History Main / SuppressedMammaries

* Mara Wilson in "WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad". She was 11 when she started filming but during a break from filming, she turned 12 and started going through puberty, so she had to bind for those scenes.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho''. At one point the male main character is magically disguised as a woman, but has to go into town incognito as a man -- so he pads his (illusive) waist and binds his (illusive) bust the way a real, non-illusive woman would to achieve the same, checking the result in the mirror.
[[/folder]]

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho''. At one point the male main character is magically disguised as a woman, but has to go into town incognito as a man -- so he pads his (illusive) waist and binds his (illusive) breasts the way a real, non-illusive woman would to achieve the same, checking the result in the mirror.

* ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' has an zig-zag of this. The male main character is magically disguised as a woman, but has to go into town incognito as a man -- so he pads his (illusive) waist and binds his (illusive) breasts the way a real, non-illusive woman would to achieve the same, checking the result in the mirror.

Often a result of NotAllowedToGrowUp. Compare/contrast BigBraToFill, where the character has a big bust but the actress doesn't. Fits into RealityIsUnrealistic because television and film producers used to dislike showing girls ''in between'' childhood and adulthood (you were supposed to be either a sex symbol or not), though those standards have loosened from how they were in the 1950s.

* Creator/ChristinaRicci tied her breasts down when she played Wednesday Addams in the movie version of ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'' and ''Addams Family Values''. Puberty did not miss her. In what was almost assuredly a reference to this fact, her opening scene of ''Now and Then'' has her duct-taping her bra.

* In a rare non-age-related example, Lindsey Lohan's bust was digitally reduced for ''Film/HerbieFullyLoaded''

* Happened to child actress Lina Leandersson during the filming of Literature/LetTheRightOneIn - she was a rare [[AvertedTrope averted case]] of DawsonCasting, being a 13-year old playing a 12-year old, but puberty hit her ''hard'' during the latter half of the shoot. She grew outwards so quickly the wardrobe department could barely keep up and the bindings used to keep her both age-appropriate [[spoiler: and ambiguously gendered]] are clearly visible during some of the outdoor shots.
* Tami Erin for her role in "The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking" (1988). It became obvious during a Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} interview promoting the movie, when she wore a tight aerobics leotard without the binding.

* This was famously done to Creator/JudyGarland to make her look younger for the role of Dorothy Gale in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
* Rumors of this being done deliberately in ''Franchise/StarWars'' are false. True, Creator/CarrieFisher's breasts were taped down to prevent {{Gainaxing}} under her costume, but she resorted to that expedient herself after Creator/GeorgeLucas told her that women couldn't wear bras in space! Lucas eventually got the HotterAndSexier he originally wanted with the notorious "metal bikini" slavegirl outfit in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Fisher went on to relate the whole sordid affair in her candid (and screamingly funny) memoir ''Wishful Drinking''.
* Averted with ''Film/TheHungerGames''. Creator/JenniferLawrence refused to tape her breasts down to play Katniss because she didn't want to send a message to young girls that they had to be ultra-skinny.

* A rare adult example: Creator/JulieAndrews did this in ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' in order to achieve TheRoaringTwenties-appropriate UsefulNotes/{{pettanko}} "flapper" look and {{lampshaded}} it within the {{film}}.
** A second Julie Andrews example is ''Film/VictorVictoria'': Victoria (and consequently Andrews) was forced to bind her breasts in order to disguise herself as the "female impersonator" Victor. Once again it's {{Lampshaded}} when Victoria complains about the discomfort and expresses a fear that she's damaging her figure.

* Tami Erin for her role in "The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking" (1988). It became obvious during a Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} interview promoting the movie, when she wore a tight aerobics leotard without the binding.
* In a rare non-age-related example, Lindsey Lohan's bust was digitally reduced for ''Film/HerbieFullyLoaded''
* Music/SelenaGomez in ''Film/RamonaAndBeezus''. While not too much bigger than the average teen actress her age, then 17-year-old Selena's large bust was a bit too big for the [[DawsonCasting 15-year-old she was playing]] and wore bras that made it look smaller.

* Creator/JennetteMcCurdy from ''Series/ICarly''. After seasons 1 and 2, the show took to wrapping Sam up in layers of 3 or 4 t-shirts. A few episodes in season 3, they forgot about this, such as the rabbi scene in ''iSaved Your Life''.
* Julianna Rose Mauriello had to have her breasts taped down since puberty on ''Series/LazyTown'' since Stephanie is supposed to be 8 years old (or 9 now, since one year's passing has been acknowledged). She was 17 during the last filming.
** That said, 'Stephanie' (Solla Stirða) was played by actual adult women in all the original Icelandic plays from before the TV show, and one of them was quite busty with no attempt to do anything about it, while Julianna definitely had grown between seasons and doesn't really look any bigger in out-of-character shots from the same era.
* Annette Funicello and the other female [[Series/TheMickeyMouseClub Mouseketeers]], supposedly at Creator/WaltDisney's personal insistence. Funicello's rapid development in particular became fodder for comedians.

* On ''Series/SmallWonder'', the plastic vest Tiffany Brissette wore to simulate Vicki's access panel had to be periodically refitted over the show's four-year run. In the fourth-season episode "Double Dates", Brissette shows us how uncomfortably tight her wardrobe had become.
* Soleil Moon Frye discussed this in an interview on a Canadian talk show for teens only a couple of months after ''Series/PunkyBrewster'' was cancelled. She suffered from gigantomastia[[labelnote:*]] (early and out-of-control breast development – in Frye's case, by 13 she was at minimum a DDD, which put considerable strain on her otherwise petite 5'1" frame)[[/labelnote]], and had breast reduction surgery before her 16th birthday.
* Jordan Todosey did this in ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', where she was playing a [[{{Transgender}} trans boy]]; Adam's shown binding (with an Ace bandage) onscreen. Later it's mentioned in-series that Adam gets a chest compression vest.
* In ''Series/GilmoreGirls'', Liza Weil had to play herself down with binding and loose clothing for most of the first four seasons as Paris Geller because of her size and when she started the series, [[DawsonCasting was a 24-year-old playing a convincing 15-year-old sophomore]]; outside of a few scenes and a date prep at the start of season three, she was either dressed in a constricted sweater or a loose blouse. Seasons 4–7 at Yale without the uniform saw her dressing without much need to hide her natural form.

* Done ForScience in an episode of ''Series/MythBusters'', where the myth tested was whether large breasts resulted in bigger tips. Kari did three tests with her [[UnusualEuphemism assets]] in different sizes; one with her breasts their usual size, one with her breasts temporarily "enhanced", and one fitting this trope, where her breasts were taped down to reduce them by two cup sizes. [[labelnote:Conclusion]] There wasn't a real difference in tips between small and normal breasts, but [[BuxomIsBetter larger breasts increased tips by 30-40%]] …from men ''and'' women.[[/labelnote]]
* Creator/ArielWinter in ''Series/ModernFamily'' started out flat-chested (it makes sense; she was 11 when the show started) and eventually grew past Sofia Vergara's famously curvy frame (Vergara, though, is 5'7", while Winter is only 5'1") . Similarly to Soleil Moon Frye, Winter revealed in August 2015 that she'd had a breast reduction in June that took her from 32F to 34D, citing negative media attention as as one of her primary reasons.

* Creator/JodelleFerland in ''Series/DarkMatter'' is [[DawsonCasting supposed to be]] a teenager, and thus she is always padded down and costumed in baggy, concealing clothing to disguise her large breasts.

* Music/JessicaSimpson began her career in show business as a Christian pop singer. During this stage of her career, she would often tape down her breasts for performances because her promoters felt that an attractive blonde with D-cup boobs wasn't the best image for a gospel singer.

* When older cast members of the musical version of ''Theatre/{{Annie}}'' would start to develop, many did this in order to avoid being fired from their roles.
* Creator/MaraWilson has written about being humiliated when she began to go through puberty during the filming of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' and was asked to wear undergarments to hide her developing body. This distressed her enough that it contributed to her decision to [[StarDerailingRole give up film acting]].
* It has become common among female cosplayers to use binders to conceal their chests for cosplaying male characters (or [[SweetPollyOliver Sheik]]). Same goes for quite a few [[{{Transgender}} trans men]] who want to bind. Ace bandages[[note]]Known outside the USA as elastic bandages, compression bandages, pressure stockings, etc[[/note]] are not recommended, as they grow gradually tighter, and can break your ribcage.

* Creator/JennetteMcCurdy from ''Series/ICarly''. In between Season 1 and 2, Nathan Kress and Miranda Cosgrove grew up… and Jennette grew ''[[UnusualEuphemism outward]]''. After that, the show took to wrapping Sam up in layers of 3 or 4 t-shirts, but she kept on growing. A few episodes in season 3, they forgot about this, such as the rabbi scene in ''iSaved Your Life'', and it's pretty obvious what they are doing.

* When she played Dorothy in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', Judy was made to stap her breasts down to look younger.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/JennetteMcCurdy from ''Series/ICarly''. In between Season 1 and 2, Nathan Kress and Miranda Cosgrove grew up… and Jennette grew ''[[UnusualEuphemism outward]]''. After that, the show took to wrapping Sam up in layers of 3 or 4 t-shirts, but she kept on growing. A few episodes in season 3, they forgot about this, such as the rabbi scene in ''iSaved Your Life'', and it's pretty obvious what they are doing. [[MaleGaze Tropers who were paying attention]] noticed that during one scene where Sam was jumping on a trampoline things were not bouncing realistically due to the amount of strapping.

* From ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Creator/MaisieWilliams. When the first season began filming in July 2010, Williams had just turned 13 but looked considerably younger, which fit her role as 11 of 12 year old Arya Stark. By the time they started shooting season 2 in July 2011, however, Williams was now 14 years old and puberty had started to kick in big time. While it helped that Maisie ''is'' fairly short (5'1"), she quickly became considerably more well developed than Arya could realistically have been given that only a few weeks had passed in the show's timeline, and thus she was almost always costumed in thick, padded shirts or tunics until she got a new, more dress-like outfit in Season 5.

* From ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Creator/MaisieWilliams. When the series began, Maisie was roughly the same age as her character Arya Stark (11 or 12) and looked it. By season 2, however, [[DawsonCasting puberty had started to kick in big time, though the timeline of the show had barely advanced]]. While it helped that Maisie ''is'' fairly short (5'1"), she quickly became considerably more well developed than Arya most likely would have been, and thus she was almost always costumed in thick, padded shirts or tunics until she got a new, more dress-like outfit in Season 5.

-->--'''Victoria''', ''Film/VictorVictoria''

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': In her introductory arc, Ukyo was believed to be a male transfer student at Furinkan. Ranma and the others didn't realize she was a girl, until he grappled her during their fight and [[AccidentalPervert got a surprise handful]] [[ThanksForTheMammary of her melons]]. After giving him a slap, she explained that she started [[{{Sarashi}} binding her breasts]] because she had renounced her womanhood after being shamed by [[spoiler:Genma reneging on her engagement to Ranma, by abandoning her]].
** During the Ryuugenzawa story arc, Akane disguises herself as a boy to fool the woman-eating Yamata-no-{{Orochi}}, and this includes binding her own breasts to fit into a boy's school uniform. It works wonderfully, at least until the Orochi gets a direct taste of her and realizes she's really a girl. Later, to save Ranma's life, Akane strips off the uniform's jacket and displays the binding to the Orochi, causing it to chase ''her''.
** An early chapter cover art displays female Ranma in this manner, as Ranma is supposed to have a "man to man" fight with Mousse. However, [[CoversAlwaysLie the story itself goes the complete opposite direction]]: Ranma does pretend to be a boy under extremely baggy clothing, but is actually wearing a PlayboyBunny outfit underneath to humiliate his opponent.
* Ryuunosuke Fujinami in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' is forced to wear a tightly-wrapped sarashi by her insane father who '''''really''''' wishes he had a son to the point he insists (loudly) that she is a boy, and making that official by falsifying school records. Any time she points out the obvious, he claims her breasts are "bee-stings" that will heal if enough pressure is applied. In one anime episode, she lost her sarashi and was shown to have one of the largest chests in the school (though the actual size of Ryuu-chan's bust [[DependingOnTheArtist depended heavily on the artist]]).
* Akira Hiiragi in ''Anime/ValkyrieDriveMermaid'' has one of the largest chests in an already fanservice-heavy show, but somehow managed to bind them enough to [[SweetPollyOliver pass as a man]].
* ''Manga/WanderingSon'': {{Trans|gender}} boy Takatsuki is upset by his chest growth and hates wearing even a sports bra. He overhears a classmate mention how her friend wore bandages on her chest while acting as a male character. Takatsuki gets the idea to do the same, however instead he finds out about binders online and gets one.
[[/folder]]

* A strange in-universe example in ''Film/{{Orphan}}'', which has Leena Klammer put cloths and bandages around her breasts to [[AdultsDressedAsChildren look more childlike]].

* In-universe in ''Film/LesMiserables2012''. Éponine wraps herself up to look like a boy during "One More Day".
* Another in-universe example happens in ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'', when Viola binds her breasts and wears a wig and fake moustache so she can charade as a man and act in Shakespeare's next play. [[spoiler:Amusingly, after she ends up going on stage sans all of that to play Juliet, the queen gets everyone off the hook for having a woman on stage by pretending that Viola ''was'' a man, just with a very good female disguise.]]
* The title character in ''Film/{{Yentl}}'' binds herself down in order to pass as a man and study at Torah school, which wasn't allowed for women in those days.
* Viola in ''Film/ShesTheMan'' uses an Ace bandage to flatten herself to pull of her crossdress masquerade, removing it only to shower [[spoiler:and to [[{{Fanservice}} flash the stadium]] at the end of the movie.]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Delfina in Diane Stuckart's Creator/LeonardoDaVinci mysteries is a SweetPollyOliver who binds her breasts and apprentices herself to Leonardo under the name "Dino". She goes to great lengths to conceal her bandages.
* Alanna the Lioness, from ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'', uses bandages to disguise herself as a boy while training as a knight, and eventually upgrades to a special corset. She is eventually found out by the court during a sword duel with the villain, who cuts through her shirt and the corset accidentally, exposing her to the entire court. He was quite surprised.
* Happens to Kel sometimes in ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall''. Her breasts are more noticeable when they first start growing in ''Page''; all the muscle she builds makes them less prominent. Her build, height, and short haircut results in occasionally being taken for male, especially if she's wearing a heavy shirt.
* Averted in ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', much to Polly Perk's [[ACupAngst shame.]]
** Apparently quite a few girls hoaxed their way through the Assassins' Guild School with heavy strapping and a habit of changing under a towel after PE. After the school became co-ed and girls were officially admitted, at least one woman who bluffed her way through was invited back as a teacher to the first openly female students.[[note]] The canonical Madame Deux-Epées, who teaches Swords and Stabbing, should you wish to know.[[/note]]
* Willie Connolly does this in J.R. Lowell's 1972 novel ''Daughter of Darkness''. She has so much invested in her DeliberatelyCuteChild presentation that she fears changing any part of the status quo. If her parents saw she was becoming a young woman, they'd start making decisions for her, and she knows they've considered sending her to a "lovely" boarding school in Switzerland where she would have no freedom or independence. She keeps her breasts (and her hair) bound tightly for over two years.
* The protagonist of ''Literature/{{Parrotfish}}'', Grady, wears one to make his chest appear flat because he is a {{transgender}} boy.
[[/folder]]

* Played with in ''Series/{{Skins}}'' when Sketch binds down her breasts to try being more appealing to Maxxie, who is gay.

* Done InUniverse in the opening scene of the pilot of ''Series/LoisAndClark'', where Lois Lane enters the Daily Planet office [[SweetPollyOliver in disguise as a bearded man]] for undercover work on an assignment. Before removing the beard she reaches under her shirt to unfasten the binding on her chest, and she expresses clear relief once it is off.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'', the high school girls' basketball team decide to stand in for the boys' team (ItMakesSenseInContext). They do this in part by buying bras four sizes too small.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Natani from ''Webcomic/TwoKinds'' had her soul severely damaged by magic, and the only way to save her life was by bonding what was left of her soul to that of her twin brother. Since she's also trying to pass as a male most of the time, she uses this trope to keep her physical gender a secret.
* Yuki of ''Webcomic/SparklingGenerationValkyrieYuuki'' ''tried'' to do this, but ended up passing out due to her inability to breathe. Being a victim of GenderBender and all that.
* Tai from ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' mentioned that she did this at one point to pass as a boy; she still does it occasionally for a pretense of androgyny. (In her earliest appearances, she distinctly has no bosom, as opposed to later.)
* Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'s resident cute robot girl, Ping, did this at one point in an attempt to return to her "plain" appearance. Upon learning the truth, Junko Ibara berates her for doing this, saying, "It's not good for them!"
* {{Bifauxnen}} {{Gunslinger}} Soli from ''Webcomic/TheMeek'' wears a bandage bra. It's not immediately apparent why. It may be simple poverty, but given the Victorian and frontier character of the setting bras may not be available and a wrap may be the only practical alternative to a corset.
* One character in ''Webcomic/VenusEnvy'' is a trans man who wears bindings. Someone else catches a glimpse of the bandages and jumps to the conclusion that he's a street fighter; Larson's response is basically SureLetsGoWithThat.
* An unusual variant in ''Webcomic/{{Avialae}}'': Bailey uses his trans brother's old bandages to bind Gannet's ''[[WingedHumanoid wings]]'' so that he can hide them under his shirt.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Music/JessicaSimpson began her career in show business as a Christian pop singer. During this stage of her career, she would often tape down her breasts for performances because her promoters felt that an attractive blonde with D-cup boobs wasn't the best image for a gospel singer.
* Along with PetitePride, [[TheFlapper flappers]] of TheRoaringTwenties wore special flattening bras to make them appear younger and more boyish.
* WWE women's wrestler Wrestling/{{Bayley}} wears a more suppressed athletic top than the usual revealing women's wrestling garb, due to her persona being geared towards little kids and being very endowed up top.
* Creator/PattyMaloney once wrote that she had her chest bound whenever she portrayed a little girl.
* When older cast members of the musical version of ''Theatre/{{Annie}}'' would start to develop, many did this in order to avoid being fired from their roles.
* Creator/MaraWilson has written about being humiliated when she began to go through puberty during the filming of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' and was asked to wear undergarments to hide her developing body. This distressed her enough that it contributed to her decision to [[StarDerailingRole give up film acting]].
* It has become common among female cosplayers to use binders to conceal their chests for cosplaying male characters (or [[SweetPollyOliver Sheik]]). Same goes for quite a few [[{{Transgender}} trans men]] who want to bind. Ace bandages[[note]]Known outside the USA as elastic bandages, compression bandages, pressure stockings, etc[[/note]] are not recommended, as they grow gradually tighter, and can break your ribcage.
[[/folder]]

* It has become common among female cosplayers to use binders to conceal their chests for cosplaying male characters (or [[SweetPollyOliver Sheik]]). Same goes for quite a few [[{{Transgender}} trans men]] who want to bind. Ace bandages[[note]]Known outside the USA as elastic bandages, compression bandages, pressure stockings, etc[[/note]] are not recommended though, as they grow gradually tighter, and can break your ribcage.

* It has become common among female cosplayers to use bandages to conceal their chests for cosplaying male characters (or [[SweetPollyOliver Sheik]]). Same goes for quite a few [[{{Transgender}} trans men]] who want to bind. Ace bandages[[note]]Known outside the USA as elastic bandages, compression bandages, pressure stockings, etc[[/note]] are not recommended though, as they grow gradually tighter, and can break your ribcage.

* Creator/LeaMichele is naturally curvy, but had to flatten her chest to play Rachel Berry on ''Series/{{Glee}}, where her character is described as being "Kinda hot if you're not into boobs".

* In a rare non-age-related example, Lindsey Lohan's bust was digitally reduced for ''Film/HerbieFullyLoaded'' .

* Alanna in the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' quartet, as part of her [[SweetPollyOliver disguise]]. She starts out using bandages, but eventually gets a special corset.

* Creator/ChristinaRicci tied her breasts down when she played Wednesday Addams in the movie version of ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' and ''Addams Family Values''. Puberty did not miss her. In what was almost assuredly a reference to this fact, her opening scene of ''Now and Then'' has her duct-taping her bra.

* Ariel Winter in ''Series/ModernFamily'' started out flat-chested (it makes sense; she was 11 when the show started) and eventually grew past Sofia Vergara's famously curvy frame (Vergara, though, is 5'7", while Winter is only 5'1") . Similarly to Soleil Moon Frye, Winter revealed in August 2015 that she'd had a breast reduction in June that took her from 32F to 34D, citing negative media attention as as one of her primary reasons.

* [[{{Transgender}} Trans men]] and {{Drag King}}s are often required to do this in order to pass, unless, of course, they have the body of a UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}} naturally. It is anywhere from slightly to very uncomfortable, depending on the size of their breasts and the method used to flatten them out.
* Also a common practice for women playing male characters in stage productions.
* Sometimes, female {{cosplay}}ers dressed as male characters - called {{crossplayer}}s - will practice this to look more convincing as males. The end result would be a {{Bifauxnen}} quite often. Utilizing {{Sarashi}} to achieve this is fairly common.
** [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs However, utilizing Sarashi will often result in real damage to a woman's ribs and chest, and large amounts of bruising.]] It's recommended to buy an actual binder and use that over bandages.
* Proper fit for a traditionally draped woman's kimono often calls for the help of Ace bandages or Sarashi. Prewar Japanese fashion favored a Grecian column build that often required waist padding, chest binding, and a hip girdle to achieve, even at the time. Women today are (on average) substantially heavier and curvier, even in Japan, and proper fit is accordingly even more difficult to achieve.
* Before women were allowed to serve in military forces, they did this and tried to pass it off as being young men (because the beard thing tends to be an issue when trying to pass off as an adult male) and thus serve. An effective technique would be to use of a decoy of pretending to be too young to serve, and have someone figure that out, and then [[InfractionDistraction think they knew your secret]]. This charade tended to end if the woman in question was injured, because almost inevitably either her pants or her shirt would have to come off...

* Commonly done to Eastern European gymnasts to maintain a petite, child-like figure held to be more aesthetically appealing within the sport.

* Jordan Todosey did this in ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', where she was playing a [[{{Transsexual}} transboy]]; Adam's shown binding (with an Ace bandage) onscreen. Later it's mentioned in-series that Adam gets a chest compression vest.

* Pre-op [[{{Transsexual}} Trans men]] and {{Drag King}}s are often required to do this in order to pass, unless, of course, they have the body of a UsefulNotes/{{Pettanko}} naturally. It is anywhere from slightly to very uncomfortable, depending on the size of their breasts and the method used to flatten them out.

* In ''NewspaperComic/SafeHavens'', the high school girls' basketball team decide to stand in for the boys' team (ItMakesSenseInContext). They do this in part by buying bras four sizes too small.