Reality Check: Female Archers

[Tornix]

As we know, female arches with too big boobs cannot operate a bow "without even smacking her across the chops every time she pull the string back*". What I am wondering, for the purpose of portraying more realistic looking females in a fantasy setting, where does the line go, how big breasts can a female archer have without it becoming a problem?

Note that I'm not looking for a solution for the big breast issue, I am perfectly aware there are ways. I am just want to know the maximum size a woman can have to use a bow.

*Paraphrased quote.

 

[Tornix]

As we know, female arches with too big boobs cannot operate a bow "without even smacking her across the chops every time she pull the string back*". What I am wondering, for the purpose of portraying more realistic looking females in a fantasy setting, where does the line go, how big breasts can a female archer have without it becoming a problem?

Note that I'm not looking for a solution for the big breast issue, I am perfectly aware there are ways. I am just want to know the maximum size a woman can have to use a bow.

*Paraphrased quote.

 

[Lilani]

I'm sure there are workarounds for ladies with big breasts, and I'm sure it has a lot to do with how they use the bow and what sort of bow they're using. I think the only real way to tell is to simply build a model and try, or find a woman with breasts about those size and have her try the bow.

 

[Wyes]

I have a friend who's reasonably well endowed and she has no problems at all. They would need to be unreasonably well endowed for it to be an issue, me thinks.

 

[Tallim]

*if* they are an issue they get strapped down, if that doesn't work then there are many different kinds of bow. Stance, posture, grip can all be adjusted.

I've seen archers with very large breasts shoot perfectly fine. It's just practice, especially given a lot of fantasy archers will have been training their whole lifetime (so far) I don't see it as a problem.

 

[Batou667]

Real-life female archers wear a leather patch across their chests for this very reason.

Their breasts would have to be, like, a pair of watermelons to make archery impossible.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Sports Bra. Anything to keep them out of the way. Or, a metal breastplate that doesn't have segmented tit armor.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

That whole thing is just a myth, you can operate a Bow and arrow perfectly well with big breasts. QI did a question on it. I'll see if I can dig it up...

 

[Twilight_guy]

Be like the amazons of legend... cut off your breast to improve your accuracy!

Archery is a sport there are females who participate int his sport and I doubt if they are flat chested so I assume that modern science has already solved this issue.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I'd imagine you'd have to change how you held a bow. But, being completely off limits to archery? Nah, they'd think of something.

Crossbows still exist, also.

 

[Jodah]

Unless they become unrealistic, as in each breast has more mass than a small moon, there isn't really a limit. A woman with 36DDs in real life can easily handle a bow.

 

[Charles McGuffin]

Didn't the amazons cut of one of their breasts (and isn't that actually bullshit, since any human has only one breast?) for archery? I think I read it sometimes.

There's propably someone who knows more about it.

 

[theheroofaction]

Now, while I am a dude, I am also an archer for sport.
it really wouldn't be a problem.
good archers bring the bowstring pretty near to their face, generally a little to the side for safety reasons.
The v-shaped nature of a bowstring would make it so it wouldn't touch a woman's breasts unless they were the size of bowling balls.

 

[Nouw]

And for the third time, be like the Amazonians and cut your breast off for accuracy!

 

[madeleinehatter]

Ok, I'm just gonna go ahead and throw this out there. I'm a female archer with size DD, and it's never really been an issue. It's not the most convenient thing, but unless you're leaning into the bow the wrong way, you probably won't end up with too many battle scars.

And even if you do, there are chest guards and the like that other people have already mentioned.

 

[LackofCertainty]

Real-life female archers wear a leather patch across their chests for this very reason.

Their breasts would have to be, like, a pair of watermelons to make archery impossible.

Screw bows. I want all female characters to be endowed like the sorceress from Dragon's Crown and just use Crossbows! Crossbows get no love!

 

[RoBi3.0]

As we know, female arches with too big boobs cannot operate a bow "without even smacking her across the chops every time she pull the string back*". What I am wondering, for the purpose of portraying more realistic looking females in a fantasy setting, where does the line go, how big breasts can a female archer have without it becoming a problem?

Note that I'm not looking for a solution for the big breast issue, I am perfectly aware there are ways. I am just want to know the maximum size a woman can have to use a bow.

*Paraphrased quote.

While I wouldn't call myself an archer as I don't really have the time to commit to the sport I do tend to watch it on TV when the world archery cup is on or whatever(ESPN3).

Anyways I have seen quite few women wear so sort of protective equipment on the shoulder of their bow arm that comes down over their chest effectively protecting the breast from being hit by their bow string when fired.

A quick Google search reveal this piece of equipment to be called, oddly enough, a chest guard and apparently it can be wore by both men and women.

link to pic, http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/jezebel/2008/08/archery081408.jpg


/thread

 

[Thaluikhain]

The Amazons cutting off one of their breasts thing was due to interpretations of the word "Amazon". "A" meaning without, and the rest sounding similar to words for "bread", "breasts" or "men".

So, the Amazons must have lived without men, cut off their breasts, and eaten turtles.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Be like the amazons of legend... cut off your breast to improve your accuracy!

Archery is a sport there are females who participate int his sport and I doubt if they are flat chested so I assume that modern science has already solved this issue.

It's a shame that Wonder Woman never embraced that particular part of the Amazonian mythology.