Okay… I can’t believe I’m writing on this topic.
I’ve got a few thoughts to throw into the fray… so I’ll number them.
1.)
I have another curve ball to throw in here. For one thing… has anyone seen breasts in one of the more primative cultures. NOTHING like the breasts we are all talking about. Nothing at all. Not the “soft round, etc” that are supposed to have been attractive. I have a bad feeling that that round and soft bit is really a byproduct of the brassiere. I think we may just be getting a little ethnocentric here and blinding ourselves. (just a mite w)
2.)
Another thing… according to the theory stated in “The Evolution of Conciousness” (I’m sorry, I know it’s not the author’s personal theory… he just restates it in the book) there were a multitude of changes that took place (according to this “heat theory” that standing up changes the humidity and heat that the body is subject to…human vs ape stance). Some of these… The infant’s head and cranial size had to be smaller because an upright body requires a more dense pelvic bone, which makes sure the infant is born less developed (because with a lower heat and lower humidity, there is a larger possibility for growing a larger brain), which in turn makes an infant more likely to need longer term care… bringing on attachment and a child that is not born “ready to run” like in many of the other animals. The hands were freed from walking, to become tools (though!!! there are some primative cultures which are known to have feet almost as dextrous as their hands), and the body to utilize less energy.
3.)
Now… along with this, I’m sure there no longer was the concern of having a severe back ache with all of that extra weight on one local place on the body (L That is in some ways a joke… because one of the causes of back trouble in women is breasts). I do think that the idea of breasts showing the fertility of the woman (just having had a child, so she is ready to have another-post) seems pretty interesting and thoughtful to me.
(and #4 which is my real idea… the others were just warmer-uppers you know )
I THINK… though… there are some biological issues that might be here also. For one… breasts have special chemicals in the fat stores that keep the fat from being burned until either excersize has EXCEEDED around forty five minutes or in the event of a food shortage. And the breasts, along with the upper arms, are one of the first places the fat goes when there is an overly large caloric intake. In other words… big breasts means this speciman has fed well and that she has the extra fat stores to provide for a child being born in the event of a scarcity of food. Also, bigger breasts means that since she has been in a place of plenty (of food) so she has had a wider variety of food if the food is more plentiful and she is more likely to be healthy and able to carry a child for the long term that is required. Has anyone seen the difference between a feral horse on the range and one that has been domesticated? It’s amazing the change a little extra food can do for a body.
In other words… breasts, are a wonderful indication of the health of the potential mother and the greater possiblity of a child surviving. ALSO… L breast milk has a high quantity of fat in it. (Though the majority of it is actually anitbodies passed through the mother to the child to protect the child from diseases the mother is exposed to…since the two are supposed to be inseperable, these antibodies would protect the child from sickness that come their way). And if the mother is skinny to begin with, not skilled at getting enough food, or unable to, then after a pregnancy cut short by not having enough food (creating an underweight baby, one strike against the child and also, most likely born early to compensate for the incredible pressure on the mother to sustain a life when the food is too low to sustain her own - second strike against the child) the child has to deal with not having enough fat in their diet to put on the weight they so desperately need (to help ensure good eyesight, a must for bipedal animals (another idea found in “The Evolution of Conciousness” is the increased ability to see better because of the visibility range changing by becoming bipedal), and energy to learn and grow by storing fat as “baby fat” to be used during growing spurts and for the brain’s development (strikes three and four)).
So… Why choose a mother who hasn’t the body fat to deal with childbirth? And what better way to show that you can deal with child birth, but to display it where all can see (namely near the head which has the vocalizations, facial expressions and such and would be a place that would hold most of the male’s attention - I mean the head… L)? Another place to display fat is at the hips… this fat is usually created DURING pregnancy however and is used exclusively for the baby after the child is born. Kinda neat… there are signs that a woman is pregnant or a good candidate for offspring’s survival chances just by the placement of the fat on her body.
Anyhow… just another viewpoint, if anyone would care to respond to it.
Growing old is manditory. Growing wise is optional.