I didn’t wear a bra for 3 days at office! Here's what happened

One of our readers, Deepika Malhotra*, decided to 'free her nipples' (a movement) and go bra-free for three weekdays. She shares her journey with us.

MONDAY: I literally thanked my stars that it was November and a chilly day. So, I could cover my naturals up with a lean jacket. I was again thankful to the stars for giving me a pair that wasn’t very endowed (I was a 32B). Most of the day, I folded my hands across my chest so that in their way, they covered my bosom up whenever I was talking to anyone face to face. Besides that, I remained glued to my chair. Commutation wasn’t a big deal as I drove myself to the office. Day one was accomplished and I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or feel stupid about myself.

TUESDAY: It got colder today and I really felt that I was fulfilling a cosmic purpose and the entire universe was supporting me. My jacket got thicker, more than required perhaps, so did my coverage of the breasts and nipples. Then came the bummer: I started PMSing. My breasts are very sensitive when I do so, so much so that even at the slightest touch, my nipples would show even from my padded bra. Seems it wasn’t so much a cosmic cause, after all.

Anywhichway, my jacket was my saviour. I don’t think anyone even noticed that my breasts were looser than usual. I braved the day and conversations more confidently today.

WEDNESDAY: The weather remained the same and so did my PMS. I took the safest bet and wore a shrug, which was layery and loose. This was the best of the three days, as I felt that I championed the no-bra challenge Anahita gave me. I was absolutely confident, roamed about freely in the office and had my conversations almost forgetting about my bra-less breasts. And by the way, I sent Anahita selfies for all the days. She sure is proud of me.

WHAT I TAKE BACK: We talk about wearing the right bra, breast sagging, importance of the right fit, so on and so forth all the time. But do we care to know how harmful bras can be? They cause pain in the neck, back or shoulders, they can impact our lymphatic system, they can cause heartburns or lesions and a push up bra can even cause cancer. Sure, they support our breasts against gravity, but the harms sure outweigh the goods.

Of course, it was a good riddance but was I comfortable doing so? No. It will take years and decades of undoing what our social conditioning has done. And a million brave attempts like these.