The Women’s Center of Greater Lansing held a charity event Nov. 4 at The Runway in Lansing. There, professional writing senior Emily Reyst said people could mingle, eat food and peruse bra art.
The event was the 8th Annual In Her Cups Bras for a Cause Art Auction, where people could submit bras they created and decorated to be sold in a live and silent auction. Tickets were $25 for one and $40 for two, Reyst said.
All proceeds go toward funding programs for the Women’s Center, primarily the cancer care program. This program helps women during the stressful time caused by having cancer, from having to find a wig to finding ways to talk to loved ones about cancer, Reyst said.
Cindie Alwood, executive director for the Women's Center of Greater Lansing, said when this event was created, the creators wanted to do something different.
“It was just something we were trying to think of, a fun fundraiser to do where people could get creative,” she said. “The other part of art is the healing aspect of art.”
The idea for the event was for some women who survived breast cancer, had mastectomies and were no longer able to wear a traditional bra, Alwood said.
“So we thought, ‘well you know what, maybe this would be a good way to just kind of reclaim your body, reclaim your breasts, reclaim the bra and have some fun while you do it,’” Alwood said.
About 60 bras were designed for the event, with approximately 53 of them being auctioned off. The Women’s Center partnered with Lansing Community College’s fashion design program and the Eaton Regional Education Service Agency high school fashion design program, Alwood said. Some of the bra art at the event stemmed from students in those programs.
“These kids — well, they’re not all kids — but young people, they are very emotionally deep and aware of a lot more than I ever thought that they were,” Alwood said. “When you look at the stories of some of these bras and where they came from and how they came to be, it’s just really shocking to me sometimes that these kids have already experienced some of this stuff. It’s just amazing.”
Some of the bras at the event took Alwood’s breath away, she said. Some of these included a puzzle bra titled, “Emotionally Empty." Another bra Alwood thought had a deeper meaning was one covered in pills.
“It’s important that we desexualize bras and what they do and what their function is,” Alwood said. “And by doing that, by having this sort of event, I think it helps people to see them in a different way. It’s a new form of body art.”
Reyst is the communications intern for the Women’s Center and said it’s her job to market the center and run its social media. It’s also her job to attract old and new participants to In Her Cups. She said she does this by blogging about the event. She showcases the art from previous years to try and build momentum for the upcoming year. There is one group of people she particularly wants to reach she said, not only with this event but the center in general.
“I want it to gain ground, the Women’s Center in general with MSU students because there are services that a) can be provided to MSU students and b), they can make an impact by coming to events like this and supporting other women,” Reyst said.
Reyst said in the past that sororities and other MSU groups have made bras, but this year she only saw a couple MSU faces at the In Her Cups event.
Those faces belonged to history, philosophy and sociology of science senior Mellissa Ungkuldee and human biology senior Vani Bhatia.
Ungkuldee first found out about the event when she came across it on her Facebook feed. She and Bhatia are both interested in women’s health issues and what the event stood for, so they decided to make a bra and contribute to the event, she said.
“We actually made a bedazzled ombre bra of different shades of pink,” Bhatia said. “We wanted to put something together that represents both of us and I think that that was the best way to do it. And it was kind of cool to be able to do it a way that we also get to give back to our community.”
Ungkuldee said that the color pink was used to represent breast cancer awareness, while the sparkles were meant to represent the sparkle that each woman has inside her, signifying she is special.
Although it took about five hours of using a hot glue gun to bedazzle the bra, Bhatia said it was definitely worth it to go to In Her Cups.
“These sort of events gets that word out there, and I didn’t even know that we had a women’s center in Lansing,” Bhatia said. “It’s nice to be able to be a part of that community and I feel like just having the opportunity to be a part of this has made me feel even closer to the community that we live in.”
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Ungkuldee said she has been fortunate enough to meet breast cancer survivors, but has unfortunately lost people she’s known to the disease as well. She said that In Her Cups was a great opportunity to reflect on the struggles of those with breast cancer and to incorporate art into the mix.
Ungkuldee’s and Bhatia’s bedazzled bra was sold in the live auction for $70. Reyst said bidding usually starts lower, but she has seen people bid hundreds of dollars for a single bra.
Patsy King, operations director for the Women’s Center, said between 80 and 100 tickets were sold for the event. She estimates that around $2,000 was raised with just ticket sales, but hopes altogether, around $6,000 will be raised once the auction and donation funds are added.
