Why exactly are breasts sexy? (Maybe NSFW)

GuyInWhite

Don't get me wrong, I like boobs as much as any other guy, I just wonder why they figure so prominently in sex since they have no purpose in reproduction.

Vorpy

Because they define women from men easily so your body knows what to go after?

And something in your brain that involves "Big tits = more milk for children = flourishing genes"

Chagen

They feed the offspring of the mother.

Large breasts means a girl who can reliably breast-feed her children. (Straight) Men are naturally inclined to find her more sexually attractive.

AXavierB

Big muscles and tight tank tops have no purpose in reproduction but damn if I don't think those are hot.

Me wanting to have sex with a man also has no purpose in reproduction but I digress. :V

Chagen

Funny:It happened, it didn't give an evolutionary disadvantage, it stayed.

Evolution just goes with whatever works, not what makes sense.

Schitzo

they look fun to chew on, that's why.

All Nines

^ Really, what more of a reason could you want than that?

In other words: they increase arousal, which can only help reproduction along. It's probably that simple. And perhaps there's the idea of "bigger breasts = more breastfeeding", though that isn't always the case. Certainly I don't buy into that.

Sammy

Larger breast size isn't correlated with increased milk production. They're attractive because they're an indication (one of several) that the woman has gone through puberty = fertile = not a waste of sperm, and they're a fat dump site = not starving to death = not a waste of sperm. Note that most mammals only have visibly engorged breasts while pregnant or nursing; it's possible that humans evolved their perma-racks in conjunction with the loss of a true estrous cycle.

Gelzo

I forget where I heard this so don't hold me to it, but I think I remember something about humans evolving more shapely breasts because our becoming bipedal meant the roundness of the ass wasn't at eye-level anymore, and breasts became another source for that allure?

glennmagusharvey

I don't find women's breasts that sexually appealing.

All Nines

^ Me neither.

Well, I do, but I much prefer the ass.

GLORIOUSLeader

I'll take either, honestly. 

glennmagusharvey

Not an ass person either.

I prefer looking at sleek sexy arms and legs for some reason.  And sleek sexy hair.

Sammy

"I forget where I heard this so don't hold me to it, but I think I
remember something about humans evolving more shapely breasts because
our becoming bipedal meant the roundness of the ass wasn't at eye-level
anymore, and breasts became another source for that allure?"

This idea was proposed in like the 60s and has since fallen out of favor, now that we know more about the mating behavior of other apes.

"I don't find women's breasts that sexually appealing."

Enjoy your genetic dead end.

GLORIOUSLeader

You know what? I'll take a sexy person, thank you very much.

Fun fact: I know a chick with an ass like Deboss's avatar. 

I shouldn't have posted that.

glennmagusharvey

"Enjoy avoiding our genetic dead end."

Fixed, for avoiding back problems and being more athletic and more able to do cool stuff.

Sammy

Cool stuff, like what? Apart from failing to provide your spawn with basic nourishment due to a tragic lack of estrogen and fat, of course.

glennmagusharvey

> fat
> provide your spawn with basic nourishment

If the fat were actually used for that, then why don't breasts shrink significantly after childbirth and breast-fed rearing?

> tragic lack of estrogen

Wikipedia: "Oestrogens are produced primarily by developing follicles in the ovaries, the corpus luteum, and the placenta."

Sammy

"If the fat were actually used for that, then why don't breasts shrink significantly after childbirth and breast-fed rearing?"

You won't even be able to menstruate, let alone breast-feed, if you're hittin' the gym to the point where you have no excess fat for breasts and ass. Anorexia is a Bad Thing, GMH!

"Wikipedia: "Oestrogens are produced primarily by developing follicles in the ovaries, the corpus luteum, and the placenta.""

Estrogens are heavily involved in sexual development. Lack of estrogen => no boobs = no children for u.

glennmagusharvey

Re anorexia: I never said anorexia.  Would you call all flat-chested women anorexic?

Re estrogens: Do you mean to imply that no flat-chested woman is sexually mature?

Not to mention that I'm not sure if I want children anyway.  But that's a side issue.

Sammy

"Re anorexia: I never said anorexia.  Would you call all flat-chested women anorexic?"

You said you prized athleticism over T&A. This would not have served early man very well.

"Re estrogens: Do you mean to imply that no flat-chested woman is sexually mature?"

Nope, breast size isn't the only indicator of puberty. All children are flat-chested, however, which is why breast development is useful as a general sign of fertility.

"Not to mention that I'm not sure if I want children anyway.  But that's a side issue."

Reproduction isn't a side issue in evolution. It is the issue.

snowbull

This has to be among the least erotic discussions of breasts I have ever read.

You guys are disappoint.

^What if you're an ant?

glennmagusharvey

^^ It's a side issue in the statement of my rebuttal to your argument.

^ Well, maybe that's because they don't turn me on.

Sammy

"What if you're an ant?"

You would probably find breasts tasty, provided they aren't attached to a live owner.

"It's a side issue in the statement of my rebuttal to your argument."

My argument addresses the biological function of preference for visible breasts. I'm not trying to rationalize your personal kinks, although if I had to guess I would say that your exposure to moe anime is entirely to blame for your despicable deviance from the Darwinian dictum.

snowbull

No, I mean most ants don't get to have sex and reproduce. They work themselves to death so someone else can.

Sammy

Most* ants in a colony are closely related, so the infertile individuals contribute to the reproductive success of fertile ants, thereby perpetuating the caste system. They have a different chromosomal inheritance scheme that yields sound genetic payoffs when they cooperate and leave reproduction to one or a few individuals.

(*usually all, but some colonies assimilate outsiders)

BonSequitur

Breasts may very well be a classic case of sexual selection, where they're basically an expensive signal that indicates the woman is a fit mate because her body had the material to waste building soft, pillowy mounds of useless flesh. Indeed, the only reason they're useful as biological signals is because they're expensive. We wouldn't evolve to be attracted by something that isn't costly to have, because a signal with no energy cost is meaningless; most of everything that is attractive is either a direct signal of health and fitness (Muscle tone, symmetrical faces, clean skin, well-tended hair) or a 'handicap' signalling an excess of available energy. Since their growth accompanies puberty, they also serve to signal readiness to mate (And, conversely, to signal childrens' unreadiness to mate).

Of course, human sexual behaviour is probably much more dictated by culture than genetics anyway.

Also, there are many examples of individuals inhibiting their survival or reproductive fitness for the sake of genes they share with the rest of the group. There's a hypothesis that homosexuality evolved or was genetically helped along because it provides childless individuals that are invaluable to communities (Which, in a hunter-gatherer group, is mostly composed of their relatives). This is known as the 'gay uncle' hypothesis.