Justice

Vogue Declares the End of Cleavage

November 2nd 2016

We're all familiar with fashion magazines judging which trends are in and out, but some people seem to think British Vogue has gone too far by asking, "Is cleavage over?

Twitter reacted with a mixture of shock, frustration, and annoyance at the fashion magazine's poll about cleavage.

The poll was inspired by an article by Kathleen Baird-Murray in the December issue of British Vogue titled “Desperately Seeking Cleavage,” which describes the decline of cleavage from the red carpet to the runway. "Whatever happened to the cleavage?" the writer asks in the piece. “The tits will not be out for the lads. Or for anyone else, for that matter.”

The article is only in the print edition. However, a piece about the British Vogue story in The Independent stirred up a fair amount of conversation and backlash on Twitter.

The Independent quotes part of the British Vogue piece, and people angrily responded to the perceived treatment of breasts as a fashion accessory or trend instead of a body part.

It seems Biritish Vogue isn't necessarily making a statement against having big breasts but rather the fashion esthetic of revealing them. However, the backlash seems to be generally born out of frustrations about women's choices to show cleavage or not to. (For some women with large breasts, it may not be a conscious choice.)

While the full article isn't available online, it seems Baird-Murray is generally well-intentioned. Instead of saying large breasts aren't trendy, she seems to be highlighting the cultural shift away from women feeling pressured to reveal their cleavage in order to fit a gender stereotype of what constitutes a sexually attractive woman.

With all the cultural conversation about breasts (covering them is modest, showing them is sexually suggestive — and the fuel for the whole industry of push-up bras), rather than declaring that cleavage is over, let's just declare a woman's right to wear whatever she wants.

[h/t The Independent]

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