Parents have a lot of hopes for their children – and journalist Jen Horgan hopes her daughters have small breasts.

She said she recently came to the realisation while considering what might make growing up easier for young girls.

“I came to the final thought of, in a way, wouldn’t it be easier for [my daughters] if they had a smaller chest,” she told Moncrieff.

“This is an awful thing to wish for my child.” 

She said, as someone who doesn’t have a big chest, she was always “envious” of her friends growing up. 

“Through my teenage years, I just saw it as something I lacked,” she said. 

“Years later, when I actually chatted to them about it, they explained to me that actually at the age of 13 or 14, they were having grown men look at them. 

“One person in particular said to me that she felt kind of pushed into a sort of sexuality she wasn't ready for.” 

'Horrible pressure'

A larger chest can put “horrible pressure” on a young girl still finding their way in the world, according to Ms Horgan.

She said this opinion can seem like “body-shaming” - but it’s important to talk about the “experience of being in a female body in the world”. 

“It's a judgment on how those bodies are being treated, looked at, perceived,” she said. 

Some women, according to Ms Horgan, get “power” from their larger chests and embrace them – but others are not as comfortable. 

“It is down to their personality and their comfort and their strength in themselves, and not all young girls will have that,” she said.

Stigma around large breasts

A Polish study from 2020 asked 500 men and women to describe different photos of women. 

Women with larger breasts were associated with casual sex, lower levels of intelligence and a lower likelihood of being faithful in a relationship. 

Ms Horgan said the association between big breasts and sex in Ireland particular would create more pressure on young girls due to the “moralism” of our society. 

“To combat it is to name it and talk about it and be open about the experience,” she said. 

She said women have the right to “flaunt” their bodies – but part of her hopes her daughters avoid “unwanted attention” in the future. 

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