Women’s Activewear and the History of Sports Bras

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss a controversial new Adidas ad for sports bras.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Adidas went viral earlier this month for tweeting twenty-five sets of bare breasts in order to promote a new line of sports bras. Niki discussed this Time cover about breastfeeding. Neil referred to this Atlantic article about using breasts to sell products, and Natalia drew on historian Martha Verbrugge’s book Active Bodiesand this Elle feature about changing activewear trends. Natalia also referred to holdings in the Smithsonian’s Jogbra collection. 

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia reflected on the life and legacy of the late fitness pioneer Patricia Moreno.
• Neil discussed the Netflix reality show Selling Tampa.
• Niki recommended Seth Stevenson’s Slate piece, “The Moment Sarah Palin’s Testimony Fell Apart.”