Category: BODY IMAGE

My Relationship with Bras

~ womeninlivingness

by Susan Hayes, BEng BSci, Bendigo, Australia

I have never really been into bras. As a teenager I was scared of the bra shop – the thought of someone measuring and looking at my breasts was not something that appealed! I ended up trying bras on by myself in changing rooms (not even allowing my mother in) and ended up having cheap, poorly fitting pieces that I never really liked.

In my 20s I ‘upgraded’ to sports bras that flattened my chest and had no back clip. I promoted that these were ‘easier’  and ‘more comfortable’ than a standard bra (although looking back at how tight they were to get my head, arms and shoulders through to eventually squeeze over my breasts so I am not sure this was an honest conclusion!).  A couple of ‘normal’ bras were available when needed for special occasions, such as weddings etc., shoved in the back of a cupboard or drawer. Continue reading “My Relationship with Bras” →

A Vulnerable Moment

~ womeninlivingness

by Kate Greenaway, BaAppSc (Physiotherapy), Goonellabah, Australia

The other week I had one of those Stop and Take Notice moments. I was walking around the local swimming pool to the women’s showers in my wet bathers, after having a lovely time in the pool. I was a bit cold and one of the males on staff was walking towards me. I had spoken to this man before and I knew him to be sensitive, sweet and completely harmless. I could feel he was going to look at me as we passed and all of a sudden I was feeling extremely vulnerable – my body went into an old pattern of pulling my shoulders inwards and caving my chest in – like I did when I was a teenager at the beach in my swimmers walking past men who stared at my breasts. You see, even though I have a petite frame, I had really large breasts as a teenager and I used to get awful, sexual comments from boys my age, AND older men. Being a curvaceous young woman was agony for me so I used to hide my body in large shirts. I thought I had moved through this and healed those self -conscious years, so I was shocked to feel this in my body now – in my late 40’s and feeling mostly content with my body. Continue reading “A Vulnerable Moment” →

Feeling Truly Sexy

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by Priscila, UK

My idea of being sexy had always been something that would be seen as sexy, something that would be projected outside.

I grew up in Brazil and being sexy was normally associated with an image of the body. Sexy would be considered a beautiful woman, a body with curves, a toned body presented in a provocative and seductive manner, in provocative and seductive clothes. That was my concept of ‘sexy’.

This morning I had an experience that changed this meaning completely and forever. Continue reading “Feeling Truly Sexy” →

Apology not Accepted

~ womeninlivingness

by Kathryn Fortuna, Inner Image Consultant, Bendigo, Australia

“The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy”.  (Yves Saint Laurent)

When I see your face…

I see so much more than just your features. I see your past, your worries, your thoughts, your fragility and your innermost beauty. I see and feel an energetic map of your lives etched across your face.

As a professional Makeup artist I have worked with faces for more than 25 years. The differences between them have been distinctive, yet I have loved every single one of them. Continue reading “Apology not Accepted” →

Apology not Accepted

~ womeninlivingness

by Kathryn Fortuna, Inner Image Consultant, Bendigo, Australia

“The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy”.  (Yves Saint Laurent)

When I see your face…

I see so much more than just your features. I see your past, your worries, your thoughts, your fragility and your innermost beauty. I see and feel an energetic map of your lives etched across your face.

As a professional Makeup artist I have worked with faces for more than 25 years. The differences between them have been distinctive, yet I have loved every single one of them. Continue reading “Apology not Accepted” →

Releasing Ideals and Opening up to the Natural Beauty of the True Woman within Me

~ womeninlivingness

by Nicole Serafin, Tintenbar, Australia

Growing up in a house with my two male cousins – one a little older than me, and the other a little younger – created an interesting dynamic for me as a girl, let alone when I started going through my teenage years and into puberty…

My parents treated us all equally. We went to the same school, had the same friends, went on holidays together and were all very close, wanting to do things together all the time… which in most cases was fine, but in some I found it wasn’t. Not because we didn’t want to, but because we weren’t always allowed. I began to find that the boys were treated differently to myself, often being able to go places and do things that I also wanted to do, but because I was a girl I was told it was not safe or just not ‘the done thing’. It didn’t take me long to realise this notion was the case in most situations, and also held in the world.

I began to notice that the boys were always allowed to do more activities – such as play more sports and go out to places that I was not able to go – even when I had been the same age. Society ‘told me’ that I was a girl and “girls did not do those sorts of things”. However, when or if I ever got hurt, felt vulnerable or expressed any kind of fragility, I was expected to “get over it and toughen up” like the boys. There was never any room or time for tears or feelings. It seemed I was supposed to be able to ‘tough it out’ as they say, but also when it suited I was to be a girl. I remember feeling and finding this extremely confusing. Continue reading “Releasing Ideals and Opening up to the Natural Beauty of the True Woman within Me” →

Buying MY First Bra

~ womeninlivingness

by Dr Rachel Hall, Dentist, Kenmore, Brisbane

There are many milestones in a woman’s life, one of which is buying your first bra, as getting a bra for the first time signifies the shift from being a girl to a young woman.

As a girl I seldom gave bras much thought, it was just something your mum wears and they were fun to play dress up in, or use as a makeshift catapult – but that was about it. Breasts and bras were quite an alien concept and during my developing years I often prayed, wished and hoped that my breasts, when the time came, would not be too big. Evidently breasts came in different shapes and sizes, as some women had flat chests and others seemed to have more than their fair share. I didn’t see what was so sexy or great about them… or why the girls at school were so desperate to get their boobs. Continue reading “Buying MY First Bra” →

Breasts, Bras and One Amazing Hug

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by Heidi, 23, Goonellabah, New South Wales

I developed breasts at a young age and did my best to ignore their arrival. Into my mid-teens I usually wore loose fitted tops and compressing sports bras. My friends would often comment about the size of my breasts when they happened to see me in a singlet or fitted top. I could feel the comparison they went into and I was so bemused by their attention, and shocked at talk of wanting breast implants and finding bras with maximum padding.

Wearing sports bras most days continued into my early twenties. At the time, I enjoyed the feeling of a flatter chest as I thought it made me look skinnier. I disliked how my shoulders and upper body looked with a bra – I just felt top heavy and clunky. I had tried some strapless bras and found them horrible. Strangely, I wore them quite regularly. They cut in, jabbed me and made my whole chest feel hard. Continue reading “Breasts, Bras and One Amazing Hug” →

Women, Comparison & Love

~ womeninlivingness

by Anonymous

Having grown up with 3 sisters, I know all about comparison and jealousy and competing for attention… And I know all about covering things up with niceties, manners and politeness when presenting to the rest of the world, yet knowing full well the feelings that are underlying between us.

When I reflect now, it’s sad to feel the way that we were with each other and in some ways, still are. How is it that 5 beautiful women (including my mum) were all living in the same house and, for a lot of the time, there were unspoken resentments, jealousies and judgments towards one another. It’s been hard to admit, but if I am really honest, that is the truth. And I played a full part in that. It is painful to feel that I measured myself constantly with my sisters and also with my parent’s expectations. Instead of expressing and getting it all out there in the open, we tended to hold things in and keep it all under lock and key, letting it all build up – with the inevitable emotional explosions from time to time. And all the while, so often our words and actions were laced with the insidiousness of anger, frustration or disappointment under the guise of ‘politeness’ or ‘niceness’. Continue reading “Women, Comparison & Love” →

Letting go of ‘Trying to Fit In’

~ womeninlivingness

by Donna Gianniotis, Yoga Teacher, Sydney, Australia

I couldn’t help but feel the joy and the loveliness in the room at the recently held Women’s Group Presentation hosted by Natalie Benhayon in Sydney.

This led me to ponder  – I’ve been in many a room with women only, but why did this feel different?

The answer revealed itself throughout the afternoon: my conclusion being that here we were, a group of close to 100 women openly expressing in our honesty about how we live our lives. We explored various challenges that we may face living as women today, with one of the biggest of these being how we, as women, tend to want to ‘fit in’.  And how ‘fitting in’ takes us away from keeping our own personal rhythms that could truly support us and allow us a deeper connection to ourselves. Continue reading “Letting go of ‘Trying to Fit In’” →