Two men have
attempted to answer the age-old question, 'why are men obsessed with breasts?' Larry Young and
Brian Alexander, who recently released The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex, and
the Science of Attraction, have dissected the emotional, biological and
cultural reasons behind the real reason men love breasts.
The two authors
believe heterosexual men are so fascinated by women's breasts thanks to a
simple hormone released during nursing which helps to forge the powerful bond
between mother and baby, which also creates an evolutionary drive for a strong
nurturing bond between lovers.
Mr Young, a leading
expert in the neuroscience of social bonding, wrote a column for the Huffington
Post, explaining that 'biologically speaking,' the human male breast obsession
is 'pretty weird'.
'Men are the only
male mammals fascinated by breasts in a sexual context,' said Mr Young.
'And women are the
only female mammals whose breasts become enlarged at puberty, independent of
pregnancy. We are also the only species in which males caress, massage and even
orally stimulate the female breasts during foreplay and sex.'
He continued to say
that women do enjoy attention on their breasts, after Roy Levin, of the
University of Sheffield, and Cindy Meston, of the University of Texas, surveyed
301 people, which included 153 women, on breast stimulation.
The results showed
that stimulating the breasts or nipples enhanced sexual arousal in about 82per
cent of the women, and nearly 60per cent ask to have their nipples touched,
according to Mr Young.
The authors cite
the success of Hooters, 'men's' magazines like Playboy, and about '100,000
years of art' as obvious proof that men are 'extremely' drawn to breasts.
However, the
attraction is nature, not nurture, they say.
'Boys don't learn
on the playground that breasts are something that they should be interested in.
It's biological and deeply engrained in our brain,' they wrote.
'In fact, research
indicates that when we're confronted with breasts, or even breast-related
stimuli, like bras, we'll start making bad decisions (and not just to eat at
Hooters).'
Evolutionary
biologists have suggested that because full breasts are mostly made up of fat,
this signaled to a man that a woman is in good health, 'therefore a top-notch
prospect to bear and raise children.'
However another
hypothesis is based on the idea that many primates have sex with the male
entering from behind, which has been used to explain why some female monkeys
'display elaborate rear-end advertising.'
Therefore in
humans, it has been argued that women's breasts evolved to mimic the contours
of her rear.
The authors dismiss
both of these ideas, instead referencing a neurological explanation that links
the same brain mechanisms used to promote a powerful bond between a mother and
her infant.
'When a woman gives
birth, her newborn will engage in some pretty elaborate manipulations of its
mother's breasts,' they wrote.
'This stimulation
sends signals along nerves and into the brain. There, the signals trigger the
release of a neurochemical called oxytocin from the brain's hypothalamus.
'This oxytocin release
eventually stimulates smooth muscles in a woman's breasts to eject milk, making
it available to her nursing baby.'
They continued:
'But oxytocin release has other effects, too. When released at the baby's
instigation, the attention of the mother focuses on her baby. The infant
becomes the most important thing in the world.
'Oxytocin, acting
in concert with dopamine, also helps imprint the newborn's face, smell and
sounds in the mother's reward circuitry, making nursing and nurturing a
feel-good experience, motivating her to keep doing it and forging the
mother-infant bond. This bond is not only the most beautiful of all social
bonds, it can also be the most enduring, lasting a lifetime.'
Essentially, 'when
a partner touches, massages or nibbles a woman's breasts, it sparks the same
series of brain events as nursing,' they explained.
Humans are also
among the very few animals that have sex face-to-face, 'looking into each
other's eyes.'
The authors
conclude that this 'quirk' of human sexuality has evolved to 'exploit the
ancient mother-infant bonding brain circuitry as a way to help form bonds
between lovers.'
Because an oxytocin
release focuses the brain's attention to a partner's face, smell, and voice,
the authors believe that the combination of oxytocin release from breast
stimulation, and the increase of dopamine from the excitement of foreplay and
face-to-face sex, helps to create an 'association of the lover's face and eyes
with the pleasurable feelings, building a bond in the women's brain'.
Far from being creepy, the authors say, a man's fascination with breasts is 'an unconscious evolutionary drive prompting us to activate powerful bonding circuits that help create a loving, nurturing bond.'
Far from being creepy, the authors say, a man's fascination with breasts is 'an unconscious evolutionary drive prompting us to activate powerful bonding circuits that help create a loving, nurturing bond.'
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