But we know that when it comes to sex, breasts aren’t really necessary. As sex therapist Susan Block writes, “Breasts are far more essential to nurturing than to sexual intercourse.”
It’s rather more the other way around. Milk glands, nipples, these are needed for nurturing. Other apes pretty much don’t have breasts. Most mammals, when not actually suckling, don’t.
The purpose of breasts really does seem to be, for whatever reason, “Woo! Titties!”.
Depends how you define “sex”… Just for procreation.. not really.. In the whole run-up to finding a sexual partner… Definitely.
I find it funny that the author, in all her research for the article, has obviously failed to incorporate the one method that proves how important breasts are to men, and which can be verified with technology: Men, however polite, cannot keep their eyes off them. Period.
You can confirm this with eye-ball tracking in a simple conversational setting. It’s a good parlor trick for psychologists, and has been used on several occasions as a fun/prank item in tv shows. Your averge male will glance down anywhere between 3-6 times a minute, It’s one of those quick eyemovement things that is part of our method of peripheral awareness, and most of the time we don’t even notice, but faced with boobies, especially Cleavage, the down-component which we usually use to see where our feet are supposed to go, ramps up remarkably.
It’s one of the surefire ways to detect true gays, because they do not do this. ( and makes a good “gay or not” item in tv shows ).
And yes, true lesbians do indeed also display this type of eye movement, although in lesser frequencythan men.
And yes, despite all they objections, women do the “pecs, tummy, bulge” check. Although they do it on first contact, and then switch mostly to the face and hands.
Now if technology proves that biology regarding sexual behaiour heavily involves Boobies in the whole mix, you aren’t going to tell me “they aren’t important”.
Because that’s some intricate wiring in our brains that’s adapted to check out that “non-important” item.
Any advantage, evolutionary or socially, may be unclear or “illogical” , but there’s many things about life in general that have no obvious “worth” as we see it, yet still are there, as part of the package.
And to stop the baby from choking, as it would do on a flat, hairless chest. Which is probably their main reason to exist, as far as evolution is concerned…
Somebody (Desmond Morris?) argued that they mimicked buttocks. As we changed from bonking on all fours to a missionary position we needed some visual cues to get us going: I blame the Victorians
Susan Block’s never been asked for a soapy tit wank
“Because that’s some intricate wiring in our brains that’s adapted to check out that “non-important” item.”
Sexual behaviour is hard-wired in the brain? Who knew?
🙂
Sc: All apes have breasts for that purpose, but in the others they only show up during breastfeeding. Humans are the only apes that have breasts all the time.
“Humans are the only apes that have breasts all the time.”
That was lucky…
Men are such pigs! Women are more evolved, thank goodness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgqyIbkjeAs
“You can confirm this with eye-ball tracking in a simple conversational setting.”
Not, apparently, the only thing you can confirm with heterosexual males vs heterosexual females….
http://deadspin.com/313192/george-bretts-eyes-are-up-here