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I hope you all are sitting down (it would be a bit strange if you weren’t) — American Eagle is selling padded bras to teenagers. I know. I don’t have a daughter myself, but I made sure to lock up a bunch of teenage girls I found milling about, lest they get ideas.
As ABC news explains:
American Eagle sells the Drew. It’s a push-up bra designed to boost more than just a young girl’s confidence – promising to add two cup sizes. American Eagle calls it the “Double Whoa” and it has some doing a double take because the bra is being marketed to girls as young as 15-years-old.
You see, the media has decided to act as though teenage girls haven’t been stuffing and padding their bras since the beginning of time, and that we ought to be concerned about Aerie’s “Drew” bra (named for the well-endowed Drew Barrymore, perhaps?) — following in the footsteps of Victoria Secret’s Miraculous bra, or La Senza’s double push-up, which promises to jump you up 2 full cup sizes — no toilet paper required. You know this already, of course, because Sarah Spangenberg already wrote up this story months ago, but this is a new controversy because from the ad, it’s clear they’re advertising to teenagers. Because of course they are. Because that’s who stuffs their bras.
17 Magazine’s Editor in Chief made this confusing statement:
“Girls want to look pretty, but they do not want that icky sexual attention. They just want to feel good in their clothes, they just want to feel pretty, and that’s what these bras are about.”
So… they do or don’t want the bra?
Because I can tell you, I have purchased a double push-up bra, and frankly — no offence to any well-endowed women — I hate the attention, even at 23. I’ve always wanted bigger breasts, but it’s disgusting how a bigger bustline somehow entitles men to make comments or behave in a way that they didn’t or wouldn’t to my usual C-cup self. But there’s another point — what about young women who are naturally large-chested? Aren’t we sending a message to those girls that they ought to be embarrassed about the size of their breasts and that their larger bust lines are over-sexualized naturally?
Controversy aside, it would be nice if, instead of offering to take women from a C to a Double-D, that they started offering bras for actual teenagers suffering with the pain of trying to find cute bras for real Double-D breasts, but that’s an issue for another time.
What’s your take? Is there anything shocking about this ad, or are they just appealing to the demographic most likely to buy this bra?
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Just regarding the last part about real double-d breasted ladies -
Today, coincidentally, I received my two double-d bras from Aerie. They recently had a sale online so I decided to try them because I’m no longer a fan of Victoria’s Secret. Let me tell you, they are cute and comfortable and come in a variety of styles that don’t make you feel like an old lady with giant old lady boobs.
Meh, I think they were just catering to demand. I mean, how long has it been a teenage cliche to stuff your bra with kleenex or scarves? Since the bra was invented, I’d imagine. So I wouldn’t say this brings anything new to the table in terms of harm to the adolescent female psyche. I had no chest to speak of until I hit my 20’s, and there was definitely a time when I was around 15 when I was really self conscious about it. It didn’t help that my well-endowed best friend was always making comments. I bought some padded bras and I liked them. Eventually I got over myself and realized the perks (pun intended) of having a smaller chest, and stopped fixating on what I thought was missing. Then I went up a cup size and it ceased to be an issue at all.
It is ridiculous. For one, there is no scientific reason for large breasts to be preferable (they do not produce more milk for offspring, and usually give back problems) it is simply an accumulation of western advertising, much like the idea that a more skinny woman should be more attractive (even though one with more fat all over would be more likely to conceive) the insecurities women face of having a body size which is “undesirable” is simply cultural. I have also been self conscious about my body at some point in my life, I have no doubt where this came from; media, and being in a relationship with a guy who was culturally indoctrinated (and a porn-watcher). This was wrong, and we should be working to make it much less common for women to feel insecure; men don’t usually, and thats because they aren’t exposed to these disgusting forms of media which are designed to show them its normal and desirable to have a certain appearance, when people’s physical appearance varies greatly. Women should NEVER want to pad their bras. The only way they should be worried about their appearance is if it threatens their health.
“This was wrong, and we should be working to make it much less common for women to feel insecure; men don’t usually,”
I am one of the men who feel very insecure. I have a small penis – about the same length and width of my thumb and it does make me feel very insecure. This became especially true after I read an article on how a fairly large percentage of women ‘crotch scan’ (almost subconsciously) and take notice of the size of the bulge. Even more so after reading comments how breast size is not so much of an issue because of the wide range of preferences, but, penis size is actually a matter of function; and a very small penis is “quite useless” to, it seems, most women.
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While I personally do not wear “add a cup size” bras, as I think my B-cup breasts work well with my smaller frame size and because I think they are generally unnecessary, I don’t think we should blame Aerie for making girls/women feel insecure about their breasts. There are lots of other forces at work that have already done that. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized my boobs were not really even small, just average, because boobs in the media are often C or D. Also, I learned from my boyfriend that some guys actually prefer small to medium sized breasts. Anyway, I also think it’s unfair to say that Aerie is “marketing these to teens.” Although Aerie is a teen-friendly brand, I am 21 and I only began shopping at Aerie a few years back. If a 15 year old girl is buying a double pushup bra, that is an issue between her and her parents, but it shouldn’t affect the rights of 18 and over women to make their own choices.
Well, I’m 22 and a proud owner of the Drew bra. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with such a bra existing. Sometimes, it’s nice to have a little more boobage for certain outfits! (Especially for me, being pear shaped! This bra helps balance me out when I’m wearing, say, a tight sweaterdress.) I think the media is presenting a very one sided story, since aerie carries everything from unpadded, to lightly padded, to mega-pushup. I know in my drawers, I have bras with all sorts of varying amounts of padding. It’s nice to have variety!
As an 18 year old I think they should be offering much more sizing options for teenagers. I wear a 32 C but only because this is the smallest around size you can buy. I should be in a 27 C, but I bet you’ve never heard of one of those have you? I can’t do anything about the size of my ribcage. Women are all different shapes and sizes, teenagers or adults, why should we have to get a “custom” bra in order to feel comfortable in everyday life?
Hi Brianne,
You need to check out the bras at a store called {intimacy}. My mother in law finally got me in there last week and it is amazing. The bras fit better and give better support than any other. You are also fitted by a specialist. My sister in law is actually a 32 F, but they don’t make 32 F so what they do is take a 34 F and take it in to a 32 to fit her. If you really need a 27 C (or you may find out you are something even different) they can make it happen for you. The bras at over 100 dollars but well worth it. As long as you care for them properly they will last forever. My mother and sisters-in-laws have had their bras for 6 years and still fit like new. Or if anything does happen to the bra the store will fix it. Look them up and see if there is a store near you, they are in most of the major cities around the country. It was a life changing experience for me.
girls always like cute things and sometimes “regular bra” doesn’t have that. some companies sell cute “eye catchy” bra, but often it’s not appropriate for tween age (padded wire, push up etc). so thats why my friend has a website that sells cute appropriate tween bras, just for this reason, she ended up making them herself as she coudln’t get any nice ones. sorry for the plug but it’s http://zinkyzoo.com it has kids appropriate prints and very cute. your kids will like it I think.
Here’s the thing, girls who have large chests probably won’t be getting this (and if they do then they would have also purchased a push up bra from any other store as well). But girls who are insecure with their small chest may find it helpful.
When I was 15, I was an A-cup. I was the source of ridicule from many of my female friends. I convinced my mother to buy me a water bra, and it was my favorite bra in the world. I refused to wear anything but a padded bra. It wasn’t “lying” it was just trying to feel okay about myself. Obviously you should feel good about yourself no matter what your cup size is, but as a teenager, push up and padded or water bras helped me get through the day a little easier. I didn’t dress slutty, and try to get boys from them. I just wanted to look more like my friends….as lame as it is – that what teenagers want.
All of the adults said it would happen some day, and boy it sure did. Just last weekend I got a bra that is an E cup. If a young girl wants a little confidence in a judgmental high school world, who am I to judge. As long as her parents did a good job raising her with good values and morals, then all it’s doing is making her feel like how she looks on the outside is how she feels on the inside.
When I go shopping for bras, I always admire the adorable bras for smaller boobs. Maybe that’s because I wear an L cup and they just don’t make cute bras the size of circus tents?! I am the mother of young adults so very far from my teen years but I will never forget the trauma of being a teenager with very large chesticles and blonde hair – did you know that busty blondes will have sex with anyone? It seems that we must because I spent many years wondering why boys/men talked to my chest instead of my eyes and seemd to ‘accidentally’ bump into my chest All The Time. I was always the girl in the one piece swimsuit because they didn’t make anything even close to my size in a teen-acceptable 2-piece, the girl who couldn’t wear a tube top or strapless anything, the girl who wore the cutest pants in hopes that no one noticed the awful old lady shirt that was the only thing that fit.
My point is this – we are always thinking the grass is greener, especially as teenagers. We change our hair color and texture, wear colored contact lenses to change our eye color, buy makeup promising to make us look younger-older-lighter-more tanned, and yes, we wear bras that give us what we think we *should have*. To all the young women being made to feel there is something wrong with padding, I ask that you look across the aisle at the Minimizer bras that we wear to look “A full inch smaller”. And let’s all learn to appreciate our personal beauty and enjoy our assets, no matter what size they are.
Aerie isn’t marketed to teens. If they were their models would be teenagers not 20-somethings. I work for Aerie and would help with marketing, their target is college females aged 18-25. A few years ago, yes, I would say Aerie was marketed to teens, but like its sister store American Eagle, the store has grown-up. Breasts are always going to be controversial. Children are being visualized as sexual creatures more often in today’s world. I don’t think the store is the problem. Why aren’t people telling their girls to value their bodies? This just upset me, I’m a major fan of Aerie and I see many women BRING IN their daughters to complain about how sexual the Aerie store is. Go somewhere to buy your clothes and underwear then. If you like the product, then like it, if not go elsewhere.