Breasts and Beauty Breasts and Beauty For as long as we can remember, breasts have been objects of admiration and some people have gone out of their way paying loads of money for bigger breasts. Men often swoon over
women with big breasts.
. Though it may seem that male obsession with large female breasts is somehow normal and as if it has always been with us, this is not so. The fixation is culture-specific and has not been eternal. In earlier periods, smaller breasts were most popular. In the age of Rubens, enormously obese women, with bulges in places where most of us don't even have places, were considered very attractive. Beauty a culture-bound concept Different cultures focus on different parts of the female body as representing extremes of beauty. In Japan the nape of the neck has long been popular. The Chinese, for an appalling period, chose very tiny feet, subjecting women to agonising and hugely deforming procedures of foot binding, to squeeze their feet into ridiculously tiny shapes, for which special shoes were made. They were no longer functional for walking, but the deformities were considered highly erotic. When we look at any other culture, with erotic preoccupations we don't share, the basically arbitrary and ridiculous aspect of the process becomes obvious. But within our own culture, it is far harder to challenge or resist the predominant preoccupations. Initially in art and poetry, breasts were primarily symbolic of sacred and maternal values. From the 15th through the 17th century in Europe, its erotic potential gradually became dominant. The role of breasts in mythology Myths about biting breasts arise in Greek, Indian and Native American stories. Hercules was said to have gained his strength by biting the breast of Hera when he was an infant. Multiple breasts also turn up in legends - the Greek goddess Artemis of Ephesus had nearly 20 breasts, which must have made for a rather crowded chest. Christian legends, stories and songs in medieval times surprisingly often involved the breasts and milk of the Virgin Mary, a miraculous substance. In Minoan society (in Crete) women were powerful in society and breasts were specially featured by their clothing. The first corsets were developed, laced so as to expose and lift the breasts. Priestesses of the snake goddess were known for particularly large breasts. The classic Greeks, on the other hand, valued masculinity, and most women had few rights and were expected to stay at home. The apodemos was developed as probably the first bra, but intended to flatten rather than feature the breasts. The rise of Christianity then further discouraged the exposure or featuring of flesh in general and breasts in particular. Breasts and the French revolution For a time, the stomach, especially a rounded belly, was considered far more sexy, anyway, favouring rounded bellies. Only by the 14th century did this start to fade, as clothing again became more revealing of cleavage. Louis XIV of France insisted that the women of his court wear low necklines, as a sign of respect to him and to God. After the French evolution, naturalism and breasts became the fashion, and equivalents of see-through blouses were popular. Jean Wearly patented a machine for making corsets in 1839, and, hitherto a luxury item, these became plentiful, complex and very widely worn. In 1893 Marie Tucek patented the first modern bra, very similar to the form we're used to; though only in the 1920s did it become more popular than the corset.
. Though it may seem that male obsession with large female breasts is somehow normal and as if it has always been with us, this is not so. The fixation is culture-specific and has not been eternal. In earlier periods, smaller breasts were most popular. In the age of Rubens, enormously obese women, with bulges in places where most of us don't even have places, were considered very attractive. Beauty a culture-bound concept Different cultures focus on different parts of the female body as representing extremes of beauty. In Japan the nape of the neck has long been popular. The Chinese, for an appalling period, chose very tiny feet, subjecting women to agonising and hugely deforming procedures of foot binding, to squeeze their feet into ridiculously tiny shapes, for which special shoes were made. They were no longer functional for walking, but the deformities were considered highly erotic. When we look at any other culture, with erotic preoccupations we don't share, the basically arbitrary and ridiculous aspect of the process becomes obvious. But within our own culture, it is far harder to challenge or resist the predominant preoccupations. Initially in art and poetry, breasts were primarily symbolic of sacred and maternal values. From the 15th through the 17th century in Europe, its erotic potential gradually became dominant. The role of breasts in mythology Myths about biting breasts arise in Greek, Indian and Native American stories. Hercules was said to have gained his strength by biting the breast of Hera when he was an infant. Multiple breasts also turn up in legends - the Greek goddess Artemis of Ephesus had nearly 20 breasts, which must have made for a rather crowded chest. Christian legends, stories and songs in medieval times surprisingly often involved the breasts and milk of the Virgin Mary, a miraculous substance. In Minoan society (in Crete) women were powerful in society and breasts were specially featured by their clothing. The first corsets were developed, laced so as to expose and lift the breasts. Priestesses of the snake goddess were known for particularly large breasts. The classic Greeks, on the other hand, valued masculinity, and most women had few rights and were expected to stay at home. The apodemos was developed as probably the first bra, but intended to flatten rather than feature the breasts. The rise of Christianity then further discouraged the exposure or featuring of flesh in general and breasts in particular. Breasts and the French revolution For a time, the stomach, especially a rounded belly, was considered far more sexy, anyway, favouring rounded bellies. Only by the 14th century did this start to fade, as clothing again became more revealing of cleavage. Louis XIV of France insisted that the women of his court wear low necklines, as a sign of respect to him and to God. After the French evolution, naturalism and breasts became the fashion, and equivalents of see-through blouses were popular. Jean Wearly patented a machine for making corsets in 1839, and, hitherto a luxury item, these became plentiful, complex and very widely worn. In 1893 Marie Tucek patented the first modern bra, very similar to the form we're used to; though only in the 1920s did it become more popular than the corset.
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