Breast fetishism
Encyclopedia
Breast fetishism is a type of sexual fetish which involves a sexual interest in female breasts.
Debate exists on whether the modern widespread sexual attraction
to breasts among heterosexual males of western society constitutes a sexual fetish. In clinical literature of the 19th century, the focus on breasts was considered a form of paraphillia, but in modern times this interest is considered normal. Some have attributed the use of tight clothing and the display of cleavage
to the increase in so-called breast fetishism.
The phrase is also used within ethnographic and feminist
contexts to describe a society with a culture devoted to breasts, usually as sexual objects.
. For instance, British
zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris
theorizes that cleavage is a sexual signal that imitates the image of the cleft between the buttocks
, which according to Morris in The Naked Ape
is also unique to humans, other primates as a rule having much flatter buttocks.
Evolutionary psychologists
theorize that humans' permanently enlarged breasts, in contrast to other primates' breasts, which only enlarge during ovulation
, allows females to "solicit male attention and investment even when they are not really fertile".
The reverence and theorizing shown to breasts also appears in the science of modern civilization. Breast fetishism is claimed to be an example of a contagious thought (or meme
) spreading throughout society, and that breasts are primarily biosemiotic
features that have evolved to influence human sexuality rather than serve an exclusive maternal function.
era, with the goddess shrines of Catal Huyuk (in modern Turkey
). The archaeological excavations of the town in c. 1960 revealed that the walls of the shrine(s) were adorned with disembodied pairs of breasts that appeared to have "an existence of their own". Elizabeth Gould Davis
argues that the breasts (along with phallus
es) were revered by the women of Catal Huyuk as instruments of motherhood, but it was after what she describes as a patriarchal revolution – when men had appropriated both phallus worship and "the breast fetish" for themselves – that these organs "acquired the erotic significance with which they are now endowed".
Some authors from the U.S. have made the statement that attraction to the female breast is a sexual fetish, that it is the American fetish-object of choice, and that breast fetishism is predominantly found in the U.S. Feminist film critic Molly Haskell
has even gone to such an extreme as to claim that, "The mammary fixation is the most infantile, and the most American, of the sex fetishes".
Debate exists on whether the modern widespread sexual attraction
Sexual attraction
Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
to breasts among heterosexual males of western society constitutes a sexual fetish. In clinical literature of the 19th century, the focus on breasts was considered a form of paraphillia, but in modern times this interest is considered normal. Some have attributed the use of tight clothing and the display of cleavage
Cleavage (breasts)
Cleavage, anatomically known as the intramammary cleft, is the space between a woman's breasts lying over the sternum. Cleavage is exposed by a garment with a low neckline, such as ball gowns, evening gowns, swimwear, casual tops and other garments....
to the increase in so-called breast fetishism.
The phrase is also used within ethnographic and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
contexts to describe a society with a culture devoted to breasts, usually as sexual objects.
Scientific explanation
Some scientists have hypothesized that sexual attraction towards breasts is the result of their function as a secondary sex characteristicSecondary sex characteristic
Secondary sex characteristics are features that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but that are not directly part of the reproductive system. They are believed to be the product of sexual selection for traits which give an individual an advantage over its rivals in courtship and aggressive...
. For instance, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris
Desmond John Morris, born 24 January 1928 in Purton, north Wiltshire, is a British zoologist and ethologist, as well as a popular anthropologist. He is also known as a painter, television presenter and popular author.-Life:...
theorizes that cleavage is a sexual signal that imitates the image of the cleft between the buttocks
Buttock cleavage
Buttock cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the gluteal cleft between them, often because of low-slung or loose trousers. The crena is another formal term for the cleft between the buttocks.- History :...
, which according to Morris in The Naked Ape
The Naked Ape
The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal is a 1967 book by zoologist and anthropologist Desmond Morris which looks at humans as a species and compares them to other animals...
is also unique to humans, other primates as a rule having much flatter buttocks.
Evolutionary psychologists
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is an approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological traits such as memory, perception, and language from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations, that is, the functional...
theorize that humans' permanently enlarged breasts, in contrast to other primates' breasts, which only enlarge during ovulation
Ovulation
Ovulation is the process in a female's menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum . Ovulation also occurs in the estrous cycle of other female mammals, which differs in many fundamental ways from the menstrual cycle...
, allows females to "solicit male attention and investment even when they are not really fertile".
The reverence and theorizing shown to breasts also appears in the science of modern civilization. Breast fetishism is claimed to be an example of a contagious thought (or meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
) spreading throughout society, and that breasts are primarily biosemiotic
Biosemiotics
Biosemiotics is a growing field that studies the production, action and interpretation of signs in the biological realm...
features that have evolved to influence human sexuality rather than serve an exclusive maternal function.
Feminist interpretation
Some feminists have argued that examples of breast fetishism have been found going back to the neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
era, with the goddess shrines of Catal Huyuk (in modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). The archaeological excavations of the town in c. 1960 revealed that the walls of the shrine(s) were adorned with disembodied pairs of breasts that appeared to have "an existence of their own". Elizabeth Gould Davis
Elizabeth Gould Davis
Elizabeth Gould Davis was an American librarian who wrote a feminist book called The First Sex.-Biography:She was born in Kansas, USA in 1910 and earned her master's degree in librarianship at the University of Kentucky in 1951...
argues that the breasts (along with phallus
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
es) were revered by the women of Catal Huyuk as instruments of motherhood, but it was after what she describes as a patriarchal revolution – when men had appropriated both phallus worship and "the breast fetish" for themselves – that these organs "acquired the erotic significance with which they are now endowed".
Some authors from the U.S. have made the statement that attraction to the female breast is a sexual fetish, that it is the American fetish-object of choice, and that breast fetishism is predominantly found in the U.S. Feminist film critic Molly Haskell
Molly Haskell
Molly Haskell is an American feminist film critic and author. Her most influential book is From Reverence to Rape: the Treatment of Women in the Movies...
has even gone to such an extreme as to claim that, "The mammary fixation is the most infantile, and the most American, of the sex fetishes".
See also
- Bakunyū
- Erotic lactationErotic lactationErotic lactation refers to a person achieving sexual arousal by breastfeeding or sucking on a female's breast. Depending on the context, the practice can also be referred to as adult suckling, adult nursing, and adult breastfeeding. Practitioners sometimes refer to themselves as being in an adult...
- ExhibitionismExhibitionismExhibitionism refers to a desire or compulsion to expose parts of one's body – specifically the genitals or buttocks of a man or woman, or the breasts of a woman – in a public or semi-public circumstance, in crowds or groups of friends or acquaintances, or to strangers...
- Mammary intercourseMammary intercourseMammary intercourse describes a sex act, performed as foreplay or as non-penetrative sex, that involves the stimulation of the male penis by the female breasts. Commonly, this sex act involves the man placing his penis in the woman's cleavage and thrusting between her breasts, while the breasts are...
- Russ MeyerRuss MeyerRussell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....
- ToplessnessToplessnessToplessness is the state in which a female's breasts are uncovered, with the areolae and nipples visible, usually in a public space. It can also refer to a female not wearing any clothing above the waist, which is the female equivalent to a male barechestedness.The history and even the present-day...
Further reading
- Bass, Alan. (2000). Difference and Disavowal: The Trauma of Eros, The Part Object. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804738289.
- Bonder Bette, Martin Laura (PhD.), Miracle Andrew W., Culture in clinical care, SLACK Incorporated, 2002.
- Block, Susan (2004). "Covering Justice: Ashcroft's Breast Fetish". In Serpents in the Garden: Liaisons with Culture and Sex, ed. Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair.
- Davis, Elizabeth Gould. (1971). The First Sex: The Breast Fetish. Penguin Books.
- Draitser, Emil. (1999). Making war, not love: gender and sexuality in Russian humour. The Breast Fetish (pg. 29). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312221290.
- Evans, Phil. (1989). Motivation and Emotion. Routledge. ISBN 0415014751.
- Goldscheider, Calvin D.; Stephen D. GlazierStephen D. GlazierStephen D. Glazier is an American anthropologist. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Trinidad which focused on Caribbean religions such as Rastafari, Vodoun, and the Spiritual Baptists. He is a member of the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology at the University of Nebraska; where he teaches...
; and Charles Flowerday. (2003). Selected Readings in the Anthropology of Religion: Theoretical and Methodological Essays. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313300909. - Hickey, Eric W. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Murder and Violent Crime. Sage Publications Inc. ISBN 076192437X.
- Latteier, Carolyn. (1998). Breasts: the women's perspective on an American obsession. Haworth Press. ISBN 0789004224.
- Marsden, Paul. (1999). Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. Review of "Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads through Society".. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
- McConaghy, Nathaniel. (1993). Sexual Behavior: Problems and Management. Springer (Publisher). ISBN 0306441772.
- Miller, Laura. (2006). Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics. University of California Press. ISBN 0520245091.
- Miner, Horace Mitchell. (June 1956). wikisource:Body Ritual among the Nacirema, from American AnthropologistAmerican AnthropologistAmerican Anthropologist is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association . It is known for publishing a wide range of work in anthropology, including articles on cultural, biological and linguistic anthropology and archeology...
, vol 58. - Moreck, Curt. (1965). Breast fetishism. International Press of Sexology. ASIN B0007HAEES
- Morris, Desmond. (1967). The Naked Ape. Jonathan Cape.
- Morrison, D. E., and C. P. Holden. (1971). The Burning Bra: The American Breast Fetish and Women's Liberation. In Deviance and Change, ed. P.K. Manning. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall.
- Slade, Joseph W. (2000). Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313315205
- Tovar, Virgie. 2007. Destination DD: Adventures of a Breast Fetishist with 40DDs. Sexy Advisors Press. ISBN 0978869946.
- WikiWLP. White Lightning Productions. "The Magnificent Milkmaid". accessed 2007-10-12.
- Yalom, Marilyn. 1997. A History of the Breast. pub. Knopf. ISBN 0679434593.