I remember my first bra. My mother came home from work and said she had a surprise for me. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I knew what it was. She had finally caved and bought me the new Pixter Plus art pack.

She brought me up to my room and boy, was I disappointed when she pulled out what seemed to be a hacked up cotton tank top.

“I picked these up for you to try out now that you are developing,” she said. I was heartbroken, not because I was leaving my childhood behind and entering the world of hypersexualization, but because I had really thought she had come through on the Pixter Plus art pack.

Fast forward to today, and I am beyond the small cotton bras. I am a full-fledged member of the titty committee.

Until recently, I could be found scouring the Victoria’s Secret semi-annual sale looking for my next bra.

The push-up bra, the next device aimed to find the perfect amount of cleavage on even the slightest of chests. Insta-tits. This push-up bra, stuffed with so much padding, gel, and support, that it looks like a pair of boobs by itself.

Well I, as well as the rest of the female population, have started to throw out my boob pillows. The newest bra trend is the bralette.

Bralettes, usually made from lace, are unlined bras with no padding or underwire. No more artillery shells causing boob sweat, and no more razor sharp underwire poking you.

The way I see it, the bralette is simply a way women are taking back the bra. Bras that have enough cushioning to break a fall, multiple straps, itchy lace and even bells are not made for women.

Those over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders are made for the visual gaze of men. At the end of the day, who suffers from these uncomfortable contraptions? Women do.

Bralettes are the compromise between going commando and wearing a full-fledged “tit shelf.”

Finally, something that is comfortable and sexy, but more importantly, something that questions our notion of the ideal female body. Women are realizing they don’t have to push their boobs up to their throat to fit into what society deems “sexy.”