Kennedy, you got any proof that men’s nipples can produce milk? I think Cecil answered this one long ago, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I want to see some evidence before I believe that men can produce milk.
Maybe large breasts were intended for the woman’s benefit. Having a major sexual characteristic in that area enables a woman to watch how often a man’s attention wanders from her face to her chest. Sort of a built in lech detector. Hey, it’s no worse that Desmond Morris’ theory.
“Breasts are like toy trains. They were intended for children but grown men usually end up playing with them.” (Sorry, I don’t know who said this first.)
Yes, Cecil did. Yes, men’s breasts can produce milk.
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
For the straight dope on what Cecil really said about male lactation, read this:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_093.html
[Note: This message has been edited by Nickrz]
Okay guys - some thoughts from someone who has breasts - you’re making it too complicated. They are more than milk producing glands for women too! They’re erogenous zones and bring us more pleasure than they do you! Of course men like to look at them – they’re a part of a woman’s sexuality.
Side Question:
I saw a magazine that had an artcle about an electric bra that can make a woman’s breast larger by basically vaccum-pumping them it out. Did anyone else see this magazine article?
Newsweek (IIRC) did a lead story 3 or 4 years back on the research being done on attractiveness & evolution. One of the findings reported was waist to hip ratio on women, which also has a marked impact on female fertility. The most desirable ratio was 70%, which also has the highest fertility factor. Although this was not mentioned in the article, breasts should also be an indicator, since the same hormones that cause large hips will also generally produce large breasts.
Sycorax - While breasts are erogenous zones, I have heard that smaller breasts are actually more sensitive so you would think this factor would select for smaller breasted women.
zyada, did they consider that after a woman has a baby she’s may not have that figure anymore? Thus, it’s seems only an initial fertility figure.
Boobrigation: In a largely male society, large breasts are favored, thus women with them have an easier time.
Just a bit off topic, but having larger breasts doesn’t always make things easier for a woman. Some of my female friends just wish that people would stop staring or making comments about them…
Back to your regulary scheduled postings.
Neil
“. . .they could as easily have been carrying euphoniums and wearing war paint for all the notice their quarry would have taken of them.”
-Douglas Adams, “Life, the Universe, and Everything”
I’ll stay off topic for a moment. Large breasts-for a woman- are mostly a pain. I have naturally Big’Uns and I wish I could pop the off or unscrew them or something. Especially in this HEAT. And the strap marks carved into my shoulders are so lovely!
“On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright…”
Interesting how this turned from breasts in general to Big Breasts.
Oh, popokis–conversation ALWAYS goes from breasts in general to Big Breasts.
Signed, Mother of 4 well-nursed babies with no dents from shoulder straps.
Big breasts? See what Cecil had to say about the largest commercially available brassieres:
Here’s my theory. Women have large breasts (compared to other mammals) as a way of mimicing lactation.
As someone mentioned, most mammals have an estrus cycle, but humans have developed it into a menstrual cycle where the OVERT signs of fertility are suppressed. Human women will have sex 24-7, while most animals have a very specific and restricted period of heat (well, some women will, anyway!). There are various theories about why this is, most having to do with social structure. I won’t go into THAT, it’s a thread in itself.
But of course, the bottom line is that human females ALWAYS APPEAR RECEPTIVE to sex except when pregnant (when they may be receptive to sex, but are not fertile for the men around them and cannot hide it). They do not change color, they do not give off strong odors, etc.
Pregnancy leaves signs though. If your belly is flat, you are not carrying a baby and hence are fertile (hopefully). But if your breasts are “small”, you may be infertile. If your waist is small and your breasts are large, you just had a baby and are now fertile and receptive again. Perfect. To mimic this state requires women who are not lactating to show large breasts. Hence the bulges of tissue, imitating swollen lactate glands. It’s all part of the human woman’s interest in not giving away the state of her fertility.
I think this makes more sense than that it’s a front-viewed derriere. (please!)
i’ve read lots of desmond morris and i think he makes a lot of sense…(or maybe I’M the loony, for thinking that). but what i haven’t really found answered…what’s with the preference for a small waist? maybe i’m not thinking hard enough but i can’t see how that makes sense…and who was it that mentioned small breasts being more sensitive? why IS that??
“Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” --1984
Handy - not having been blessed with children , I 'm not sure about this but I don’t think a woman’s proportions change after childbirth, although her weight may. I tend to remain at 75% (Yowsah!) no matter what I weigh. I remember that the 70% rule is fairly universal no matter what the ideal weight range is - the pre-historic fertility figurines are have this proportion, as did Twiggy! (although an “overweight” woman at 70% is not perceived as attractive as a “normal” woman at 80% or 90% 
) The 70% figure also held true for fertility rates for different weights.
Gundhilde -
The preference for small waist - or rather small waist to hip ratio - has to do with how women store calories for pregnancy. It takes 9 million calories to carry and breast feed a baby. The female body needs to store enough calories to tide a woman through pregnancy even during periods when food is short. These calories are stored in special fat deposits known as brown fat which are store primarily on the hips and thighs. White fat, OTOH, is stored in the stomach. (This causes the pear & apple body shapes that doctors talk about - brown fat is not as detrimental as white fat)
It probably also helps that a wide pelvis is less likely to cause problems during childbirth; however, IIRC, the fertility rate study was concerned solely with fat distribution.
Finally - why are small breasts (as I recall) more sensitive? The reason is that there is the same number of nerve endings in breasts no matter the size. I don’t know if this is true it holds true for me - I’m large breasted & they’re not the most erogenous part of my body.
Quote:
“Seriously guys: We’ve heard enough of the “stop staringat /talking to my cheast” from
women. After all, they (for some reason that totally escapes me) enjoy loooking at men’s butts.”
I know I’m in the strict minority here, but I’ve never understood that. I don’t look at a guy’s butt unless there’s something really drawing my attention to it…like a tail or a big sign saying,“Here’s my butt. Look at it.” I can’t figure it out. I’m guessing that maybe the guy with the firmest butt has better thrusting power? Maybe this should be another thread. “What’s up with butt gazing?”
I read Morris’ ideas about the breasts being a simulation of the rear. I can see how he got to this conclusion although I, honestly, found it kind of disturbing but, hey, that’s just my puritanical side talking. Evolution, in and of itself, is neutral. APB9999’s theory makes sense also.
I also remember Morris saying that women’s breasts, compared to those of other animals, are very ill-suited for breast feeding, hence the idea that they’re as much for attracting a mate as for feeding the young. He stated that they’d need to be designed differently in order for the child to eat most effectively.
As an interesting side note, at work, I’ve had no trouble with guys my age staring at my chest. It’s always the guys over 40. Now, I’m certainly not trying to make a general statement about men over 40. I’ve worked other places where this is not the case. It’s just odd how the guys at my current job are. Maybe the young guys are just sneakier…or maybe I’m just not their type 
I remember reading an article in Discover magazine a couple of years ago about this, and other physical sex attributes in humans. It was pretty interesting, actually. (Duh, it was about sex!)
In regard to the females with big boobs thing, they said pretty much what has been already said: it was a sign of fertility. Not just the boobs themselves, but the overall shape (like what the Newsweek article suggested–and I remember that in that article, a slightly overweight woman with an hourglass shape was preferred over a slightly underweight woman with the same shape–perhaps because the overweight woman would more likely be fertile). Full, healthy breasts and soft, round curves indicate good health and fertility. Meanwhile, teeny Calista Flockhart breasts and straight, skinny hips suggest the girl may not have reached puberty yet, or is malnourished, and thus less likely to be fertile.
What was far more interesting (to me, at least) was that the article said that not only were women’s breasts for men to enjoy, but large penises were for men, too! Proof that size does not matter all that much to us womenfolk. The article sought to also answer why human males have comparatively enormous organs when set against those of other primates–for example, a 400lb mountain gorilla has a weensy 2-3" weenie (when erect!). Ms. Gorilla doesn’t seem to mind, and it functions well enough to make more gorillas in the world, so why do human males, at half the size and weight, have double the penis length?
So why are human men so huge? (You gotta love that line, boys!) They called it “locker room” culture–a large penis is a way for a man to show off his status as a man to all the other men. They compared this to a species of bird I’ve long since forgotten the name of that has brightly colored head decor. The females don’t care much about head decor and will mate to their tastes, no matter the size of it, but to the OTHER male birds…well, that guy’s HUGE! What a COCK! (pun intended! :D) And so Mr. Big Decorative Bird becomes #1 male bird–to the other males. This also means he is more likely to mate, but only because the other males bow out to him.
Kinda like antlers on a deer, too, except men don’t do battle over a woman by batting their penises together. But they should. Would be damn fun to watch!
So, men, got a big member? Well, that’s just to prove to other men how manly you are! And yah know, thinking about it, it does seem men talk about their penises, flaunt their penises (and overall nudity), and brag about their penises a whole lot more than women do about their breasts or any sex organ. Men have ample opportunity, then, to determine their place in the locker room hierarchy.
And my man sits near the top. 
“Me fail English? That’s unpossible!”
“English? Who needs that? I’m never going to England.”
I have been lurking, but have to jump in here… to say that it’s a myth that smaller breasts are more sensitive. As in most things sexual, people vary - but I am slightly above average in size and can assure you that there is no lack in sensitivity 
Chatting with girlfriends confirms that size has little to do with response. Additionally: if smaller was better, wouldn’t all men have VERY sensitive
nipples?
“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.” – George Carlin