It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Let’s Talk Boobs

I love my boobs!

[October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that almost 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and the disease takes the lives of over 40,000? Scary stuff. Awareness and funding for the disease are the keys to finding a cure, but the most important thing we can do - yes, even this young - is a monthly self-exam. So whip out that breast and check it out. And speaking of breasts...]

As a kid, there were a lot of things I was looking forward to having once I became a “grown-up” — a boyfriend, my period (I don’t know why I was looking forward to that, but I was), and getting my very own set of beautiful breasts. Not only would their arrival mean I was turning into a woman, but I felt like they would make clothes look that much better. And I guess being able to feed my future children from my body is pretty cool too.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited when the time came for my mom to buy me my very first training bra. You know the one – the sports bra looking thing that doesn’t actually do anything but make you feel older. It wasn’t until I started wearing said bra that I realized that maybe it wasn’t so much fun – and that was before there was anything to fill it out.

As puberty progressed, so did the size of my chest. I’m not saying I had the biggest bust around (just a comfortable C), but it wasn’t long before I developed a love/hate relationship with my mammaries. I started realizing the pros and cons of starting to look like a woman, including the classic “my eyes are up here.” But how do other women view their breasts? And what to men really think while they’re drooling? There’s really no other way of knowing than to straight up ask, so I questioned a few friends of mine on their favorite and least favorite thing about boobs.

Coralie – my well-endowed penpal: Big breasts are both a burden and a blessing. You always feel feminine, but tops that look cute and classy on others can look trashy on larger breasted women.

Bonnie – my best friend’s mom: I know I’m older, but there is nothing more beautiful than nursing your baby. But they can be a pain in the butt too!

Ryan – the straight guy: I love when a girl is on top and they’re so close to my face and so easy to play with. What I don’t like is that the girl doesn’t seem to like it as much as I do…

Marcus – the gay guy: My favorite thing about them, is that for me, they’re on a complete “I might look but I’d never wanna touch” scale. I mean they’re nice (when they’re proportionate to said woman’s body). I just don’t see how guys drool at the site of them and have to hide their erections just because, I don’t know, say a celebrity’s tit popped out. Because basically, they’re chests inflated with fat. That’s all. Which makes me wonder why most guys go for super models with big jugs vs. a fat chick. It’s all fat. Why does it matter where it is?

Aimee – high school friend: I like having boobs because boobs are awesome. Especially mine. Don’t ask me why, I just like having them? Downside? Um… I haven’t noticed any.

Okay, so maybe they’re not the greatest all the time. They get in the way while we’re playing sports, and they hurt us sometimes. It seems that most women have a love/hate relationship with their lady lumps, but all in all, would we really want to be without them? I think not.

Love your boobs? Hate them? Share your thoughts and feelings below. And don’t forget about that self exam!