abe smith

ummmmm. (Just insert this comment >>>&gt My Impression Izzz that the observable fact that one can OUTGROW bubbsolatry may have some significance. Tho, what significance I've not bothered to figure yet. Also, add qy: Do others of yez concur that there are upper limits of overbulging blubbery beyond wh/ boobs cease to be desirable? (As I look about me, waiting at the bus terminal.)

The Lone Ranger

The British zoologist Desmond Morris makes a big deal about this in some of his writings. It has been awhile since I've read anything on the specific subject, though, so I can't say how well thought-of the notion is today.




Actually, that's precisely Morris' point. Only women who are healthy and well-fed during adolescence will be able to lay down enough fat deposits to have large breasts. Keep in mind that too-low body fat impairs a woman's fertility, and women with very low body fat stop menstruating entirely. The current fascination with waif-thin women is a very recent aberration.

See above. Most human societies of the past have idealized heavy women as being particularly desirable mates, not skinny ones. That there has been such a rapid change in the past couple of generations in Western societies demonstrates that there is a considerable amount of plasticity in what is considered attractive.

Interestingly, there have been some fairly recent studies (I remember reading about them in Time, I think it was, a few years ago) in which men were asked to judge the attractiveness of women of various weights. Men consistently judged women of a certain hips/waist ratio as being most attractive, suggesting that there may be some "hardwiring" to seek out hourglass-shaped women. What was most interesting, though, is that most men rated women of model-thinness as being less attractive than somewhat heavier women. To some extent, the obsession for thin-ness in young women may be driven more by advertisers than by "what men really want."




Yes, that's very much the point. These are signals which quickly and reliably indicate the sex of the bearer. This doesn't mean that there aren't other factors to consider, though. For instance, broad shoulders in men not only help to identify the individual's sex, but provide some indication of his health. It's not so surprising that women would generally prefer broad-shouldered men to narrow-shouldered ones, therefore.

As a rule, I don't find very large breasts to be attractive.

Cheers,

Michael

doubtingt

One simple explanation is that breast are a good visual indicator that a female is mature enough to have offspring.

2tadpoles

Well, jeez.... if that were the case, I'd be infertile.