15 Vintage Ads That Remind Women How Imperfect Their Boobs Are

Tired of being rejected because of your dishpan hands? Worried that the man in your life may leave you because of your feminine odor or because you don’t have dimples? Or….the worst of all — your breasts are too large, too small, too saggy, too….whatever? Well, never fear! Unscrupulous advertisers and American society are here to continuously prey on your insecurities or help you create new insecurities so that they can hawk their solutions to you.

And it’s always been that way.

We often hear that the media, Hollywood, and society in general have created an unachievable and unrealistic standard of beauty in recent years. That standard is certainly fed constantly, but the fact is, this isn’t anything new. Advertising has targeted women for as long as advertisers have existed. And nothing has been targeted as much as our breasts.

The Do I Offend blog and it’s offshoot — No Boob Left Behind — has chronicled vintage ads that are targeted towards women. California artist Cynthia Petrovic, a designer of retro-themed gifts, became fascinated with these unbelievable vintage ads when she began collecting old magazines. The best source for the worst ads was publications that were written for a female audience: homemaking magazines, True Story, True Secrets, etc…

It’s no accident that so many women hate how they look. A whopping 90 percent of women are unhappy with their bodies. These insecurities have been carefully cultivated and fostered for generations. Even the most beautiful women in the world suffer from insecurities about their appearances, especially their bodies. From?Huffington Post:

  • Sophia Vergara believes she’s not a “normal girl” because she’s 40, has had a baby, and her breasts are too large.
  • Katy Perry wore minimizers as a young girl to try to reduce the size of her breasts.
  • Kirsten Dunst admits to covering her breasts up a lot.
  • Britney Spears says that she has a love-hate relationships with her breasts and wants them smaller because they “get in the way.”
  • Touted as one of the sexiest women alive, Kim Kardashian said this about her breasts:??I remember crying in the bathtub. I took a washcloth, made it hot, put it over my chest and prayed, ?Please don’t let them grow any bigger. They’re embarrassing me.'”
  • Jessica Alba says hers are saggy.
  • Kiera Knightly says “I’d love to have tits, but I don’t – I have pecs.”

And then there are the women who seem to tie their identities to their breasts:

  • Dolly Parton says that having large breasts “takes a bit of the pressure off me” and that they’ve served her well.
  • Jennifer Love Hewitt says that her breasts are her “five million dollar assets.” Let’s be clear about one thing: Jennifer’s smile and her talent are her five million dollar assets.
  • Scarlett Johansson thinks her breasts could win awards. The sad thing is, she’s probably right.

I spoke with Cynthia Petrovic and she expressed her dismay to me.

Can you actually find a bra that is not padded, foam-filled, pushed up and made to look BIGGER? That I just cant get over. Where are all the comfortable cotton bras that YOU fill out with your own body? It’s all a lie!?Our culture sets up a system that if you dont fit in, you are an outcast. If you DO fit in, you are exploited.

She suggests that we don’t hold out a lot of hope for change and acceptance of who we are as women.

Forty plus years after the women’s liberation movement, what has changed? Nothing. Women are even more objectified than ever. There is more attention being paid to flaws, imperfections, even stupid nicknames being given to women’s body parts. That’s a big part of why I started to scan and share these things [vintage ads].”

I completely agree.

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I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.