h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I just don't get the male fascination with breasts, and why most of them seem to like big ones better- can someone help me understand?

Elly

Anthropologists would tell you it dates back to early-large-chest-woman proving to early-well-endowed-man that she's more cable of looking after his offspring than early-small-chest-woman.

I just think it's cos they're great and we (boys) don't have 'em

Well, we don't have penises...

I read that men are turned on by breasts in a push-up bra because they look like buttocks as seen from behind, and trigger the inbuilt, prehistoric urge to breed with any woman who sticks their butt in their face...

Well - aren't all women utterly fascinated by penises?

Well, that men are fascinated by breasts in the first place shouldn't be terribly surprising - whether because you want to say that they look like buttocks (I'm getting worried, Peet ), or because they're a symbol of maternal comfort, or because (if not in a necessarily biological sense) they're more or less the most on-display part of female genitalia, or any such reason. And let's face it, men in general seem to love big things - tallest skyscraper anyone? I'm talking from a Western society viewpoint here, obviously. So add the fascination with breasts in general to a love of 'big' things, and the result is obvious! It's a thought, anyway

Mind you, personally I don't think the bigger the better, but there you go, that's just me

And it comes down to cultural signifiers as well - there's a round of attractive qualities that go in and out of fashion. It used to be pot bellies, now it's breasts. Just fifty years ago, the western male obsession was with legs. Seventy years ago it was being flat chested.

King Cthulhu, they are not genitalia, they are mammary glands and thus define us as mammalia. Nature in her wisdom created them to attract men to women. Size has been a matter of fashion over the ages but the breast augmentation we see now is dangerous as many women have found out with leaking and exploding implants. A French philosopher once said 'anything larger than the palm of your hand is a waste'.

Alji (Member of The Guild of Wizards U197895)

*sigh* Thanks Alji, I knew someone would say that... I *said* not biologically, technically, etc. but the point was that your average male doesn't go around thinking of breasts as mammary glands, but as sexual outposts which are by and large far more visible in day to day life than anything else overtly sexual. Not that I'm saying your average male has a one-track mind or anything

Mwahahaha!!! ONE TRACK MINDS!

EEEEEE!




Sorry. Just lapsed into insanity for a moment. Actually, I think most of it is based on the basic upbringing of the person in question.

You're all missing the obvious. Soft and comfy and warm

They make a great headrest while watching movies

"Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow," as Cornershop once pointed out.

Frankly, I don't think that's strictly accurate, but I'll let it pass.

Mammary gland or genitalia- I think breasts do get aroused, sexually.
I've also read or heard somewhere that there's a connection between the length of breast-feeding period and the extent of men's attraction to breasts.
Fashion- I don't know if it ever affected men much. Some like them all, some like big, some like small. But they're always an issue.
One minute you're (a girl) walking around hunch backed, scared of having them noticed, and the other you put'em, poor things, in push up bras and huge cleavages and hope to get attention for them. But then when you do it's always- "He sees me as a sex object"... and so on.
Does it ever end??
And warm, soft and comfy headrest? So are bellies, buttocks and thighs in most people. So what's so special about breasts?

Dr Vibenstein, that is very generous of you!

I think that they are part of the body that men can get away with ogling the easiest. I wonder if the Media is a little to blame - Page 3 (I can't think of Page 3 any more without thinking of Dave Gorman and his flatmate!) seems to accentuate men's obsession with them when I think a lot of men prefer legs or bums.

"And warm, soft and comfy headrest? So are bellies, buttocks and thighs in most people. So what's so special about breasts?"

You can hear the bom bom, bom bom of the heart, which if you're not carful, will send you to the land of nod while watching a movie (that happened to me last night and it was a good movie). Conversation is easy at low volume from that close too.

Alji, I always thought the quote was, "anything you can't fit in your mouth is only waste". So I stand corrected.


That's all.

You must admit the most outstanding points are the nipples.

Alji (Member of The Guild of Wizards U197895)

Larger breasts don't signify increased milk-giving capacity, it's just due to the amount of fat deposited during puberty.
Breasts are a sexual singalling devide that exist for their own sake, like a peacock's tail. Whoever drew the breasts-buttocks link above is correct, i might add.

"Nature in her wisdom created them to attract men to women."

And there I was thinking their primary purpose was feeding babies! I'm not sure men have an innate fondness for boobs, most of the reaction is probably down to sexual representation (we're told they're sexy) and the effect paying attention to them can have on the laydees.
Personally, I think they're great. But why aren't men attracted to man-tits?

I'm not really sure it's size that's so important. Shape seems to play a key role too.

Seems to me that it's mainly women who obsess perfect breasts, most men don't care what you got, as long as we can get to it

Beauty is skin deep, while your self-image is important, remember it's a self image, what you think of yourself, not what you believe other think of you.

I would find a girl with a nice smile much more attractive that a girl with nice breasts, and you don't need surgery to smile.