In Ancient India, Women Did Not Cover Their Breasts

At the time in South India, going bare-chested was neither shameful nor noteworthy. Rather, people simply chose to wear minimal clothing to allow for evaporation of sweat and prevent overheating in the hot, humid climate. No one cared to look, and no one was bothered by it. Women’s breasts were not sexualized in India until the arrival of missionaries. In the past, we were an open-minded and accommodating society.

While Indian women were hanging free, in the West, women’s undergarments were dominated by the corset, which pushes the breasts upward and is seen by many as a symbol of female subjugation.

“The history of objectified breasts begins with corsets,” Tewari says. “Women were called the weaker sex because the corsets were so tight that it led to them being sick, and constantly fainting.”

What is the history of covering breasts in India?

You probably know about the caves of Ajanta and Ellora and that the earliest representations of women show them with minimal clothing. Also, in sculptures from the Maurya and Sunga periods (about 300 BC) – men and women wore rectangular pieces of fabric, on the lower part of the body and one on the upper part. 

3500 – 1500 BCE: Indus Valley Civilization

Terracotta excavated shows women wearing heavy jewelry, but no clothes or jewels covering the bosoms.

 800 CE onward – Chola Period

The sculpture below is from medieval chozhar period and the lady is a donor to a temple - does look royal (with jewelry), but not wearing a breast covering cloth. Maybe it was by choice and not related to affluence or caste etc as she was rich but not wearing one.

In addition, literary work from the same period (800–1200 CE) also suggests exposed bosoms as a cultural thing.

“Looking at the bosoms of the woman” “bosoms that can be seen” “bosoms decorated with jewels” - Kamba Ramayana 800 - 1000 CE

1900 CE - Victorian era

Another example is that of Kerala where women covering their breasts was considered as a sign of class and only upper caste women belonging to certain clans were allowed to cover their breasts. 

The majority ethnic group (Malayali) only allowed women of the Brahmin and Kshatriya castes to wear tops (only until 1858). Infact, there was Breast Tax called Mulakarram which was imposed on the women of Kerala who belonged to the lower castes which forced them to pay taxes to the King if they wished to cover their bosoms.

The rise of Mughals in India and its impact on Indian Women's attire

"I think the idea of nudity being sinful came with the Abrahamic religions,” says Bandana Tewari, fashion features director at Vogue. “Not just in India, but if you look at pre-Abrahamic cultures anywhere in the world, like the Mayan civilization and the Egyptian civilization, bras didn’t exist because the breasts were not seen as objects of titillation. That’s a relatively new phenomenon.”

The rajasthani women started covering up breasts because they learnt that the Mughal invaders found it arousing. Constantly throughout all miniatures, you'll see that the rajasthani women are wearing transparent blouses. It was the influence of the Mughal empire that gave birth to garments like the salwar kameez which is virtually seen as a one of the common dresses in India today.

The Victorian Era

During the Victorian era, in places like Bengal, some women did not wear blouses under their saris.

But the British influence became stronger over time and it was then, when the terms ‘blouse’ and ‘petticoat’ made the leap into Indian vocabulary. Indian women had adopted the Victorian blouse brought by British colonizers, or were wearing traditional cholis and bodices. Historians presume Indian women began wearing the garment sometime in the late 40s, and the first advertisement for a bra appeared in 1954.

When did breasts become a taboo in India?

The need for “modesty” was fueled by the expectations of missionaries and colonizers. Influenced by colonial religious doctrine, women began to view their own bodies as sinful.Consequently, the social sexualization and objectification of women’s breasts became deeply rooted in Indian culture, and ultimately manifested to reinforce an enduring fixture in Indian society: the caste system. 

Conclusion

We’ve travelled from being topless, fought for our right to cover up in some parts of India; gone through bandeaus, bodices and blouses to strappy risky numbers to backless, strapless, deep cut, padded and pretty much anything we could want with the advent and progress of technology, capitalism and globalisation

Unfortunately, though, society’s toxic preoccupation with a woman’s status of dress or undress reinforces and reflects the desires and standards of men. Our definition of an empowered woman must, thus, be derived from a place that is not reactionary to male expectations. Ideas of modesty and dignity are, more often than not, prescribed to women by society so that women act in accordance with male sexual desire. However, centering the conversation on a woman’s right to choice of clothing rather than the clothing itself, minimizes the importance of the male gaze and redefines feminism as independent of patriarchal priorities.