# Larger Nippled Women **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371 "2004-02-26T23:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/81 "2004-02-29T17:34:46Z")
> [@CairaJade](#): > > Are we talking hard or soft nipples here? My areolae are much wider when soft. I’m quite self-concious of them then, though I rather like them when they’re hard. Also, any other acceptable terminology for this phenomenon? I forgot about that. I measured mine when they were soft, so they’ll be a bit smaller hard. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/82 "2004-02-29T17:54:50Z")
> [@bromells](#): > > 1. Here’s another big drawback, in my opinion. They also started yammering, at the same time, about that ridiculous celsius temperature system. The one where if it’s 19 degrees outside it’s warm but if it’s 15 it’s frigid (you get my point). That is just plain useless. Nowhere near enough gradations on that scale. 😕 But you’re complaining about a scale that becomes totally familiar to a user. A Celsius user will know the difference between 19 and 15 as well as someone who uses Farenheit will know the difference between 59° and 66°. However, the difference between 17 and 18 is tiny - can you tell the difference between 62° and 64°? Do you need that extra degree in between the two? In a vain attempt to bring this back to the OP, perhaps the fine gradiations of the Farenheit scale is useful to determine when the aforementioned nipples will become full beams? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/83 "2004-02-29T18:36:46Z")
Acting on the feelings of pure scientific curiosity that this thread has inspired in me, I whipped out my trusty ruler and asked my wife if I could measure her nipples. She agreed. I wasn’t sure if having them be “erect” would throw off the measurements or if that was how they’re supposed to be measured, but it seemed like it would be easier that way, so I suggested using an ice cube to achieve the desired effect. She disagreed. I guess she’s just not willing to make the kind of selfless sacrifices for science that I am! Anyway, I measured her nipples and areolas (they were identical on both breasts, it turned out) and got some highly scientific results. Her nipples themselves were 1.7cm in diameter, protruding by about 1.2cm, and the areolas were 4.45cm in diameter. And, relative to her breast size, the nipples and areolas seem pretty normal, not too big or too small. (Well, obviously they seem huge compared to mine, but they’re pretty normal for a female.) Just for the scientific sake of scientific comparison, and not because I got any sort of carnal thrill out of it[sup] **1** [/sup], I measured my own nipples as well. The actual nippular part was 8mm in diameter, while the surrounding pigmented area (is it still called an areola on a male?) is 2.5cm in diameter. I feel so pathetic compared to my wife. But that’s what we have to do for science. Yes, science. This whole discussion reminds me of an unimaginable horror I experienced in my youth. Back in high school, I was on the cross country running team, which consisted of maybe twenty people. Since it gets extremely hot around here, people would frequently rip their shirts off while running (only the boys, alas). That was all fine and dandy, except for one thing … there was a certain team member (we’ll call him Jeff[sup] **2** [/sup]) who had the biggest nipples I’ve ever seen on a guy. Not his areolitudinosity – they were normal. But the actual nipples were huge. They were at least 2cm wide, and they protruded about 2cm as well. (For those who are keeping track, that means that, yes, his nipples were bigger than my wife’s.) Talk about horrifying. They were like a car accident – you didn’t want to look, but you couldn’t pull your gaze away. And it wasn’t like they were stretched out by subcutaneous fat or anything – Jeff was heavily muscled, with extremely low body fat. He was also extremely irritable and would yell at people a lot. Since then, I have often wondered if he was on steroids – if that might explain his temper and his ultra-highly-muscled super-low-fat exceptionally-large-nippled body. Since this was years back, though, I guess now we’ll never know. But at least now I don’t have to face the unimaginable horror of my youth. Except that I still see him running shirtless sometimes while I’m driving to work in the morning. \ * * * [sup] **1** [/sup]I swear! [sup] **2** [/sup]Names may have been changed to protect the unnaturally big-nippled. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/84 "2004-02-29T23:04:27Z")
> [@Thinks2Much](#): > > Our smallest shield is 21mm, average is 24mm, large is 27 mm, and extra large is 30mm. Please note that these are the diameter of the tubes on the shields- the nipples would need to be at least 3mm smaller than the tubes to use them comfortably. Again, this is nipple size, not areola. The medium tube is an inch thick? I’ve _never_ seen a girl with nipples that wide (not including the areola). ---
**Author:** ![fishead788](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@fishead788](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishead788)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/85 "2004-02-29T23:07:19Z")
> [@Thinks2Much](#): > > I found the layman’s summary of the research, in our newsletter we send out to customers. [article](http://www.medela.com/graphics/messpdf/MessengerFALL00.pdf) > > FYI - Our smallest shield is 21mm, average is 24mm, large is 27 mm, and extra large is 30mm. Please note that these are the diameter of the tubes on the shields- the nipples would need to be at least 3mm smaller than the tubes to use them comfortably. Again, this is nipple size, not areola. I looked at how well they sell. Only 4% in terms of quantity ask for the larger sizes (strictly US sales). You don’t get a different shield if you are too small for average - you just get an insert for the regular one, which we always sell with the average one, so it is hard to say how many women use them who receive them. This article says 15% of women are outside of the average range, so that would imply that 4% are larger and 11% are smaller. That would make sense based on the way we sell it, too. The only thing is that it is a relatively new product that we only market through certain channels, so that 4% is more likely to be lower than actual. > > In terms of circumstantial evidence, I would say my true nipples are 20mm and the areola is at most 0.8cm. The other factor you have not discussed is how much they protrude. Does that count towards being large or not? I am always told I have “big nipples” by those men who see them, but they are big because they stick out pretty far (and seem to always be at attention no matter what). By pretty far, in numbers I would say it is about 40mm. (Twice as far as they are wide) > > If you read the whole article, you will also see I stand corrected on my memory. Asian women have larger nipples on average as well. Don’t you mean on your mammory? ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/86 "2004-02-29T23:08:32Z")
> [@callslugger](#): > > Do men prefer women with large areolas, does it matter how dark they are? It’s kinda like you guys being self conscious about the size of your penis, so come on guys! What do you like? To my personally it doesn’t matter. What matters is the sensitivity. If I’m with a young woman and she either can’t stand some petting (too sensitive) or gets absolutely nothing out of it (not sensitive enough) it throws the whole rhythm off. ---
**Author:** ![callslugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8797f3/32.png) [@callslugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/callslugger)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/87 "2004-03-01T00:24:03Z")
OK hi it’s me again. So i am wondering when you guys are talking about areolas you aren’t talking about the nipple, you say you like them large, so are you referring to the nipple as large or the areola? For most girls, that i know of that large areolas and small nipples. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/88 "2004-03-01T00:37:39Z")
> [@callslugger](#): > > OK hi it’s me again. So i am wondering when you guys are talking about areolas you aren’t talking about the nipple, you say you like them large, so are you referring to the nipple as large or the areola? For most girls, that i know of that large areolas and small nipples. I say again, it doesn’t matter to me that much. In fact if I had to express a preference I’d go for smaller as that tends to correspond with higher sensitivity. That said, your using the term “you” is a little out of place. In fact I doubt that there’s any universal tendancies in preference for any of the characteristics that have been brought up (breaking breast size into the two important parts): cup size band size aureole diameter aureole constrast nipple length nipple diameter There’s just so much variation here that I’d find it impossible to have a strong opinion about more than one or two variables. I don’t have a Platonic _mastidea_ (“breast-Form”) floating about in my head against which I compare particular instantiations of breasts. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/89 "2004-03-01T01:41:29Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > The medium tube is an inch thick? I’ve _never_ seen a girl with nipples that wide (not including the areola). That’s why I wound up with nipple/aureola tissue damage when pumping with ordinary ‘shields’. The opening for the Flexi-Shield is MUCH narrower, and the silicone gives a bit with each cycle of suction. Acts as a cushion. Mind you, the damage only occurred on one side. I cannot imagine why the make the tubes that wide though, unless it’s that some women _do_ have very wide nipples (not aureolae) which would be damaged by too _narrow_ a tube. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/90 "2004-03-01T01:54:01Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > Loosen up dude, women are telling us about their breasts, and doing it for science!!! That’s like both hot and intellectual at same time. Yet you are quibbling about grammer and measurment, I find that painful. I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who could talk about breasts the way (every woman I know) views her breasts: as plain old ordinary body parts. I mean, they’re blobby soft sticky-outy things. I don’t know about the other ladies on this board, but I bet most of them think no more about their breasts than they do about their knees - in other words, unless they _hurt_, they don’t think about them at all. I think about _mine_ as functional objects. But I’m nursing my 4th nursling. They only become sexy during sex, and not always then. As a side note, I am on a mailing list of men who are restoring their foreskins using tissue-expansion methods (usually weight or tension) and it has amazed me that they can talk about their male bits like…ordinary body parts, with no sexual overtones, undertones, or any other tones. Sure, there’s some “scientific” discussion of length, width, “shower” vs “grower”, degree of tightness of skin before they started restoring, length of the fauxskin after they finish, and so on, but it’s all…well, it’s non-sexual. None of them, I swear this, seem to give a damn about being anything other than what they are (except to repair what they wish had not been removed). That’s been a remarkable thing for me to read. I hadn’t known it was possible. I bet it would boggle a lot of men to listen to mature adult women talk among themselves about their breasts when sex, or mate-attraction, is not a factor in the discussion. Which this this discussion isn’t, quite. Do you men find it interesting? I mean, that women will casually discuss their breasts without any sexual ‘tones’? ---
**Author:** ![callslugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8797f3/32.png) [@callslugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/callslugger)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/91 "2004-03-01T02:26:28Z")
Personally for me, they are a pain in the butt, i can’t play flute without rearranging my breasts. what is this world coming to! ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/92 "2004-03-01T03:35:37Z")
> [@callslugger](#): > > Personally for me, they are a pain in the butt, i can’t play flute without rearranging my breasts. what is this world coming to! As a male flute player, I have a hard time imagining this. Interference w/ your left elbow? ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/93 "2004-03-01T03:38:47Z")
And by the way, welcome to the SDMB, **callslugger**! ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/94 "2004-03-01T06:44:06Z")
Any studies done on the standard deviation of areola size? ---
**Author:** ![callslugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8797f3/32.png) [@callslugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/callslugger)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/95 "2004-03-04T02:10:53Z")
> [@hammerbach](#): > > As a male flute player, I have a hard time imagining this. Interference w/ your left elbow? Yes the left elbow, wow are you good at the flute? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/96 "2004-03-04T03:42:48Z")
> [@Chotii](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who could talk about breasts the way (every woman I know) views her breasts: as plain old ordinary body parts. I mean, they’re blobby soft sticky-outy things. I don’t know about the other ladies on this board, but I bet most of them think no more about their breasts than they do about their knees - in other words, unless they _hurt_, they don’t think about them at all. Yes, of course. Women never give a second thought to their breasts. I remember last week I had to stop myself from checking out all the knee cleavage at the club. Regarding the metric hijack: Fahrenheit is a more precise than Centigrade, which is useful. Pounds are more precise then kilograms, which is useful. Miles is less than kilometers, which is useful. Feet is an incredibly useful measure, whereas decimeters are almost unheard of. How tall are you in metric? 6’0" and 5’0" are nice benchmarks. How tall is 6’0" in metric? Back on topic: I am feeling incredibly ignorant, but I don’t understand what aerola is/are, and how are they different from nipples. Something’s just not clicking in my head. Could somebody please post some pictures to help fight my ignorance? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/97 "2004-03-04T03:46:13Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > Miles is less than kilometers Less _precise_, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/98 "2004-03-04T06:07:57Z")
> [@callslugger](#): > > Yes the left elbow, wow are you good at the flute? Occasionally… I could go on, but I hate to hijack a thread just to [switch metaphor] blow my own trumpet [/switch metaphor]. Why don’t you start a MPSIMS thread, and we can all chime in? ---
**Author:** ![audreyayn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@audreyayn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audreyayn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/99 "2004-03-04T07:32:59Z")
> [@Tikki](#): > > Yup, there is such a thing. They can even take the areola and nipple and move them higher up on the breast to make you look perkier. > > I had a friend who’s aureolas puffed out like smaller versions of breasts. In fact, her plastic surgeon called them Snoopy noses, they stuck out so much. She got them reduced but it left a lot of ropy scarring. It was just the way her body reacted to the surgery, I guess. Still, she was happier with her new profile. I assume the “Snoopy nose” thing (a name I’m sure boosted your friend’s self esteem…) was an image issue and not a medical one? I’ve seen ads in Japanese magazines for color-changing precedures. Apparently pink nipples are becoming more popular there. The idea of that and the aureola-reduction precedure both frighten me. I don’t know about the other gals on here, but I don’t see that many nipples that aren’t mine and aren’t attached to half-plastic celebrities. Makes it hard to tell what’s really normal. ---
**Author:** ![T.Mehr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@T.Mehr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Mehr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371/100 "2004-03-04T07:48:33Z")
I like the aureola (what a word for such a nice thing!) when it’s sort of wrinkled up. That would happen below 10 degerees Centigrade - don’t know in Fahrenheit… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larger-nippled-women/231371.md?page=6)