tell an implant from a mile away. Yeah, I’m married but that doesn’t mean I’m dead. 2.) More than a mouthful is a waste. 3.) I wish women wouldn’t fall for this bigger boob thing to feel good about themselves. 4.) More important than big boobs, I like some meat on the bones … skinny women, don’t look healthy to me. Never met a “skinny” flesh and bones women that knows how to cook.
Oh. My. God! Tom we agree on something! Well…except for number 2 (though much more than a mouthful is a bit of a waste, yeah)…and I’m not married…and I’m not a man…but otherwise…we agree, Tom!
The first thought was that maybe by being designed to lift the breast they also support all of the weight of the breasts, where as the bras used for the control group happen to be one of the many ill-designed types. Obviously if they’re that much more comfortable that would make women smile. Perhaps the researcher went cheap when buying “any old bra” for the control but got decent bras when buying “super” bras that had to actually provide lift. I think it was the wording “women who had extra lift smiled more”. Though in the original article it is… Read more »
What’s wrong with being a horny bastard?
Alright well seeing as no one else said it, I will…push-up bras don’t necessarily make women’s breasts look bigger, so much as they make them look perkier. Perkier = younger looking, and we definitely have a youth = beauty paradigm in our culture. I don’t know about all of you hetero guys out there…but to me breast size isn’t the attractive thing, it’s the perkiness (so long as they don’t defy gravity after the bra comes off). And yes, to calm any fears that I’m being objectifying, I’ll point out that of course it’s what’s on the inside that counts…so… Read more »
Hahaha. Good point about the silicone!!
You beat me to it. I also wanted to say that perkier is not the same as bigger, though a push-up bra may give the illusion of both. I’d also be curious whether the confidence stays there over the long-term or if it’s just a temporary blip from the novelty of defying gravity like she used to. Perhaps it’s feeling younger or just the positive feeling that one get from having your parts supported. (Like for some men, well-fitting cotton briefs straight from the dryer. Ahhh….) Perhaps those women wearing them feel more confident not because the bra adds a… Read more »
“Just the positive feeling that one get from having your parts supported”
Maybe…though to be honest I usually hate wearing bras. Though I do like wearing a corset, but part of that is to do with the novelty of it, I think.
I think the conclusions are pretty obvious without a study. I could have told you that for — FREE! Women are objectified enough; personally I wouldn’t go out of my way to do what those women did, even if flat-chested. The most athletic women are flat-chested; especially runners, swimmers, gymnasts, figure skaters, ballerinas, so on. I admire these athletes. Also, clothes fit better and tailored shirts fit better on smaller chests (some may argue this, but look at most models — they’re flat chested) or else larger chested women require tops that stretch and end up wearing a lot of… Read more »
Thanks for reading and, even more so, taking the time to comment.
Yes, Joanna is spot on: “newsflash” was supposed to indicate that I was not being serious. Guess that didn’t work.
Also, after making my glib commentary, I concluded with my sincere hope that women do not get breast implants.
Actually, I was at a bar the other day with some friends from work, and the two very attractive female bartenders were wearing very low cut tops with ‘push up’ ras. Now that I think about it, they did smile alot. Almost as much as us guys they were serving!
Okay everyone… Let’s take a break.
“Newsflash” means like, “Duh!!”
Jamie is making a joke about how dumb this study is.
We all agree this is stupid. That’s Jamie’s point. That it’s stupid.
I did get a good laugh out of it!
I didn’t think personal attacks were allowed on this site
Moderator’s Note: The comment has been deleted.
Interesting. I’m a smaller-busted woman and don’t have a problem with it. I smile a heck of a lot and have no problem making eye contact. I’d even say I’m very confident. I’ve even had men literally fall over themselves to help me when I smile and make eye contact with them. I honestly think it’s because I don’t have DDs that I’m more confident and friendly–I know (most) men aren’t ogling me at any given time and I’m comfortable in my own skin because I’m not constantly worried about what my cleavage is doing. (And, no, I’m not the… Read more »
I mean really, if large breasts really are that important to someone, they’re just going to leave you when they find out it’s a mirage. And why shouldn’t they? You’ve essentially lied your way into a relationship with them – possibly even into sex with him (society doesn’t actually let men feel like we can say ‘no’, not once we’ve got you all hot and bothered. The best we’re allowed to do, and only well before that point, is reluctantly demure. And even then, only if we have a good reason to cite). Breasts aren’t even the most important feature… Read more »
PS I’m with you. I’m happy with my body exactly as it is.
I think Jamie’s point is that the study is completely stupid.
Yes, because women never fetishize physical traits…
How many 5’2 men do you see going around super models, again?
True. Women unashamedly express a preference / requirement for a tall (or at least tallER) man.
all the time with little to no criticism.
I’m 5’9″. I feel HUGE (and I’m not big) next to anyone under 6 feet tall. I’m ok with it if people think that’s shallow…
Well, that is a preference. I am well aware that some men have preferences for larger boobs/perkier boobs/whatever. I don’t know what your point is. Everyone has physical aspects about a person that they find attractive. Why would we be ashamed of that? Why would we need to criticize that? Unless they are ridiculing other people’s choices, or shaming people who don’t fit their preferences, then what does it matter? I do prefer men who are taller than me, but mostly because I’m pretty sure that men tend to feel uncomfortable when the women they are dating are taller than… Read more »
Not confused at all. I cited preference. It was you who cited social stigma.
Sorry. I thought you were replying to my comment.
I’m 5’9″ and I have similar concerns about dating shorter men. I think shorter men can be perfectly attractive, but won’t they feel emasculated to be with a taller woman? I’m not just tall, I’m part Scandinavian and I have a large frame as well. Not fat, but I really am big. I can’t wear women’s hats in standard sizes. I have trouble finding gloves that fit because women’s gloves have short fingers. Etc. I’ve been asked out occasionally by men who aren’t just shorter than me, they are much smaller. It makes me wonder if they are turned on… Read more »
Wow this is beyond idiotic.
I see the humor strike is still going strong in its fourth decade… good luck, womyn! But you’re still never getting an apology from men for caring about looks.
Then I will decline to apologize for wanting to date someone taller than me with a steady income and who is motivated to do more with his life than play video games and watch sports. 🙂
I’m glad to hear a woman recognize that a man could still have redeeming qualities AND play video games and watch sports. There are some exes I’d like you to talk to…. : – )
Here I thought a love of video games was a redeeming quality…but then maybe that’s just cuz I play video games myself. 😉
“Then I will decline to apologize for wanting to date someone taller than me with a steady income and who is motivated to do more with his life than play video games and watch sports.”
by all means do so, and if the recent deluge of articles on the subject are any indication, men will just continue to ignore your requirements.
Oh, I sure will! And I’ll be happily single the rest of my life if I need to. 😉
What an utterly redundant study. I mean, really, what the hell is the point of this? Women who have nice boobs smile more, and report getting served faster by men? You do realise that the fact that men perform their jobs better on some sort of boob-based reward system is not actually a *good* thing? It’s nice to know that all the “good men” out there are more than happy to perpetuate a cycle of constant objectification and insecurity for women that makes them think they need to be stacked to be treated like a goddamn human being. Hurray!! /sarcasm
And taller men and those with nice clothes (signifying a higher income bracket) get treated better by women.
The world is what it is, and humans are what we are. I’d suggest you learn to deal with it.
Oh, sorry, I didn’t know someone else had a problem. I’ll never complain about anything ever again. I’ll just put these old biases back on the shelf where I found them.
Dear Jamie,
Honestly, I enjoy your writing and weird sense of humor….I just find this oddly funny…thanks for making me laugh…especially in light of the fact that I have to undergo a procedure that will reduce the size of one of my breasts…but it’s nice to know that a big push-up bra will cover my defect (I guess all people will care about is how I look on the outside)….I’ve just been reading all about mastectomy and breast reconstruction all morning so this weird funny boob talk is the comic relief I needed!
The irony here – these same women would probably get all kinds of angry if they found out that the 6’1 guy they just took to bed is really wearing 3-inch lifts.
Because, you know, honesty is important. Until lying makes things easier for you.
This was not meant as a reply to you. I must have hit reply by mistake. It was just meant as a general comment.
Hey Leia, thinking about your surgery and wishing you the best!
What Julie said. And the grant money to that place needs to be cut off and used to stop body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders.
this comment supported julie’s comment. and julie’s now-thankfully-cleansed comment contained a reference to physical violence