Are we women guilty of still subjugating ourselves - willingly?

A Tech Start Up, The Digital Bra, launched this month with innovative technology developed to revolutionise bras for women who constantly struggle to find a one that fits.

According to recent studies:

• More than 88% of women globally cannot find a bra that fits.
• 66% of women are aware that ill-fitting bras create many health issues.
• 56% said they prefer bras without wires but find it almost impossible to get one.

These are the some of the common remarks we consistently hear from women about their bras:

• “My bra never fits me right. You just accept that.”
• “No two bras sizes are the same. It’s almost impossible to find a bra that actually fits, you just have to make do.”
• “I wear the bra that is the least uncomfortable and wear it until it wears out. I hate bra shopping.”

According to London based Chiropractor Dr Barny Lucas, the bras that women wear, play a huge role in their spine health. When they are too tight, they will pull bones forward, the shoulders will get pulled down and forward causing structural deficiencies and many health complaints. No wonder women are so uncomfortable.

There are endless debates and conflicting studies on the relationship between ill fitting bras and breast cancer - but one thing that all medical experts do agree on is that bras that don't fit do cause a myriad of medical issues. With underwires, push ups bras being amongst the worst culprits.

Judy van Niekerk founder of The Digital Bra says “Despite the fact we have developed revolutionary technology to provide the perfect fit bra without wires padding or push ups it is alarming the number of women we have spoken to who say they are not prepared to give up their discomfort for a bra that doesn't do what wires and push up bras do.

Last month the lingerie brand Victoria Secret was caught again badly photo editing models in lingerie. There have been numerous images of various lingerie brands with models contorted with unnatural shapes in their chest, limbs and torsos from badly photo edited images.

van Niekerk says “However not all photoshopping goes wrong and as the practise is commonplace in the lingerie industry with very few declaring that they will not photoshop, we can assume that the vast majority of model shots in lingerie are in fact photoshopped. and we accept that”.

“Quite poignant at this time with the hit movie Suffragette - women campaigning for equal rights - yet we women continue to disempower ourselves by accepting the ongoing sexualisation of breasts and the bras we wear.”

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons almost 300 000 women in the US had breast augmentation in 2014 a 35% increase from 2000, in fact since 1997 they have tripled. The disastrous affects of implants were well documented last year with tens of thousands of women falling ill with burst implants and having to have implants removed. In a recent study in the UK they found that a high percentage of women opting for breast reduction would not have done so if they had a bra that fitted correctly and comfortably.

Van Niekerk says “The whole question of bra sizing and measuring is a mystery to women and contributes to women’s endless search for a bra that fits. I think the lingerie industry complicit in the subjugation and sexualization of women along with the cosmetic medical industry”

Bras are essentially made on the basis of a few sizes fits all approach based on just three measurements.

However, as the bra is a 3D garment, there are so many other sizes and factors to take into account, which currently lingerie companies don’t. Van Niekerk says “such as every woman’s breasts are different in so many ways, they even sometimes have breasts of different sizes The distance between the top of her breast and her shoulder varies from woman to woman, the angle of her shoulders, the distance between her breasts and how long they are and so many more variables”

Is it time for women to disrupt the lingerie industry, and demand a more comprehensive and easy to follow sizing method for bras?

Is it time for women to change their thinking around their bodies, so we stop mutilating ourselves to feel good (understandably there are times that for medical reasons surgery is required) and start accepting our bodies just as they are.

The global sexualisation of women in society is getting younger and younger. Is there a correlation between this and the reported increase in sexual abuse against women and children?

According to the Asian Centre for Human Rights sexual offences against children in India has increased by 336% from 2001 to 2011. The UN has identified “breast ironing” as a ‘forgotten’ crime against women and children, a practise in which girls as young as 9 have their chests ‘ironed’ with burning hot objects to stunt the development of breasts in order to mask their onset of puberty and in doing so deter unwanted male attention and rape.

“My conclusion is No, we are not free of subjugation yet, and I think we as women are complicit in this. it is us women that need to disrupt our thinking and beliefs about our bodies. It is us women who need to demand more from lingerie companies so that we can find bras and lingerie that fits and is comfortable and we need to accept who we are as we are” says van Niekerk

See our recent global coverage:

http://bit.ly/1YuoAHv

http://ind.pn/1LlmBSf

http://bit.ly/1M66GE1

http://bit.ly/1Ngawhj

Van Niekerk is brainchild behind this start-up, whose life story has captured global media. After she courageously shared her story of sexual abuse from her father, the reporting of sexual assault in Ireland increased 75%.

Here’s some background coverage on van Niekerk's compelling story:

http://dailym.ai/1CPGY3v

http://bit.ly/1LsAHRI

http://bit.ly/1Oh6A06

Judy van Niekerk’s story on the News - https://youtu.be/jjBjNzgW-vk

Committed to making a difference through her childhood challenges, van Niekerk found her passion in empowering people to love and honor themselves regardless of what happened in their lives. The Digital Bra is not just a high-tech innovation. It allows women to finally embrace and love their bodies.

For more information on The Digital Bra go to www.TheDigitalBra.com

Watch the video on how the technology works - www.thedigitalbra.com/media.html

The Digital Bra is also currently involved in developing robots technology that will enable the project to scale and also embark on educational projects for women in developing countries.

To interview Judy van Niekerk:

E-mail - judy@thedigitalbra.com

Phone - +447570814488