The Breast of Times
By May Yip. The Straits Times Publication Date: 20-04-2006
Cleavages are bustin' out all over Singapore, it seems. Take the recent Miss Singapore Universe pageant. From tabloids to blogs, eye-catching bust-lines were what made headlines, with water-cooler talk revolving around the generous cup sizes of this year's winner.
Miss Singapore Universe
And on a daily basis, images of cleavages juggle - or should that be jiggle - for the attention of passers-by on billboard ads, covers of magazines and on the small screen.
Not that straight men with healthy libidos are complaining, but you would be excused for thinking that once-conservative Singapore is turning into one breast-obsessed nation.
"I thought this year's Miss Singapore Universe (Carol Cheong) won because of her boobs," says Joshua-Uriel Leong, a banker from BOC in his 30s who admits that he is a "boob man" and is drawn to a woman's breasts ahead of her other physical attributes.
And "Yes, yes, yes - size does matter", he adds.
According to Doy Teo, director of the Singapore operations of lingerie brand Triumph International, the number of women going up to a bigger C cup has surged from about 10 per cent a decade ago to 18 per cent.
The lingerie industry here is estimated to be worth S$100 million (US$62.58 million), says Teo. The brand now even carries a line of fuller-figure F-cup bras, and these whoppers have been enjoying brisk sales.
Another favourite among shoppers here is the push-up bra. Foong Yen, a spokesman for home-grown lingerie brand Ero, says 70 per cent of sales come from its Skin.Cool range of push-up bras.
As boob "authority" Jeffrey Chung notes: "The first things guys notice about girls are breasts. Instead of keeping them in, the media might as well capitalise on them."
He ought to know - he is the model agency owner who made headlines by marketing three D-cup models as the Singapore D-Cup Show Girls.
And the media has certainly wholeheartedly embraced this icon of femininity, from publications devoted to lad culture such as Maxim, featuring scantily clad women on and between its covers, to the popularity of models willing to display more decolletage.
There is also no shortage of cleavage on big and small screens too, such as Uma Thurman's bountiful bosom in The Producers or on the now-ended MTV reality series, Newlyweds, starring Jessica Simpson and her perfect double Ds.
This show of skin has even migrated from the reel world to reality, with a whole generation of young women flaunting their seemingly blossoming assets in tube tops and barely-there halters.
"Boobs are the reason men wake up in the morning and the source of comfort as they lie in bed with their ladies at night," says Joshua-Uriel Leong. "The ideal breast size should be big enough for you to notice, but not of the size that you end up talking to them instead."
The PAP might play the statistical game, but what is an unemployed Sporean going to do?
Very lonely here in Spore :(
