As a semi-frequently, self-conscious, nearly 6 foot tall, 38A-cup woman (say that 3x fast), I can understand the idea behind it. There are plenty of times when having a teenage boy like figure can be a bit of a drag. A lot of that is highly individual and pretty complex, at least for me it is and there's no need to get into all the sundry details here.

That said, I stopped using them because they simply were not very comfortable, plus they added bulk. Ultimately, my concern on a bike or during any other exercise, is being comfortable and performing well, so standard sports bras (non-padded) are all I have & use now.

Nonetheless, to be somewhat fair to those making padded sports bras, there is a segment of women, particularly the health club set, that are wearing such apparel much more so for how it looks than how it works. I'm not suggesting that every woman who goes to a trendy co-ed health club at 6pm is merely there to socialize and/or meet potential dates, but there are definitely some. Maybe for those, such a bra makes perfect sense.

Like so many other things that we have to deal with, it seems to me that the best thing is simply to have choices for ourselves while respecting those of other women.