I used to get called ‘coat hanger nipples’ and hated my boobs but now I’m always naked and absolutely love them
IN the 90s, when mum-of-two Molly Forbes was growing up, the look all girls wanted was either ‘thin Kate Moss’ or ‘big boobed, glamour girl’ and, she – like thousands of others – just didn’t fit either of those moulds.
Now, age 36, and a body image campaigner from Devon, she couldn’t care less about trends, looks or ‘fitting in’. In fact, if it came down to it, she’d spend her days wandering around completely naked.
But for years – like three in four women in the UK – Molly was never happy with her body or her boobs.
As part of Fabulous’ Going Bust series – which is helping to raise awareness for boob confidence – here, Molly reveals what made her change her tune.
“Between the age of 16-18 I remember the talk at school was always about big boobs. The boys loved them and I never felt like mine were ever big enough. So, I’d save my allowance and spend it all on Wonderbras.
“I remember my first one – it was that iconic black satin one you saw in all the adverts and the look was to wear it underneath a sheer shirt from a shop like Tammy Girl or One and Only.
“But as much as I tried to boost my chest with padding, it didn’t help. The boys called me ‘little man’ at school – which was horrible – and I was desperate to have a cleavage, which was never really there.
“My boobs were quite small and I always felt they weren’t quite good enough. So then, going through uni, that feeling stayed with me.
I remember a guy pointing at me at the bar, saying ‘she’s got coat hanger nipples’ because my nipples were pointing through my top and I became super self-conscious
Molly Forbes
“And despite being older, the name calling didn’t really stop, which obviously knocked my confidence.
“I remember being on a night out when I was at University and one of the plus sides of having small boobs was I could go out and wear no bra so when the halter neck craze was in, I could wear that and embrace that.
“But I remember a guy pointing at me at the bar, saying ‘she’s got coat hanger nipples’ because my nipples were pointing through my top and I became super self-conscious about that thinking ‘they’re not only not big enough but now I still have to wear a bra because people can see my big nipples’. It was vicious.”
But a huge turning point in Molly’s life came when she fell pregnant with her first daughter, Freya, and gave birth at 26.
“For the first time ever I started to really appreciate what my body could do, not what it looked like. And I became really grateful for it and what it had given me. My boobs in particular. I breastfed my first daughter for a year and I didn’t have any problems. They became functional, they were there for a purpose.
“I’d never really seen them as sexual because they weren’t very big but by feeding Freya they were actually fulfilling a purpose and they were keeping my baby alive and that made me appreciate them in a whole new way.
“I breastfed her for a year but then had my second daughter, Effie, who I fed for three years.
“I felt far more confident with Effie and didn’t care about feeding in public. As she got older I tended only to feed her at home, before bed, as I know some people get funny about breastfeeding older children but it comforted her and made her happy so I didn’t care.
“Now, I’m around a 36B and while my boobs are a little more deflated than they were in my 20s I absolutely love them – I wish I felt like this when I was younger.
“I’m now quite a ‘naked’ person and we are a very ‘body happy’ family. I still bath with Effie, who is five, and they always see me in the shower or getting dressed.
How to check for breast cancer: The 5 step self exam you can do at home
There is a five-step self exam you can do at home to check for any changes.
1. Begin by looking in a mirror, facing it with your arms on your hips and your shoulders straight.
You should be looking for any dimpling, puckering, bulging skin, redness, soreness, a rash or changes in the nipple.
2. Still looking in the mirror, raise both arms above your head and check for the same changes.
3. With your arms still above your head, check for any fluid coming from the nipples.
This can include milky, yellow or watery fluid, or blood.
4. While lying down use your opposite hand to check each breast.
Using a few fingers, keeping them flat and together, go in a small circular motion around your breasts.
Make sure you feel the entire breast by going top to bottom in these small circles.
It helps to develop a system or pattern to make sure every inch is covered.
Use light pressure for the skin and tissue just beneath, medium pressure for the tissue in the middle of your breasts, and firm pressure to feel the tissue at the back, feeling down to your ribcage.
5. Feel your breasts while either standing or sitting, using the same small circular motions.
“I made a real conscious effort to have a new relationship with my entire body over the last few years, largely because I’ve got daughters and I want to set a good example for them, and I want to show them that bodies come in all different shapes and sizes.
“I want to show them that it doesn’t matter if you’ve got big boobs or small boobs, they’re still lovely just as they are.
“I enjoy my boobs now too. I sunbathe topless on holiday and I don’t care. I won’t think twice about not wearing a bra if a dress doesn’t need it and in the summer I rarely wear one.
Vote in our Good Influence Awards and win £500
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To be in with a chance of winning £500, vote for your faves before 11.59pm on Sunday September 20 to and help us decide the shortlist.
The winners will be selected by our judges Maura Higgins, Katie Wallwork and Nana Acheampong.
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“It’s not like I’m doing the school run topless, but I like them and they’re a part of me.
“I think it’s partly the age that I am when I’ve started to care less about what other people think.
“I’m definitely feeling like my boobs are mine again and I appreciate them more for me.”
Most read in Fabulous
Meanwhile, in our Going Bust series, read about how Love Island’s Laura Anderson has huge regrets about going under the knife.
Plus, former Page Three star Rhian Sugden talked about how she could retire on the money she made from her boobs but would love a reduction.
And finally, read about the woman who was branded a child abuser because she breastfed her daughters, aged seven and four, at the same time.