Ashley James says she has faced ‘a lot of sexualisation and shame’ over her big boobs since she was 13 and gets regularly trolled for her breastfeeding snaps: ‘I just want to exist in the body that I have’
Ashley James has opened up about the trolling she receives when she posts pictures of her breastfeeding online.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 36, is mum to son Alf, three, and daughter Ada, ten months.
She has shared her breastfeeding journey with both children on social media, but admits she has faced a lot of negativity and being called “attention seeking.”
However, Ashley wants to normalize nursing, insisting it is “not a sexual thing” and saying “if people want to judge, then they are very much the problem.”
Speak with Fantastic for new YouTube series Shamed, she said, “I promise you, no one with big breasts is trying to attract attention. We just want to exist in the body we have.”
Ashley James has opened up about the trolling she receives when she posts pictures of her breastfeeding online
The former Made In Chelsea star, 36, has shared her breastfeeding journey with son Alf, three, and daughter Ada, 10 months, on social media, but has received a lot of negative comments
However, Ashley wants to normalize nursing, insisting it is ‘not a sexual thing’ and saying ‘if people want to judge then they are very much the problem’.
She said she gets a lot of comments, especially from other moms, telling her to “put them down.”
Ashley said: ‘I’ve had that my whole life, ever since I got boobs. Why do I have to cover my body? It is the policing of women, but it also tells a woman that her body, based on her body type, is too sexual to be shown.”
She is also the target of sexual comments from men: ‘I always get these weird guys in my DMs who want to see my breasts, with comments like ‘lovely nice bags’. It’s just dirty.
‘I think social media should try more to police this and women shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of sexual abuse.’
Ashley said she has been ashamed of her breasts ever since she developed size 30GG breasts at the age of 13, and that this continues to have an impact on her to this day.
She said: ‘A lot of my problems came when I grew breasts. I quickly went from having none to a size 30GG. That was very difficult, because there was a lot of sexualization and shame.’
She explained that she faced sexual comments from boys and men, and teachers told her to hide, making her feel like it was her fault.
Ashley said, “For me, as a kid, there was a lot of confusion. I was told that if I wanted to be taken seriously I had to dress a certain way and I didn’t understand why.
Ashley said she has been ashamed of her breasts since developing size 30GG breasts at the age of 13, and that this continues to impact her to this day
She explained that she faced sexual comments from boys and men, and teachers told her to hide, making her feel like it was her fault
‘I think the teachers were trying to protect me, but it taught me that my body was something to be ashamed of. Boys made sexual comments about my body, but I got the blame.”
As a result, Ashley still worries about her outfits, worried that people will think she is promiscuous because of the size of her breasts.
She said: ‘Every time I get dressed, even now in my mid-30s, I always think, “Is this too much? Do I look slutty? Do I look like I’m trying to get attention?” That’s what’s really frustrating.”
She was previously so upset about the size of her chest that she considered having a breast reduction when she was 15.
She said: ‘I went to the GP with my mum. Luckily I didn’t continue with it. I’m very happy with that, because my body has never been the problem.’
She insisted: ‘The hypersexualisation of the female body – particularly the breasts – is the problem.’
Ashley added, “I don’t think I’ll ever say, ‘I love having big boobs.’ But this is my body. That’s how it’s made.’
As a result, Ashley still worries about her outfits, worried that people will think she is promiscuous because of the size of her breasts (pictured this week)