Apple doesn't care where you are carrying your iPhone.
It is utterly ridiculous to believe you can bend it just by keeping in your pockets, front or back.
You can bend it if you apply an excessive force on it, like on any aluminium thin bar.
If you keep it in your pocket and then sit on it, you can bend it.
I'm keeping it in front and back pockets since december 2014. The only care I take is to avoid sitting on it. It was the same for every iPhone I owned so far (and I owned all of them since iPhone 3G)
I don't understand how an iPhone could bend "around the lightning port"