An outfit that almost made him miss his flight. At the end of January, a young woman who was not wearing a bra under her T-shirt was asked to cover up if she was planning to board the plane from Salt Like City to San Francisco. Since then, the Delta company has apologized to the 38-year-old customer, who finally agreed to wear a jacket before denouncing, with a photo of her white top, “discrimination”.
A misadventure which once again calls into question the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies (and in particular their breasts) and the way they are viewed, according to Gala Avanzi, author of No Bra (Flammarion) and Breasts, a whole story (Mango editions).
In the 21st century, are women’s breasts still a problem?
If the incident has attracted a lot of attention in recent hours, it would not in fact be that exceptional. “Since the dawn of time, there has been an obsession, even a fascination, with women’s breasts,” recalls Gala Avanzi. And if we thought that in the 21st century, it was finally time to let her live her life, we could be mistaken. “This is not an isolated case,” continues the author. We have this woman at the Orsay museum, others who are hassled because they breastfeed in public… The question also arose in high schools, where bra straps were not supposed to appear. »
In 2019, a 31-year-old British woman claimed to have had to leave an EasyJet plane because her top was considered too low-cut and transparent. Almost the same scenario as for the young American, questioned by a stewardess before takeoff for her outfit deemed offensive. “There is a lot of ambivalence in the United States with a certain number of women walking around without a bra, or in a bra, and this very puritanical side. Which means that many get lost in this duality, observes Gala Avanzi. I myself wanted to go top-less in a hotel in San Francisco. A customer gave me a black look, before reporting me…”
THE no bra has it not changed mentalities?
According to Gala Avanzi, the problem comes from the “hypersexualization” of the female breast. “We mix everything up, breasts are considered sexual organs. This is why some people find it offensive, and why it becomes a problem that should not arise, like that of men’s chests. » Representations that still have a hard time in certain countries despite the emergence of the movement no bra for several years.
If the trend is still very much in the minority in France, this disaffection of certain women for this underwear has in any case had the merit of making people think about a not so trivial object. “The bra is full of ambivalence because it enhances the chest, makes it more sexual,” believes Gala Avanzi. But at the same time, it was a symbol of emancipation from the corset, which itself was progress with an entirely female industry. »
The nipple, still taboo?
Another property of the bra is that of erasing the nipple. A detail which surely played a role in the affair of the passenger on the plane who was not wearing one. But why should we hide them to such an extent, or even censor ? The philosopher Camille Froidevaux-Metterie, author of Breasts, looking for a release, explained to our colleagues from France Info: “If they are so impossible to show, it is because they in fact condense the two functions of the breasts: the sexual function and the maternal function. »
Everything you need to know about all breasts
So much so that even some followers of no bra admit to feeling uncomfortable in tops that are too transparent. Lingerie and ready-to-wear brands have understood this well, marketing adhesive nipple covers for those who, Conversely by Rachel Green in Friends, are not ready to jump into the Free the Nipple trend. “You have to have a beautiful plunging neckline, but it has to stop at the level of the nipples and when we have turtlenecks we are treated as stuck up. All this is extremely hypocritical, concludes Gala Avanzi. The main thing is that each woman decides what suits her. »