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In the "Real Housewives of New Jersey," Danielle Staub recently went under the knife to get her cosmetically-botched breasts evened out since one was bigger --- and higher -- than the other.
But Danielle isn’t the only “unbalanced” female out there.
“Ninety percent of women have some type of asymmetric breasts,” says Dr. Tony Youn, a plastic surgeon in Troy, Mich. “It’s very common. One side of our body is always a little different from the other. There are some women that have minor asymmetry -– to the point where they don’t even notice it -- and others who are one, two or three cup sizes different from one side to the other.”
Such is the case for Christine, a 38-year-old media consultant from Seattle, who asked not to give her last name for fear of being outed as having what she calls “teeter totter" ta-tas.
“It’s like I’m big boob girl and medium boob girl,” she says. “I first noticed it during puberty and was more self-conscious about it then, but now I just wear this shoulder pad thing that you can buy in any lingerie department. It’s kind of expected that women are asymmetrical but with some women, it’s just more dramatic than others.”
Perhaps the most dramatic asymmetry is found with Poland’s Syndrome, a medical condition where -- among other symptoms -- women (or men) will have one “normal” breast and one breast that completely lacks muscle, breast tissue or even a nipple.
Breast-feeding can also cause one breast to become smaller or droopier, says Youn (“The droopier side is usually the baby’s favorite”) as can cosmetic surgery complications, such as an implant that’s “gone bad.”
Although asymmetrical breasts are perfectly normal, Youn says they can still affect some women’s self-image and even their ability to have relationships.
“I’ve had women in their late 20s come in and say I’ve never taken my shirt off in front of a man before,” he says. “They feel quote unquote deformed.”
Christine, who recently married, is more philosophical about her “lopsided ladies.”
“Maybe if I had an endless amount of money I’d have surgery, but it’s more like why bother at this point,” she says. “It’s irritating and you have to learn to dress for your figure. But boys don’t care. They’re just like, whatever.”
Do you have any other asymmetries you're embarrassed about? Proud of? Tell us about it in the comments.
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My wife is uneven by a cup size or so. I like having the variety. It is just a pain for her to find bras that fit.
After breastfeeding two children, I'm also uneven by a full cup size. I was never perfectly symmetrical, but it was not a big difference until the birth of my second child. I don't like having my shirt off in front of my husband. Even though he doesn't care about the asymmetry, I feel self-conscious about it. It's a pain for me to find bras that fit, too. I wish I had the money to correct it, but at the same time I'm trying not to be superficial about the whole thing, lol.
I am uneven by probably two cup sizes-and unfortunately, it has greatly affected how I feel about my body. I can "cover it up" by wearing a shoulder pad like the gal in the article, but bathing suits are a nightmare. I can NEVER wear a solid color top, I need the busiest print I can find and hope it has firm structured cups to camoflage as much as possible. If I ever had the money, the one and only piece of cosmetic surgery I would have is to make my breasts more symmetrical. I'm 46 years old and it still bothers me a great deal. My mate doesn't care-he loves me to death but I still hate it, every day....
I had terrible asymetry with one breast smaller than an A and the other nearly a full B! I was so self conscious that it became nearly all I obsessed over. Several years back I got a modest augmentation and haven't thought about it since. My doctor was WONDERFUL and evened things out, while keeping to a strict rule of how large he would take me. This made me respect him and now I'm just so pleased!!!
I am also uneven. I thought this was just my problem. It would be nice if we could find bras that the cups were interchangeable so we could get the right fit.
fruit of the loom is doing that now, http://www.styleite.com/retail/fruit-of-the-loom-bra/
also mine are about a cup or more different and none of my boyfriends ever cared. i dont feel self concious about it anymore - just when i was in highschool. i would get it fisex just because its hard to find things to fit well but thats about it. i got the smaller one pierced to make up! :)
Asymmetric breasts are great, as long as they’re natural. In my male opinion fake boobs, unless you need them because of desease or injury, are a waste of money, they look terrible.
Sounds abut right.
From that Poland's Syndrome site:
I'm surprised it's that common, but I guess it's not the type of thing folks are constantly bringing up.
Men are often uneven as well. The most famous was a Chinese man named Won Hunglo.
I am very assymetrical! I'm 7 months pregnant and one side is a B and the other side is a D. All I can wear are sport bras and if I want to wear a cute bra, I have to attempt to tuck the biggerside in to make it look even. My boyfriend thinks it's the hottest thing ever but I can't stand it. If I ever win money or something, I would get it fixed, but after I have my baby breastfed of course :)
I'm not only a B and a D, I have an equal discrepancy from to head to toe. My feet are a full size different as well. Try to buy shirts and pants when arm or leg fits and the other doesn't. The number of inches different in each area varies but it is as much as 6 inches. If you cut me in half it would like two different bodies; one larger than the other.
"Such is the case for Christine, a 38-year-old media consultant from Seattle, who asked not to give her last name for fear of being outed as having what she calls “teeter totter" ta-tas."
Well, let's see now. She doesn't want to be outed, but now every other person in Seattle who works for a media consulting firm will be checking out anyone they work with named Christine. How many can there be?
I have at least a two-cup size variation, and I really don't care. I like to call them my "Variety Pack"
Im slightly uneven, but not by much. It used to be worse, but one just grew to almost even up with the other one. The biggest discrepancy now is in my nipple sizes.
But oh well. Nobody has complained about as of yet...
I'm uneven by about a cup size but not once has anyone complained and I couldn't care less. In fact, one boyfriend made a game out of making sure not to ignore the smaller one lest it feel ignored!
Honestly it never occurred to me that I should be self conscious of my uneven breasts. All my life I've had one about a half to a cup smaller than the other, currently one is full B/C while other is closer to full A/B. Never really even thought much about it being a pain to buy bras, as I buy to fit the larger cup. The problem I've run into since the birth of my daughter is my weight (I have small boobs for a fat girl) and getting measured for a bra and being told I'm a D cup. For me with all the other things I dislike about my body, lopsided breasts is one thing I don't mind. Will admit though that, while not embarrassed by lopsided boobs, I would like to see more bras made for women who have more noticeable differences.
I have one that is a DD and the other is one and a half cup-sizes bigger. They've always been uneven, and they came in early (age 8; by age 12 they were D's). Fortunately my waist is smaller than my cup-size would suggest (though not skinny or slender by any means), so most people simply notice a curvy girl with a huge rack without picking up on the fact that one is bigger than the other. It IS a pain to get bras that fit, but I've finally found one type that is a good balance between being too loose on one side and too tight (and over-flowing) on the other side. My fiancee never brings it up, he's happy with me, and both my "girls," just the way they are.
I was never blessed with perfect breasts, they weren't perkie and they were small. Well, during my pregnancy with my son I went from an A/AA up to a small C. I thaught that was great! However, A couple days after I had him my breasts got gigantic!! No joke! They were an E when I was full and a DD after I would breast feed for a half hour on each side then pump each one for an hour! It was horrible! Well after 6 months of doing it I finally stopped. After that my breasts went down to a B and were so saggy they looked like two pancakes with nipples on the bottom! My grandma had perkier breasts then me! I thaught that when I was younger I had low self esteem but after having my son it was 20 times worse. I decided a few years later to go and get plastic surgery and I had implants put in to "fill up" all the empty space. Well I ended up having to get DD just to fill up the majority. 3 years later I have to switch the type of implant and I still have to get my lift. Honestly I wouldn't suggest it to anybody. Love your body for who you are. What I did is so expensive and there is up keep you have to do every so many years.
I was off by a cup size and had extra under my arm. This caused my bad back/neck to never stay adjusted as there was more weight on one side. My chiropractor wrote a letter to my insurance and they paid to correct that side...I had to pay to even up the other side to match. It was totally worth it!!!!
My solution to uneven breasts was to buy a "nu-bra" (silicone cups) I cut off the clasp, and I just put one of the cups in my bra on the smaller side. This way I can wear a smooth cup bra under t-shirts with no fold in the smaller cup. Works for me!
At an early age the difference in the size of my breasts was highly noticeable. I was embarrassed to the point of being obsessed with my breasts. Always worrying that someone would notice. And to my humiliation many people did, and would mention it to me. (Even though my husband stated he loved them I was miserable)One side was a DD the other a large B. One day I confided to my gynecologist how emotionally disturbing this was to me. She asked me if I had back pain, I answered yes. She documented this in my chart and put in a request for a bilateral reduction. My medical insurance covered everything except the standard deductible. I feel like a new person. I can put on any shirt I want and not worry about how it looks. And best of all when the reduction was done they also do a nipple lift, at 46 years old I am actually perky. My husband loves that to. We should not define ourselves by our body image, but if there is a problem, and a solution is available, we should not belittle ourselves or anyone else for choosing to fix something physical that hurts emotionally.
My breasts are lopsided as well...at least a half a cup size difference. My breasts are small, so I don't know if anyone notices, but it really bothers me. If I had the money, I would fix it.
I've had lopsided breasts my whole life, but they always blamed it on my weight and the hormonal problem that comes with it. For many years I was bothered by it and it is definitely not easy to find bras that could "hide" the situation. After becoming an adult and moving away from home, I found the perfect bras for me and a new sense of entitlement. I love using camisoles and I'm not bothered with shirts that I can't wear a bra with any more, even though one side is about a cup and half bigger than the other one. Then again, as I've been told before, guys don't care about it. They actually like it because they have diversity in one person... If they feel like playing with the smaller one, they can and if they want to play with the bigger one, they can do it as well, all with the same person and at the same time. After realizing it wasn't a big issue, I stopped getting bothered. Then again, it does take time when you are with someone new and you don't know what he's thinking or expecting to see.