MovieChat Forums > The Stepford Wives (1975) Discussion > Why is Joanna not wearing a BRA when she...

Why is Joanna not wearing a BRA when she meets 'Diz'???


Her nipples are obviously perking/poking through.

Her living room is full of male friends of her husband's - why does she wear that clinging gown that also obviously reveals the shape of her @$$?

What a slut she is!

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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A "slut"? So how is the modern world since your Neanderthal cave thawed out? Or did you invent a time machine in the 1940s and decide to visit the future?

Women's bodies are their own to decide what to do with and how to dress. Your ancient attitudes are not appreciated in modern society, go find a cliff to throw yourself off of.

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Honey - if Joanna is "advertising" her wares in front of her husband's male colleagues, what the hell are we supposed to think???

Seriously - why would a woman in a loving relationship parade - even flaunt - her body parts like that?

Is that something you would do in front of your husband's friends? Of course, if that floats your boat....

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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Your ancient attitudes are not appreciated in modern society, go find a cliff to throw yourself off of.
And this is one of the myriad problems in "modern society." Share the beliefs of the masses or "go find a cliff to throw yourself off of."

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The movie was made in 1975. A lot of young women didn't wear bras then. The trend began with women's lib and "bra-burning" ... a statement of independence from wearing uncomfortable underwear. That revealing, clinging gown made it obvious to her husband's friends that she was a strong-willed, modern woman.

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Yeah well that "no-bra" habit is also sexually-enticing to the guys.

Amazing how women believe some kinds of gestures/actions promote "women's lib" when, in fact, those same gestures/practices - like NOT sporting a bra (or even underwear as evidenced by Joanna's dress) nevertheless incite/provoke sexual desire in men. Removing a layer of separation from your male colleagues, girls/ladies, only makes things "more temptingly accessible"...

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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I don't think I ever heard a guy complain about a women not wearing a bra - unless it was a 70-something geezer complaining about being confronted with the state of his own wife's sagging breasts.

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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I don't see how any of your arguments back up your original post. Women who didn't wear bras were not "sluts," as you call them. They just didn't like to wear bras, and it was accepted fashion not to do so in many circles. By all means, continue to ignore history if that's your thing. But something called "context" does exist.

Don't worry, I won't be responding to you again.

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Of course you won't respond. You wouldn't dare answer the question "Would you wear that kind of provocative attire in front of your husband's friends?"

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

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I think that Joanna not wearing a bra and that clingy outfit just demonstrates that reason why the men think that the women of Stepford should become robots. It was disrespectful of Joanna to dress that way in front of her husband's friends. I saw it as a sign of disrespect towards him.

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I agree. It just seemed odd that with only twenty minutes notice (why wasn't she even slightly annoyed by that?) that she would go upstairs and put on that dress when a group of strange men were coming over. Was she trying to look "nice" for her husband's new friends or what? Considering her wardrobe for the rest of the film, it just seemed out of character. It would have been more appropriate for the party or after she was changed but not for a casual "meeting" at home. It was odd. Also, Ike was not sketching her figure, just her face.

"I say,open this door at once! We're British !"

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That was the way women dressed back then, it was a free and easy mindset. She ran around the film mostly dressed in hipster jeans, short shorts and halter tops, the dress wasn't a big leap away from that style.

In fact her clothing before her "change" was more revealing than after. The men in that town were closet prudes despite all their arguments to the contrary.

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They were originally going to wear mini skirts after "the change" which would have made more sense but because of Nanette Newman's rather zaftig figure they changed to long, flowing dresses and picture hats.

"I say,open this door at once! We're British !"

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Nanette Newman was "zaftig"? I didn't notice in the film...in International Velvet she certainly isn't.

Also, IDK what's true and what a isn't, but on the TCM Friday spotlight showing last December, a costume designer was hosting, and commented on that final scene. She said it was supposed to be hot pants and halter tops.

Takes two to tumble it takes two to tango
Speak up don't mumble when you're in the combo

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I like people who post to old comments. I never let the date bother me if I have something to say. Good for you !

Now, would full-figured or Junoesque or Rubenesque been more accurate ? I am a fan of all three so I was not insulting her and I think she WAS slimmer in "International Velvet" or perhaps it was the wardrobe.

I heard the hot pants and halter tops story as well.



"I say ! Open this door at once! We're British !"

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I think everyone forgets that the Holly Hobby/Victoriana look was big at the time the film was made. Gunne Sax was a popular brand then.

It just so happens that the choice to change the style for Newman happened to be an unplanned stroke of genius. And everyone is getting hung up on those dresses and completely overlook how revealing the dresses are...discreetly. Bobby's dress in the supermarket scene is completely low cut, almost down to her belly button. Charmaine is wearing a halter top! We also have to remember the wives are dressed in a way that their husband's want and prefer. If you notice, Carol Van Sant is almost always in outfits that emphasize her hips and backside.

The film does something else quite subversive, completely showing that this is not about sex but control.

The hot pants, halter tops, short shorts, braless look and clingy clothing are worn by the wife BEFORE the brainwash/robotization. These clothing choices are the women's choices! The clothing choices before they are destroyed are signs of how comfortable they are with themselves and their own appeal. Another thing the men want to destroy. They don't want other men looking at their wives or their wives encouraging other men to look at them.

It's all about control.

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I agree. Exactly. It IS all about control.




"Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!"🍨-HOMER J.SIMPSON

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That was the way women dressed back then, it was a free and easy mindset. She ran around the film mostly dressed in hipster jeans, short shorts and halter tops, the dress wasn't a big leap away from that style.
Yes. Part of the 1970's feeling for women's fashion was an air of "this is me, take me for what I am." Of course it was an illusion, as women were using as much care and as many beauty products as they ever did, but there was at least to be a FEELING of naturalness and ease.

Joanna is essentially wearing a teeshirt dress. It is light and comfortable, and doesn't require constricting undergarments. Her hair is long and loose and her jewelry is minimal. She is in her own home, in her own body. This approach to a more sensual, casual style of dressing that emphasized the woman rather than an elaborate, covered-up clothing style came over from Europe with film star Brigitte Bardot.

I don't know what Joanna is conveying by this choice of discretely revealing dress. But if you had the body for it, it was a popular look in the 1970's, embodied by the designers Halston and Yves St. Laurent.

.

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'That was the way women dressed back then, it was a free and easy mindset. She ran around the film mostly dressed in hipster jeans, short shorts and halter tops, the dress wasn't a big leap away from that style.'
---------------
I was around then, and women did wear bras. People are pretending that it's "women's lib", when the fact is the female breasts/nipples is an erogenous part of the female body. If women choose to go braless in sheer clothing, they can't complain they are being gawked at, or being treated in a certain way. It then does become their "problem"

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Her wardrobe was typical of the hippy type character she was portrayed as; hence wearing no bra and little or no make-up. Maybe the Director wanted to emphasise Joanna's small bust throughout the film to show the obvious difference at the end when Joanne the robot makes an appearance, it is quite obvious that she now has a much larger bust.


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I'd ditch the bra and just go topless!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
🍀

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by nycruise-1 » Sat Dec 21 2013 01:38:36 Flag ▼ | Reply |
IMDb member since June 2005
I don't think I ever heard a guy complain about a women not wearing a bra - unless it was a 70-something geezer complaining about being confronted with the state of his own wife's sagging breasts.


LOL

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
🍀

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Scary thing is: I HAVE heard men complain!
I was shocked to hear my own brother & my mom's cousin say 'women should wear bras'.

One said that it was 'more ladylike' while the other said 'not wearing one makes men think dirty things'.


But then, those two men together don't even make ONE brain!



I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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But then, those two men together don't even make ONE brain!


LOL

I didn't even noticethat Joanna wasn't wearing a bra.

I was too busy thinking how air-headed the women sounded and what buffoons the men were! LOL

Plus, one of the women's husbands flirted with some other woman and I remember thinking, Wow, are you serious?!

This was BEFORE she became a robot.

This orig. is so much scarier than the remake. The remake seems more like a parody of itself, so I didn't take it so seriously.

The orig. is creepy; esp. near the end when she becomes a robot herself.



Happy St. Patrick's Day!
🍀

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Yeah well that "no-bra" habit is also sexually-enticing to the guys.


That's their problem, not hers.

Often enough I see men wearing sweats or yoga pants or bike shorts and obviously nothing underneath them. Sometimes they're even shirtless. It's sexually enticing to women. Should men stop dressing like that because it's "inciting" or "provoking" sexual desire in women?

Or maybe they should wear what they like, because it's comfortable, and they're free to choose what to wear. If it's sexually enticing to women, that's their problem.

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You're an idiot. Director tells her how he wants the scene. Probably showing she was sexier before they replaced her with a robot.

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maybe she doesnt like bras.
I dont I hate them. I never wear them
Or maybe she just didnt notice...
No big deal. I think she looked beautiful and natural. Joanna was supposed to portrayed as a natural non made up kinda wife and it all fits...

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Good post. I agree, I despise bras.
I do have to wear them sometimes of course, but ANY occasion I can avoid it I do.

Joanna was not only trying to be comfortable, but she was depicted as a 'rebel woman' hence why her husband wanted a doormat robot instead.
Her hubby (and the entire Men's Association) want women all gussied up.


I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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A year later here -- but I remember the early 1970s. My sister seldom wore a bra unless she was going to high school. Also, my Mom wasn't into Women's Lib but when she and my sis talked about the "bra" issue I recall Mom saying: "Good for you." in a kind way.

I was the youngest and I think I was more hung up than them on the issue! :D

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[deleted]

Very late to this party but felt compelled to comment. Joanna was not wearing a bra because many "women libbers" of that 1970s time period did not wear bras. It was a show of support of the women's lib movement. The book and the movie are about men feeling a loss of control over their women; bra burning, refusal to wear bras which are a symbol of male constraint, protests about equal pay for equal work - much of this continues today. Joanna's smaller breasts, (and her lack of a bra in her wardrobe in much of the film,) is also important in the very end when we see her robot replacement has bigger breasts. The look crosses Joanna's stunned face as she notices. She must have been thinking, "Not only is my husband having me killed and replacing me with a submissive robot but he had it designed with bigger breasts. He has never even like my body." Women went without bras during that time as a political statement - it had nothing to do with being a slut in this case. There are several conversations in the film about women's lib. When Joanna mentions it to Bobbie, it almost sounds as though she is talking about some near criminal activity "I messed around with women's lib in New York." And in the 1970s, women's lib was looked upon but many men and some women as a bad thing. I'm sure some women liked the opportunity to go braless and possibly were looking for male attention in a slutty way but that is not the intention in the movie. We have to consider the political climate of the time period in which the book was written and the film was produced.

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It was the 1970's.

I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood

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What is she suppose to wear. A burka?
Oh the whore that she is showing her female body.
Omg. She needs to cover up. Oh can't get the men excited over nipples and curves. You Sound like the Muslim men who say women need to cover so as not to entice them.
Because they can't control their sexual. Blaming the woman.
And you calling her A slut? You're out of order saying that about such a beautiful woman. She's covered up in an elegant Dress.
Do You see women only in a sexual way?
Is that all you see. Tits and ass?
Men need to grow the eff up.
Can't look at woman without having sexual thoughts.
That's his problem. Not the woman.
You're probably one of these peoole who think a woman shouldn't breastfeed in public. The most natural thing in the world.
Or women who wear provocative clothing who get raped ask for it.
Get your head out of the gutter.

For the record bras suck. They are uncomfortable. No doubt a man invented the damn things.




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LOVE YOUR ANSWER!! OP is obviously straight out of the dark ages.

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I was thinking something similar about the dress. Her body was covered. Grow up, guys. Fact: many small breasted women don't wear bras. Bras aren't meant to cover up the breasts. They were designed to support and keep them in place (no jiggling). KR had very, vey little up top. She wouldn't have jiggled while jumping up and down for heaven's sake. I recently watched Network for the millionth time and once again marveled at Faye Dunaway marching through her office clearly braless. But hey, she was small too. And the look fit her character.

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