Is there a scientific explaination for why men are attracted to breasts?
I was at a nursing mothers meeting tonight and we got around to talking about nursing in public and inevitably someone brought up the line that "breasts are biologically for feeding, society has made them sexual." I tend to agree with this, but I started wondering if there was some explaination to why men love boobs.
One woman brought up the idea that boobs stimulate some primitive thought like "boobs=breastmilk=survival of my genes." She also pointed out that most other mammals' breasts do not remain "engorged or swollen" when they aren't nursing.
But then another woman pointed out that no other mammals played with breasts during sex (I don't even know if this is true... )
So, I thought maybe some of you science buffs might be able to help me out on this one...
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It's a trait related to fertility--and related to the Bright Red Buts of Monkeys.
Because we're now upright, we need another sign of fertility closer to our eye level. Ergo--engourged brests.
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IIRC, the theory is that by having fat located in the breasts and buttock, it was a way to signal to men whether a woman was able to obtain enough to eat and hence be able to reproduce and support children.
Spin Echo wrote:IIRC, the theory is that by having fat located in the breasts and buttock, it was a way to signal to men whether a woman was able to obtain enough to eat and hence be able to reproduce and support children.
And yet fat located in the stomach is considered an undesirable trait (though that admittedly changes from culture to culture, or time period to time period).
In fact, I'm not quite sure that large breasts were always considered attractive. I hear that in the 20's, women were expected to have a slim, almost boyish figure.
Cairber wrote:Is there a scientific explaination for why men are attracted to breasts?
They're secondary sexual characteristics that are helpful for identifying mates.
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wolveraptor wrote:In fact, I'm not quite sure that large breasts were always considered attractive. I hear that in the 20's, women were expected to have a slim, almost boyish figure.
wolveraptor wrote:In fact, I'm not quite sure that large breasts were always considered attractive. I hear that in the 20's, women were expected to have a slim, almost boyish figure.
They were. That was the era of breast binding.
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They're secondary sex characteristics that attract mates, like bright plumage on a bird. It's not just society that made them sexual. They evolved that way. If it hadn't been them, it would have been something else.
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Perhaps in some, . . .it has to do with something that you can't just "handle" without some sort of trouble. Even a wife may question why the man just decides to "fondle his wife's breasts". The societal stigma of the breast (something that isn't "open for conquest") may have a lot to do with this.
Let me ask this of the men. . . . (if you're married).
Do you look at your wife's breast in the same way as your neighbors, or strangers on the street?
Breats are nice, but I have this strange attraction to women with large hips, and bubble butts. Not the gross looking ones - I'd just perfer someone with hips and a butt that is a little more curvy, as opposed to...flat...
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I have an obsession with the female legs and ass, and not so much with breasts. In the 1970s, quite a few of the big-name stars and models had smallish breasts. In fact, the very first porno superstar was arguably Marilyn Chambers, Linda Lovelace being more of a novelty. And Ms. Chambers was pretty flat-chested, but she had a pretty face and a well-toned athletic body.
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I think reason large breasts got selected for is simply because they clearly show the difference between a male and a mature female. Men and immature females don't have breasts, hence a woman with small breasts looks more like a man or little girl. In other words, breasts are womanly simply because a lack of them is unwomanly.
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Winston Blake wrote:I think reason large breasts got selected for is simply because they clearly show the difference between a male and a mature female. Men and immature females don't have breasts, hence a woman with small breasts looks more like a man or little girl. In other words, breasts are womanly simply because a lack of them is unwomanly.
Which would be fine, were it not for the fact that I prefer women with small boobs.
Then again, I also like women with a good pair of hips... which are somewhat mutually exclusive.
Cairber wrote:Is there a scientific explaination for why men are attracted to breasts?
Darth Wong wrote:I have an obsession with the female legs and ass, and not so much with breasts. In the 1970s, quite a few of the big-name stars and models had smallish breasts. In fact, the very first porno superstar was arguably Marilyn Chambers, Linda Lovelace being more of a novelty. And Ms. Chambers was pretty flat-chested, but she had a pretty face and a well-toned athletic body.
I have always been something of an ass man myself. A good ratio of waist to hips and athletic legs and ass were all I cared about when I was younger (dancers are ideal for this configuration). I literally didn't give a fuck about breasts. However, quite by accident I dated several women in a row who were stacked on top and my preferences have shifted. Now it seems like it's closer to a fifty-fifty preference, with the posterior carrying a slight lead. As a result, I tend to believe that sexual attraction, like most of everything related to behavior, is a combination of nature and nurture. Some men are hardwired to focus on breasts as a visible secondary sex characteristic, some are taught to, and some are not.
I find huge breasts, those that are either natural (!) or surgically enchanced, a major turnoff. I prefer reasonable proprotionality to the individual woman's (ideally toned, in my case) physique, not 38DD's. That's just hideous. I suppose there are people who find that appealing, otherwise you wouldn't see it in porn and the like, but I just find it repulsive. Massive breasts make the woman look freakish and thoroughly unattractive. My rule of thumb is, ideally, a woman's breast should be no more than approximately 2/3rds the size of her head. Anything larger, no thanks.
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I personally vote for them being covered, and therefore the only time we see them is in a sexual situation, generally. And as such we tend to put 2 and 2 together to come out with breasts = sexy.
I imagine the same is true in certain societies of thighs, asses and its what has lead in my opinion to foot fetishes. But then again I'm no... in fact I don't even know what I'd have to be to be an expert in it so limited is my expertise!
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So, to answer the OP question: no, there's no scientific explanation for men liking breasts, unless you consider sociology to be a science on the same level as genetics.
Oh, and to clarify my position: i like b00biees!
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Spin Echo wrote:IIRC, the theory is that by having fat located in the breasts and buttock, it was a way to signal to men whether a woman was able to obtain enough to eat and hence be able to reproduce and support children.
And yet fat located in the stomach is considered an undesirable trait (though that admittedly changes from culture to culture, or time period to time period).
In fact, I'm not quite sure that large breasts were always considered attractive. I hear that in the 20's, women were expected to have a slim, almost boyish figure.
A cultural element. I think nature and nurture are both decisive factors with boob attractiveness.
One explaination I heard is that it's a kind of trickery to make all women appear available (where in much of the animal kingdom breasts are far less developed, and typically only noticible around pregnancy, meaning a full breasted female is kinda shown to be "taken"). Another is that they're essentially a sexual signal replacing the role the buttocks once had for our ancestors (another explaination for them being more developed in humans).
At the end of the day I suppose it's a bit like asking why peacocks find peacock feather's appealing.
As for boobs? I love 'em. I am a definitive breast man. I've even gained something of a (slightly unfair) reputation for it at my native SB.
Winston Blake wrote:I think reason large breasts got selected for is simply because they clearly show the difference between a male and a mature female. Men and immature females don't have breasts, hence a woman with small breasts looks more like a man or little girl. In other words, breasts are womanly simply because a lack of them is unwomanly.
Which would be fine, were it not for the fact that I prefer women with small boobs.
Then again, I also like women with a good pair of hips... which are somewhat mutually exclusive.
I'm weird.
A woman with good hips/ass/legs can have a womanly figure with only small breasts. I'm just saying that, all other features being equal, more men over more of history find larger breasts more womanly than smaller breasts. (Within reason of course, superhuge gazongas just look like medical deformities.)
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Cairber wrote:Is there a scientific explaination for why men are attracted to breasts?
I'm not sure this question ought to be limited to men. I've seen women who find a nice rack to be fun and attractive.
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Breasts by themselves are great but I think what really gets us going is cleavage. Cleavage looks like ass cracks or butt cleavage, which is making a strong name for itself on the hip fashion scene, and asses make us think of sex. Men want to fuck. Its all very elementary
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I'm not politically correct, big-boobs-aren't-any-fun modern man. I'm old school, red-blooded, and love to put my face in some deep cleavage. My girlfriend has 34DDs, and I adore them. Definitely a big breast man here.
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havokeff wrote:Breasts by themselves are great but I think what really gets us going is cleavage.
Especially when it leaves something to the imagination. (I like short or miniskirts for much the same reason) The more tantalising it gets the sexier it is.
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