Yeah, I’m a doofus.
Have you seen fashion models?
My roommate has an issue of “Stuff” (magazine writen for younger guys) and I was suprised at how masculine the female cover model looked. Apparently it is moving out of just the fashion model arena.
Ah, but fashion models are not selected for their desirability to males … their target audience is other females, who are not wired quite the same.
As to the “Stuff” cover model … it is of note how rare those androgynous models are in mags aimed at men. This exception is just that, a rare exception, and perhaps was chosen by a female editor or a gay male, who knows.
Back to Mali. I’ll have to get around to learning more about Malian culture. Until I do I’ll accede to the one antropologist’s take on her observations as better than anything I got.
I just re-read my post, and I’m afraid that I may have come off as a bit of a jerk. That was not my intent. Sorry!
I think you’re right to be skeptical of a single anthropologist’s assessment of a culture. Who knows, maybe there was a translation mix-up, or maybe she has an axe to grind. I just wanted to stress that it should be taken provisionally as true–or at least worthy of serious consideration–especially in the context of the OP, that a Straight Dope type article is being written in a h.s. newspaper. I don’t think I did a good job of stating that before and I really didn’t mean to come off as attacking you.
No attack was percieved … but your grace is appreciated anyway.
FWIW I spent a little time frustratingly trying to find something more definitive on the role of breasts as a sexual attractant (or not) in Malian culture … to no avail. Found the antrolpologist’s c.v. (her expertise is on breastfeeding’s roles in different cultures, no articles in her list hinting at interviews with males about what turns them on, so I do suspect that it was a throw-away line glommed onto by others), found some pictures of wide-eyed grinning Malian women with the caption that these expressions were meant to be part of attracting males’ interests. But nothing to cite back. So really, my comment was meant as a concession of, as you said, provisional acceptance.
(BTW, your link on her telling Malian women, etc … actually links to nipples in Disney’s Fantasia …)
Did you ever write the article? I’d enjoy reading it.