Breast (noun) Either of the two round soft parts at the front of a woman’s body that produce milk when she has had a baby.

The narrow dictionary definition above doesn't capture the complexities and differences between our boobs. They are a body part like any other, but perhaps unlike others, breasts often carry with them all sorts of preconceptions, stereotypes and emotions.

Scandalous, if you show too much of them.

Unwomanly, if you have less than a handful. 

Unattractive, if they don’t naturally sit pertly to attention…

As part of our Molke Breast Fest we are putting boobs front and centre and trying to unpack some of the taboos around our boobs, how they are represented and how we feel about them. 

We make no secret of the fact that we think ALL bodies are awesome and deserve to be catered for, seen and celebrated.  But when it comes to breasts, there is a very narrow representation put out in the media of what they ‘should’ look like.  Page 3 models of the past, Hollywood actors and a narrow social media portrayal, have all built up this image of what society think boobs look like. The aspirational nature of having pert, symmetrical boobs is not only unrealistic for the vast majority, it also harms our self-confidence and skews how we view our bodies.  Furthermore, we have to question what message this narrow representation of ‘perfect’ boobs sends to young people growing up. 

Girls: if you don’t look like this then there is something wrong with you. 

Boys: this is what you should find attractive and expect to see in a woman. 

Reality is often very different.

These early impressions can have a long and lasting impact on how we see our boobs.  We asked our customers how they feel about their breasts and sadly, many responses were negative.

"I don't feel like they're part of my identity but other people MAKE them. They assign traits to me because of my larger breasts."

“I spend a lot of time wishing I could just get rid of them completely.”

“Loved them when I was younger because they were bigger and firmer...but now I'm older I hate them.  More like sad half deflated balloons now.”

So how do we go about unravelling this?  Social media algorithms can pose challenges when we share content showing a wide range of bodies.  The ongoing and embedded sexualisation of breasts means that it is harder to publish images without them being judged as inappropriate content and taken down.  This makes it increasingly difficult (and frustrating) to start tackling these stereotypes.

Not easily deterred, we asked you to help us with this, and you did not disappoint.  We have put together our own celebration of breasts to show you a rich plethora of boobs of all sizes, shapes and ages to give a realistic representation of what boobs looks like. 

Take a look.  Show your kids.  Talk about it with friends. 

Let’s keep the conversation going and together we can build some body acceptance and love for these wonderful boobs!