The recent weekly hiking activities have made my aversion to bras and related products reach its peak.

Even though I wore a quick-dry T-shirt to stay dry during intense exercise, what happens inside my bra? It feels like it’s steaming buns in there.

In the second week, I switched to nipple covers, but they were still uncomfortable. I couldn’t understand why I was wearing them while watching men freely hike up and down the mountain with their bare chests.

Men can openly go shirtless, but women can’t even show any contours.

I refer to those ingrained beliefs from childhood, accepted without question, as “mental imprints”. The main issue with these imprints is that they don’t hold up to scrutiny. For instance, XXXX. When you start to think about it, you question if this XX benefits you or the world. If it doesn’t, why do I instinctively support XXXX?

Nipple shame seems to be another mental imprint. Why should we be ashamed of the shape of our nipples? The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. Furthermore, if women should feel ashamed of their nipples, why don’t men feel the same?

I remember early internet days when someone praised Japanese convenience store clerks for discreetly packing sanitary napkins in black bags.

But are sanitary napkins something to be ashamed of?

In terms of materials, they are just cotton and plastic, very clean. In terms of use, they just manage menstruation. Toilet paper is used for wiping your butt, yet people still carry it openly.

A friend avoids the word “menstruation,” finding it impolite, and prefers to say “Aunt Flo”.

But the word “menstruation” is perfectly normal!

Not to mention the constant anxiety about menstrual leaks that women experience from a young age. Blushing, lowering their heads, and covering their butts with clothes.

Blood from other parts of the body is fine, but not from here.

As a woman with less obvious feminine features, I often have to confront my many “flaws”:

• Too tall.
• Feet too big.
• Voice too deep.
• Breasts too small.
• Too much leg hair.

I feel a deep sense of inferiority as a woman, forced to admit that I am rough, like a man, not cute, and lack feminine charm.

It feels like I am ashamed for not being feminine enough and also for my feminine traits.

Of course, today, I have overcome many of these irrational shames. Although I still feel self-conscious when going out braless.

Keep examining my inner self and remove those random mental imprints one by one.