upsetting the set up since 1977: The Breast Defense Against Violence

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As the world recognizes the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, one form of violence has been overlooked that happens everyday, all over the world, and causes pain, suffering, disfigurement, and even death to thousands of women annually. And women actually do it to themselves. It is something they do out of fear of rejection and ridicule. It is the ultimate form of psychological violence, a form of self abuse to conform to the demands of men.

I am referring to breast disease and cancer, and how it is caused by the wearing of tight bras. Most women agree that their bras are uncomfortable. However, the demand for acceptance trumps all reason, as women eagerly spend billions of dollars annually to display their cleavage to the pleasure of men. Creating cleavage and a perky, youthful bustline, however, has a price. To get the "right" look, the bra must be tight, as it compresses the soft breast tissue. This causes pain, cysts, and can lead to cancer, something that was rare prior to the advent of the bra.

It is nothing new for women to abuse themselves for fashion. For example, not long ago, Chinese women bound their feet to please their men. Foot binding was disabling, causing completely distorted feet and toes. Some toes would actually rot off. Men would find erotic pleasure unwrapping, cleaning, and re-wrapping their women's feet. And this went on for centuries!

Another senseless fashion, the wearing of corsets, also tortured women for centuries. The tight lacing impaired breathing, digestion, kidney function, and blood and lymphatic circulation, and caused pelvic disease and permanent skeletal deformation. But men loved the hourglass look, so women put up with the abuse. Fashions can be sick. And this also applies to the wearing of bras.

Bras are constrictive by design. Their purpose is to alter breast shape, and this requires constant pressure applied to the soft breast tissue. Pressure, however, impairs the circulation of blood and lymph within the breast tissue. Most effected are the tiny, easily compressed lymphatic vessels, which drain the tissue of lymph fluid and is the circulatory pathway of the immune system.

Lymph fluid bathes the cells and needs to be regularly cleansed, taking with it toxins, waste products, viruses, cancer cells, bacteria, and cell debris. This lymph fluid is brought via lymphatic vessels to lymph nodes, which filter the fluid and mount an immune response, if needed. Eventually, the fluid re-enters the bloodstream. However, if the breast is constricted by a tight bra, the lymphatic vessels can be compressed, causing the fluid to accumulate in the tissue, along with the toxins it was trying to eliminate, some of which are carcinogenic. The result is pain, cyst formation, fibrocystic breast disease, toxification of the breast tissue, and, ultimately, cancer. Red marks and indentations in the skin left by the bra are telltale signs of constriction.

But will women eliminate their bras? Some women do once they hear about the bra/cancer link. However, for many, the fear of cancer and the pain of constriction are not as compelling as the fear and pain of rejection. To feel accepted, some women accept the self abuse of bra wearing. Some even pay a surgeon to cut their breasts, enlarging or reducing their size, subjecting themselves to the risks of surgery, anesthesia, and potential complications, all to look acceptable to others.

This is violence against women masquerading as fashion. That women do this violence to themselves makes it more disturbing. If a man were to punch a women in the breast, it would be obvious violence. When a woman binds her breasts to the point of pain, cysts, and cancer, it is still violence, even if the bra is lacy, sexy, and fashionable.

Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist and director of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease, located in Hawaii. His unique form of applied medical anthropology searches for the cultural/lifestyle causes of disease. His working assumption is that our bodies were made to be healthy, but our culture and the attitudes and behaviors it instills in us can get in the way of health. By eliminating these causes, the body is allowed to heal. Since most diseases of our time are caused by our culture/lifestyle, this approach has resulted in many original discoveries into the cause, and cure, of many common diseases.

It also makes prevention possible by eliminating adverse lifestyle practices. Sydney works with his co-researcher and wife, Soma Grismaijer, and is the author of several groundbreaking health books, including the acclaimed book, Dressed To Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras (Avery/Penguin Putnam, 1995; ISCD Press, 2005). Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer can be reached at the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease, P.O. Box 1880, Pahoa, Hawaii 96778 (808) 935-5563. Also visit their website at http://www.SelfStudyCenter.org, where you can try lifestyle self studies to prevent and cure numerous diseases.

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