# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/121 "2014-06-30T18:25:44Z")
> [@occupant](#): > > Why do women like to show significant cleavage, but get ticked when men stare at it? Some women like to show significant cleavage; others don’t. Some women in the first group like to show their cleavage for a specific limited audience; some like to show it to the world. Some women in the latter group get vexed if a given admiration session from a male is too long, too crude, or too dehumanizing. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/122 "2014-06-30T18:27:55Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Did she have big titties? Not particularly…but her pose would have made for quite the pin-up picture… ---
**Author:** ![Lonnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lonnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lonnie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/123 "2014-06-30T20:20:36Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Did she have big titties? Was it DaVinci who said, “Some people get it, some people get it when you tell them, and some people NEVER GET IT”? Or something like that. Surely fits here. And with the response too. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/124 "2014-06-30T22:33:09Z")
**Lonnie** , since you’re knew here, just a head’s up… only one of those is serious and cause for concern. The other, **Drunky** , is just takin’ the piss and lampooning some’s misogyny in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/125 "2014-06-30T23:21:45Z")
> [@Lonnie](#): > > OMG. If men just realized that the female breast is made mostly of fat (adipose tissue) and the amount of fat determines the size of the breast. > > There are also glands and ducts to produce and carry milk for offspring. So whaddya think, ladies? Does male preoccupation with breasts relate back to Mommy? Yea, and if you take apart a body it is made up of a lot of gross, ugly stuff. There’s even shit inside. So I suppose we should just find ours and other peoples bodies to be disgusting and repugnant. Sheeesss . . . ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/126 "2014-06-30T23:30:46Z")
[QUOTE=Martian Bigfoot] I had a girlfriend for a short time once who later went on to get a boob job. Sure, she started out small-bosomed, but she was gorgeous. Then she had to and ruin it. I wanted to kick her butt. [/QUOTE] But since that was fake too, it would’ve been an empty gesture… ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/127 "2014-07-01T08:25:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Some women like to show significant cleavage; others don’t. Some women in the first group like to show their cleavage for a specific limited audience; some like to show it to the world. Some women in the latter group get vexed if a given admiration session from a male is too long, too crude, or too dehumanizing. Are there some women who do show, but don’t want to due to a limited choice of clothing? I often go shopping with a female friend and notice that most tops are either V-neck or U-neck, usually very low, in most stores. Even buttoned shirts tend to button rather low. The only tops that even had close to a crew neck-type collar were exercise T-shirts. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/128 "2014-07-01T10:49:43Z")
Cleavage has a magical power. For every inch a woman shows it lowers a man’s IQ by 10%. That’s why we turn into blubbering idiots. BTW, my favorite is to go the Ren Fest like events where the woman had those old busting out tops. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/129 "2014-07-01T11:33:27Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > Are there some women who do show, but don’t want to due to a limited choice of clothing? I often go shopping with a female friend and notice that most tops are either V-neck or U-neck, usually very low, in most stores. Even buttoned shirts tend to button rather low. The only tops that even had close to a crew neck-type collar were exercise T-shirts. Yes. I’ve been in that position since about 13 and, as a result, I don’t ever wear v-neck tops at all. However, I’ll occasionally attempt a bit of a scoop in front, only to find out later that if I lean too far forward or bunch my arms up together to grasp something, I can be offering a glimpse of cleavage. For me, it’s absolutely maddening and I hate it. So mostly, I stick to crew necks. ETA: But yes, even the smallest downward cut of a shirt can result in a view you didn’t intend and definitely don’t want. However, you don’t always know until you wear it and are in action. And if you’d like a little variety in your wardrobe, some women decide it’s worth the (infinitesimal) gamble. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/130 "2014-07-01T12:36:21Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Yes. I’ve been in that position since about 13 and, as a result, I don’t ever wear v-neck tops at all. However, I’ll occasionally attempt a bit of a scoop in front, only to find out later that if I lean too far forward or bunch my arms up together to grasp something, I can be offering a glimpse of cleavage. For me, it’s absolutely maddening and I hate it. So mostly, I stick to crew necks… And blouses or shirts with buttons are risky as well. Buttons don’t tend to lay flat over contours, causing gaps. But a busty woman is seldom safe - a turtleneck sweater can be very revealing if it hugs curves. You can live your life in oversized crew necked shirts and sweaters, but frankly, most people who do so look a little slobbish. And if slightly sexy is my option over slightly slobbish, in my daily life now, I take slobblish - in my professional life I’ve always gone for “well put together” - which some people will take as slightly sexy. ---
**Author:** ![Lonnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lonnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lonnie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/131 "2014-07-01T15:22:51Z")
Thanks for the heads up, Faithfool. Still a good quote, though, don’t you think? 🙂 lol ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/132 "2014-07-01T17:35:19Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > Are there some women who do show, but don’t want to due to a limited choice of clothing? I often go shopping with a female friend and notice that most tops are either V-neck or U-neck, usually very low, in most stores. Even buttoned shirts tend to button rather low. The only tops that even had close to a crew neck-type collar were exercise T-shirts. That’s undoubtedly true for many people, but ignores the bigger picture, IMHO. Because if enough women wanted higher necklines, then manufacturers would make more of them. So if we’re discussing some specific woman, then that possibility is very relevant. If we’re discussing women in general, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/133 "2014-07-01T18:12:17Z")
As is often true in real life, the free market doesn’t always work like it is supposed to in theory. A lot of women I know complain about how difficult it is to find suitable clothing. Manufacturers are so intensely trend-oriented that they disregard the possibility that — 1. Not all styles are suitable for all women 2. Some women might want to keep buying something that suited them in the past rather than moving entirely with whatever trend the industry has produced next. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/134 "2014-07-01T18:39:16Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Do you have a cite for this? > IME, most women who show cleavage are quite OK with being ogled. If you have proof of the contrary, please provide it, since you’re the one who is bringing the claim. > > Otherwise I’m calling a bullshit straw man. I don’t know how I would provide evidence for this: I have the feeling that SE Michigan is very different from Rochester, New York. 🙂 ---
**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 1, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/135 "2014-07-01T18:44:35Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > I don’t know how I would provide evidence for this: Just send **chiroptera** out to ogle 50 women’s cleavage, up close and personal, and then report back here how many smiles and how many black eyes he got. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/136 "2014-07-01T18:45:17Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > As is often true in real life, the free market doesn’t always work like it is supposed to in theory. > > A lot of women I know complain about how difficult it is to find suitable clothing. > > Manufacturers are so intensely trend-oriented that they disregard the possibility that — > > 1. Not all styles are suitable for all women > > 2. Some women might want to keep buying something that suited them in the past rather than moving entirely with whatever trend the industry has produced next. A lot of people complain about a lot of things. You can’t conclude anything from the fact that people complain about things. Many times, the reason complaints are so universal about things is because the only thing that would make people happy is not actually attainable in real life. Like in this case, where - quite possibly - a lot of women who in theory prefer more modest attire would as a practical matter reject much of what’s offered along those lines as not being attractive/stylish enough, hence the conundrum. Bottom line is that if what you say is true, all it would take is one manufacturer “foolish” enough to make this type of clothing. It would fly off the shelves, scooped up by all these supposed women desparate for this type of clothing, at which point other manufacturers would copy it. Doesn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/137 "2014-07-01T18:48:34Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > It’s disturbing. I’m always responsible for me, I don’t care what anyone else does or doesn’t do. Okay, so if you make the decision to wear a low-cut top, then you are responsible for the men who ogle you. Which was kinda the OP’s point. When women wear scantily-clad outfits then get angry that men are staring, it’s nonsense. It’s not asking for anything physical, but looking is free and men are gonna look. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/138 "2014-07-01T18:50:48Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Okay, so if you make the decision to wear a low-cut top, then you are responsible for the men who ogle you. That doesn’t actually follow. And again- you can look at an attractive person without making it so obvious that they get uncomfortable. If I act like a clod, it’s not a woman’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/139 "2014-07-01T18:51:34Z")
That’s just something someone said, too. No reason to believe that it’s true. The fact is that manufacturer concerns – economies of scale, cutting costs, etc. can trump buyer preferences. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892/140 "2014-07-01T18:59:11Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Okay, so if you make the decision to wear a low-cut top, then you are responsible for the men who ogle you. Wow. No, I’m not _responsible_ for the _actions of another human being_. That would only make sense if you believe that men are automatons instead of human beings. And _that_ would be disproven by all of the men who do not stare/leer/comment. How insulting and misandric that attitude is. I’d be pissed if I were a guy and heard arguments that I don’t have control over my own actions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-and-cleavage/691892.md?page=8)