# Women and cleavage **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892 "2014-06-28T22:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/201 "2014-07-04T04:00:55Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > If we started a thread about Ayn Rand’s cleavage, we’d have a world-record-breaker. You think she’d be objectified? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/202 "2014-07-04T04:09:19Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Am I the only guy who feels bad about looking at some stranger’s chestal area (or other body part), even if it’s only for a quick second, and even if it’s involuntary? > [@Dangerosa](#): > > No, Marley, Ascenray and Lefty seem to feel similarly (I think they are all guys). I am, but I wouldn’t say I feel guilty about it. It’s more or less involuntary and there’s not much sense in feeling guilt about something you can’t help. And I figure just about everyone checks out people of their preferred gender from time to time. But I don’t stare and I’d feel like crap if I realized I was making someone uncomfortable. > [@CheshireKat](#): > > If we started a thread about Ayn Rand’s cleavage, we’d have a world-record-breaker. DD is DD. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/203 "2014-07-04T04:09:36Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You think she’d be objectified? \ Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/204 "2014-07-04T04:18:22Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > No, Marley, Ascenray and Lefty seem to feel similarly (I think they are all guys). There are definitely men who were raised by mothers who seem to have instilled a proper sense of shame when caught (or even not caught) gawking at strangers. Those not guilty of needing the passive voice to blame the boobies for their bad manners. What a ridiculous and sexist statement. Shameful? Really? And, even presupposing that, it’s only their mothers who can break them of this “shameful” tendency? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/205 "2014-07-04T05:33:22Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > \ Who knows? Atlas. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/206 "2014-07-04T05:41:39Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > \ Who knows? John Galt knows. But who is John Galt? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/207 "2014-07-04T06:14:22Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > Normally I avoid watching parades, especially the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, seeing giant Snoopy & Woodstock balloons float down the street is so passé in 2014. > > However, I think your idea of having women “parade their breasts around” could revitalize the concept of a Thanksgiving Day Parade. > > That little phrase, “parade their breasts around” is extremely vivid and very exciting! > > Actually, I’m having trouble concentrating on typing this reply, as I am imagining entire platoons, no brigades, of cheerleaders clad in Victoria’s Secret lingerie marching down the street. > > I think I would regularly attend parades if Victoria’s Secret sponsored them. > > Great idea! “parade their breasts around” So vivid, and so exciting! > > You should suggest that to the mayor of NYC. How about the mayor of Rio de Janeiro? ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/208 "2014-07-04T06:53:56Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > How about the mayor of Rio de Janeiro? I’m thinking that they have already embraced the concept of breasts and buttocks on parade in Rio de Janeiro. That whole jiggly samba thing they do is far more interesting than large helium ballon of an outdated cartoon character. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/209 "2014-07-04T06:58:08Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Yeah, but is that practical as a recipe for the entirety of one’s life? Honest question. > > If I was a teacher or similar, I imagine that I would be self-policing myself a hell of a lot, and be aware of the issue at all times during the working day. But I think it’s hard to go through every waking moment of one’s life like that, and the idea of doing so even feels a bit absurd, you know? Maybe I should, though. I donno. I used to be really bad at looking, but then when we had our babies and I was suddenly around lots of breastfeeding Japanese women who went from A cup to D or more overnight, all down on the padded floor playing with their babies at the community center. Once you become aware of what you’re doing, you can learn to look at people’s faces, or just not stare. Look at it as a physics problem. The further away you are, the harder it is for others to determine where you are looking at. No one cares if you look from 200 yards, whereas talking to a woman’s breasts instead of her face is extremely rude, right? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/210 "2014-07-04T07:25:53Z")
Parachuting in to add my two cents, as a guy who does in fact enjoy looking at breasts: There is looking at a woman’s breasts, and then there is staring at them. Compare to interacting with strangers on the street. Glancing at them, maybe even tossing out a nod and a polite content-free greeting in passing is just fine. Prolonged eye contact, OTOH, is not. Same applies for looking at a woman’s décolletage. Quick glance is fine, prolonged staring is not. In fact, as I recall being taught when learning about job interviews in school: prolonged uninterrupted eye contact even with a person you are conversing with can make people uncomfortable. You’re supposed to move your focus around a bit (from one eye to the other, or down towards the nose or mouth and back) so you don’t give off the impression of a hunting dog zeroed in on a bird. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/211 "2014-07-04T07:29:03Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Look at it as a physics problem. The further away you are, the harder it is for others to determine where you are looking at. No one cares if you look from 200 yards This is where a pair of binoculars comes in handy. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/212 "2014-07-04T07:42:00Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > There is looking at a woman’s breasts, and then there is staring at them. Compare to interacting with strangers on the street. Glancing at them, maybe even tossing out a nod and a polite content-free greeting in passing is just fine. Boy, did I parse that wrong. Now I’m picturing you politely tipping your hat to a pair of breasts on the street as you walk by. “G’day, boobs”. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/213 "2014-07-04T09:59:00Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > This is where a pair of binoculars comes in handy. And you’d think the police would understand this simple fact, but noooo… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/214 "2014-07-04T12:30:24Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > This is where a pair of binoculars comes in handy. Or a drone. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/215 "2014-07-04T12:52:27Z")
I’m curious - how would men feel if women started staring at their crotches? And I don’t mean this as a joke. Really stop and imagine it, and how you’d react. Would you start dressing differently, either to hide or enhance the area? Would you think the woman was flirting with you for looking? What if you were with your sister, or your wife, or your kids when it happened? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/216 "2014-07-04T13:07:14Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > I’m curious - how would men feel if women started staring at their crotches? And I don’t mean this as a joke. Really stop and imagine it, and how you’d react. > > Would you start dressing differently, either to hide or enhance the area? Would you think the woman was flirting with you for looking? What if you were with your sister, or your wife, or your kids when it happened? This may be best summary of the entire thread of **The Real Issue** being discussed. And in this case it would be **Flobbing Dicks** instead of **Flobbing Titties** that would become an argument over _sexual assault_ or _funny prank_ and things in between. Regardless of how the issues are resolved, I’m going on record as a Breast Man. Always have been, always will. And I am flat gonna look! ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/217 "2014-07-04T13:14:08Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Regardless of how the issues are resolved, I’m going on record as a Breast Man. Always have been, always will. And I am flat gonna look! Fine, but you didn’t answer any of the questions. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/218 "2014-07-04T13:17:33Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > I’m curious - how would men feel if women started staring at their crotches? And I don’t mean this as a joke. Really stop and imagine it, and how you’d react. > > Would you start dressing differently, either to hide or enhance the area? Would you think the woman was flirting with you for looking? What if you were with your sister, or your wife, or your kids when it happened? I’d certainly begin buying tube socks again.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/219 "2014-07-04T13:26:46Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > Fine, but you didn’t answer any of the questions. 😕 Well, then, I’ll answer them in the way I would answer any such broad question: It Depends! There are no simple answers. Period. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/220 "2014-07-04T13:35:56Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Well, then, I’ll answer them in the way I would answer any such broad question: It Depends! There are no simple answers. Period. Oops, sorry. I worded my question incorrectly. Here: \*\*Men, how would you feel if women started staring at your crotch? \*\* Would **you** start dressing differently, either to hide or enhance the area? Would **you** think the woman was flirting with you for looking? What if \*\*you \*\*were with your sister, or your wife, or your kids when it happened? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892.md?page=12)