Curse of a Big Chested Woman

Arggh!! Not more than 30 seconds after picking up my "coffee-something-ino" drink from Starbucks tonight, I get chocolate syrup on my sweater. I didn't order anything with chocolate (I'm a caramel gal), but, for some reason, my chest is a magnet for attention.

Being chest-endowed definitely helped out while in Japan. (And yes, I'm working on a story about being a Western woman in patriarchal Japan.) It prevented me from purchasing any clothing, however, it came in handy when asking directions or making conversation with the opposite sex. I was a bit self-conscious about it at first. Walking down sidewalks and watching men trying to sneak peaks, from businessmen in suits to on-duty police officers. Maybe I was a novelty, after all, we were in a part of Japan where not many Westerners travel to.

I even offered some entertainment for the Japanese women. As a team, we were treated to a tour of a kimono-fashion school then dressed in full, silk kimonos. My dressing gals giggled and smiled as they patted my breasts. I giggled along with them. Later in the day, I found myself in a sleeve-like a sleeping bag, but it constricted like a snake. A towel was wrapped around my top and my girl patted my chest and smiled. "Yes," I replied, "big." Of course, we shared a giggle.

Then there was the onsen experience. Japanese bathing. (Yet, another in depth story is in the wings to be written). It's done, well, "ne-ked." For many young Japanese girls, I was the first Westerner they've seen, none the less, naked. I found them coming up to me and checking me out like I was a newly discovered creature on display at the zoo. I had been warned by other Western woman that some Japanese women will check the Western women out to see if it's true whether the 'plumbing' runs the opposite way. I doubt these little girls knew about "plumbing," but they did recognize that I looked different.

And here I sit. Another evening at Starbucks, trying to pat out the chocolate sauce so not to attract attention to my bustiness.

Comments

miriam sawyer said…
I've been there. Not Japan, but the big-chested part,