Let me preface this by saying I am a man, and smoked a little too much, so I’m sitting here thinking… what is or was the original purpose of a bra? Weight support? Vanity? Covering the nips so people’s eyes met your eyes and you can have a normal conversation? Like what’s it all about?
Advantages of bras:
Look nice (if you’re into that look, which many people are)
Keep your nipples from chafing
Support/containment for larger boobs
Keep prudish people from being mad at your nipples
Can be worn without a shirt for sports if they cover enough real estate
When breastfeeding, help catch/absorb leaks
Disadvantages of bras:
I would say I wear bras about 30-50% of the time and it’s usually for either support/chafing prevention or looks. The rest of the time I can’t be bothered. I’m also lucky to not have super large breasts. I know women who do may find a good fitted bra to be more comfortable than no bra.
When I was breastfeeding I wore them all the time though because it is super awkward to leak through your shirt in public.
Edited to add bullet points bc I suck at lemmy formatting