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Abstract: This manuscript discusses historical and contemporary cultural views of the female breast. It also considers implications of these views for female health and for use of this information by health educators.
The breast is a secondary sexual organ, meaning that it is not involved in reproduction, hut the distinct curve of the female breast, its sensitivity to touch, and its role in suckling infants lend it an aesthetic and a functionality that are distinctly female. The female breast is a visible, tangible and beautiful feature of the female body. Tabooed, worshipped and sometimes exploited, Spadola (1998) refers to a woman's breasts as "a woman's most public and private parts."
Female breasts physiologically arc mammary glands, designed to convey nourishment to newborn babies. Internally, the breast comprises approximately 15-25 milk-producing sacs called milk glands. These are connected to milk ducts that converge inside the nipple. The nipple varies in appearance from woman to woman, from flat to inverted to outward-projecting. Each nipple is supplied with numerous nerve endings, which makes them particularly sensitive to touch.
Being glandular organs, the breasts are highly sensitive to hormonal changes in the female body, and are thereby connected with the female genital system. An automatic system causes the nipple to become erect when stimulated by tactile or sexual stimuli. Nipple stimulation increases prolactin, a hormone that can cause the uterus to contract and results in sexual stimulation.
A great deal of erotic and sexual appeal centers on the female breast. Women in particular tend to view their breast through the reflection of its desirability to men. Women, more than men, are socialized to perceive that their personal value is reflected in their outward appearance (Spitzack, 1990). Hence, women are socialized that their breasts arc not entirely their own, but exist for the evaluation and pleasure of others.
This paper proposes that culture dictates our fascination with the female breast, and also influences the value placed on it by both men and women. The female breast is part of a woman's identity and femininity, particularly through the role that the breast plays in experiences of puberty, motherhood, sex, health and aging. Through this discussion, the author intends to increase the understanding of cultural perceptions of the female breast.
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