For some reason guys get to have pants/shirts that are an actual measurement. And girls get these random numbers that vary from designer to designer. It’ll even change within a specific brand if you go between “petite/normal/tall”. Soooo frustrating. I’d rather be able to just pick something up and know it’ll fit, I don’t really care what the number on the tag says!

Different countries also have different clothes sizes. The US has a tendency to use “flattering” sizes (like 0 and 2) whereas in NZ normal sizes for clothing ranges from 12 to 20.

For starters there is no universal agreement as to exactly what it is you are supposed to measure. Some systems use overbust measurement to determine band size, while others use underbust measurement. Some say your band size is your underbust measurement as measured. Others say to add a certain number of inches to the underbust measurement to determine band size. This additional number may be a constant, or it may be a variable that is dependent on the underbust measurement.

Then there are the variables which are dependent on the breasts themselves. There is vertical placement on the chest as well as intermammary distance. Also, breasts of a given volume will vary dramatically in shape between individuals. None of these is taken into account in the measurements.

Besides all this, the actual cup size and band size, of bras that are nominally the same size, vary quite significantly between different manufacturers and different styles. Thus I have 38Bs that are a bit tight, and 36Bs that are rather loose.

A friend of mine can only get bras to fit appropriately if she buys a band size that is too small, and then uses bra extenders.

Another friend recently had breast reduction surgery on account of the negative impact on a long standing minor C5-C7 injury. She showed me the post-op results, and we were discussing what bra size she might need when things have settled down. We agreed that taking measurements was pointless, and it would be better just to take a guess and experiment from there. I made my guess.

Although I would prefer my boobs to be a bit bigger, there is no way I would ever consider augmentation surgery. Nevertheless, I reserve the right not to pass judgement on anybody who wishes to have breast modification surgery or on the surgeons involved.

@Sophie, you’ve never been measured? Forgive my guy’s naivete, but how do you purchase bras if you don’t know your size??? I’m puzzled…

I’m really lucky that so far I haven’t had any back issues but I don’t expect that to last forever. (OK, I have back issues… but they aren’t boob related, they’re either BIID related or sciatica related)

It is interesting that at worst people would probably think of her as a bit odd, or maybe misguided. Quite differently than how most people think of us and what we want.

In my opinion, she’s deliberately deforming herself, and causing herself pain to reach her own aesthetic ideal. Similar to the way people think of us.

How is it fair that she can do that t herself, and cause lasting damage, and we can’t?

A cynic would think that the ethics committee turn a blind eye because of the S-e-x connotation. But only a cynic would think that of course…