Editing Breast (section)

==Society and culture==
===General===
In [[Saint symbology|Christian iconography]], some works of art depict women with their breasts in their hands or on a platter, signifying that they died as a martyr by having their breasts severed; one example of this is [[Agatha of Sicily|Saint Agatha of Sicily]].<ref>{{cite web |title = St Agatha |url = http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=14 |publisher = Catholic Online |access-date = 27 December 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000129/http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=14 |archive-date = 4 March 2016 |url-status = live |df = dmy-all }}
</ref>

[[File:Bare breasts are our weapons crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Femen]] member participating in a protest|left]]

[[Femen]] is a [[feminism|feminist]] activist group which uses [[topless protest]]s as part of their campaigns against [[sex tourism]]<ref name=FEMEN>[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65379/ Femen wants to move from public exposure to political power] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207042451/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65379 |date=7 December 2010 }}, ''[[Kyiv Post]]'' (28 April 2010)</ref><ref name="movements1">{{cite web |url = http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/ukraines-ladies-of-femen/ |title = Ukraine's Ladies of Femen |publisher = Movements.org |date = 16 August 2011 |access-date = 22 April 2013 |url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120414005441/http://www.movements.org/case-study/entry/ukraines-ladies-of-femen |archive-date = 14 April 2012 }}</ref> religious institutions,<ref name=BBCobservOct12>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20028797 Ukraine's Femen:Topless protests 'help feminist cause'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412230110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20028797 |date=12 April 2018 }}, [[BBC News]] (23 October 2012)</ref> [[sexism]], and [[homophobia]].<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/topless-femen-protest-andre-jozef-leonard_n_3146609.html |title = Topless FEMEN Protesters Drench Belgian Archbishop André-Jozef Léonard, Protest Homophobia in Catholic Church (PHOTOS) |work = The Huffington Post |access-date = 23 March 2015 |date = 24 April 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150416042913/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/topless-femen-protest-andre-jozef-leonard_n_3146609.html |archive-date = 16 April 2015 |url-status = live |df = dmy-all }}</ref> Femen activists have been regularly detained by police in response to their protests.<ref name=BBCTunis>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22881163 Femen activists jailed in Tunisia for topless protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827210121/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22881163 |date=27 August 2018 }}, [[BBC News]] (12 June 2013)</ref>

There is a long history of female breasts being used by comedians as a subject for comedy fodder (e.g., British comic [[Benny Hill|Benny Hill's]] burlesque/slapstick routines).<ref name="thedailybeast.com" />

===Art history===
In European pre-historic societies, sculptures of female figures with pronounced or highly exaggerated breasts were common. A typical example is the so-called [[Venus of Willendorf]], one of many [[Paleolithic]] [[Venus figurines]] with ample hips and bosom. Artifacts such as bowls, rock carvings and sacred statues with breasts have been recorded from 15,000&nbsp;BC up to late antiquity all across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Many female deities representing love and fertility were associated with breasts and breast milk. Figures of the Phoenician goddess [[Astarte]] were represented as pillars studded with breasts. [[Isis]], an Egyptian goddess who represented, among many other things, ideal motherhood, was often portrayed as suckling [[pharaohs]], thereby confirming their divine status as rulers. Even certain male deities representing regeneration and fertility were occasionally depicted with breast-like appendices, such as the river god [[Hapi (Nile god)|Hapy]] who was considered to be responsible for the annual overflowing of the [[Nile]].

[[File:Θεά των Όφεων 6393 (cropped).JPG|thumb|upright|A [[Minoan snake goddess figurines|Cretan snake goddess]] from the [[Minoan civilization]], {{circa|1600}}&nbsp;BC]]

Female breasts were also prominent in [[Minoan art]] in the form of the famous [[Snake Goddess]] statuettes, and a few other pieces, though most female breasts are covered. In [[Ancient Greece]] there were several cults worshipping the "Kourotrophos", the suckling mother, represented by goddesses such as [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], [[Hera]] and [[Artemis]]. The worship of deities symbolized by the female breast in Greece became less common during the first millennium. The popular adoration of female goddesses decreased significantly during the rise of the Greek city states, a legacy which was passed on to the later [[Roman Empire]].<ref>Yalom (1998) pp. 9–16; see Eva Keuls (1993), ''Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens'' for a detailed study of male-dominant rule in ancient Greece.</ref>

During the middle of the first millennium BC, Greek culture experienced a gradual change in the perception of female breasts. Women in art were covered in clothing from the neck down, including female goddesses like [[Athena]], the patron of Athens who represented heroic endeavor. There were exceptions: [[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love, was more frequently portrayed fully nude, though in postures that were intended to portray shyness or modesty, a portrayal that has been compared to modern [[Pin-up|pin ups]] by historian [[Marilyn Yalom]].<ref>Yalom (1998), p. 18.</ref> Although nude men were depicted standing upright, most depictions of female nudity in Greek art occurred "usually with drapery near at hand and with a forward-bending, self-protecting posture".<ref>Hollander (1993), p. 6.</ref> A popular legend at the time was of the [[Amazons]], a tribe of fierce female warriors who socialized with men only for procreation and even removed one breast to become better warriors (the idea being that the right breast would interfere with the operation of a bow and arrow). The legend was a popular motif in art during Greek and Roman antiquity and served as an antithetical cautionary tale.
[[File:Beauty revealed.jpg|thumb|''[[Beauty Revealed]]'', 1828 self-portrait by the American artist [[Sarah Goodridge]].]]

===Body image===
Many women regard their breasts as important to their [[sexual attractiveness]], as a sign of [[femininity]] that is important to their [[Self-concept|sense of self]]. A woman with smaller breasts may regard her breasts as less attractive.<ref>Koff, E., Benavage, A. Breast Size Perception and Satisfaction, Body Image, and Psychological Functioning in Caucasian and Asian American College Women. Sex Roles 38, 655–673 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018802928210 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604135059/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018802928210 |date=4 June 2018 }}</ref>

===Clothing===
{{See also|Bra|List of bra designs|Cleavage (breasts)|Toplessness|Modesty|Naturism|Exhibitionism}}
[[File:Namibie Himba 0716a.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A bare-breasted [[Himba people|Himba]] woman of northern Namibia wears a traditional headdress and skirt]]

Because breasts are mostly fatty tissue, their shape can—within limits—be molded by clothing, such as [[foundation garment]]s. [[Bra]]s are commonly worn by about 90% of Western women,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.1stbras.com/bra-cup-sizes.php |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160308210937/http://www.1stbras.com/bra-cup-sizes.php |url-status = usurped |archive-date = 8 March 2016 |title = Bra Cup Sizes—getting fitted with the right size |publisher = 1stbras.com |access-date = 11 May 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.liv.com/right_bra.php |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090328083521/http://www.liv.com/right_bra.php |url-status = dead |archive-date = 28 March 2009 |title = The Right Bra |publisher = Liv.com |access-date = 11 May 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/breast-supporting-act-a-century-of-the-bra-5334510.html |title = Breast supporting act: a century of the bra |date = 15 August 2007 |publisher = The Independent UK |access-date = 11 May 2010 |location = London |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305101134/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/breast-supporting-act-a-century-of-the-bra-5334510.html |archive-date = 5 March 2016 |url-status = live |df = dmy-all }}</ref> and are often worn for support.<ref>{{cite journal |pmc = 2275741 |pmid = 18339205 |doi = 10.1186/1746-1340-16-1 |volume = 16 |title = Breast size, bra fit and thoracic pain in young women: a correlational study |year = 2008 |journal = Chiropr Osteopat |pages = 1 |last1 = Wood |first1 = K |last2 = Cameron |first2 = M |last3 = Fitzgerald |first3 = K |doi-access = free }}</ref> The [[social norm]] in most [[Western culture]]s is to cover breasts in public, though the extent of coverage varies depending on the social context. Some religions ascribe a special status to the female breast, either in formal teachings or through symbolism.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Worshipping Breasts in the Maternal Landscape of India |journal=South Asian Studies |date=27 October 2015 |volume=31 |issue=2015 |doi=10.1080/02666030.2015.1094209 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02666030.2015.1094209 |access-date=30 September 2020 |last1=Bohidar |first1=Anannya |pages=247–253 |s2cid=194282633 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102165529/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02666030.2015.1094209 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Islam]] forbids free women from exposing their breasts in public.

Many cultures, including Western cultures in North America, associate breasts with sexuality and tend to regard bare breasts as [[modesty|immodest]] or [[decency|indecent]]. In some cultures, like the [[Himba people|Himba]] in northern [[Namibia]], bare-breasted women are normal. In some African cultures, for example, the [[thigh]] is regarded as highly sexualized and never exposed in public, but breast exposure is not taboo. In a few [[Western world|Western countries]] and regions female [[toplessness]] at a beach is acceptable, although it may not be acceptable in the town center.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2024-10-09 |title=Topless Beaches In Europe: Etiquette, Culture, And What To Expect [Updated On 2024] |url=https://travelpander.com/are-all-beaches-in-europ-topless/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Social attitudes and laws regarding [[breastfeeding in public]] vary widely. In many countries, breastfeeding in public is common, legally protected, and generally not regarded as an issue. However, even though the practice may be legal or socially accepted, some mothers may nevertheless be reluctant to expose a breast in public to breastfeed<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/1746-4358-3-11|title=Got milk? Not in public!|pmid=18680578|year=2008|last1=Wolf|first1=J.H.|volume=3|issue=1|page=11|pmc=2518137|journal=International Breastfeeding Journal |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Vance_2005>{{cite journal | last = Vance | first = Melissa R. | title = Breastfeeding Legislation in the United States: A General Overview and Implications for Helping Mothers | journal = LEAVEN | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 51–54 | date = June–July 2005 | url = http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJunJul05p51.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070331220518/http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJunJul05p51.html | archive-date = 31 March 2007}}</ref> due to actual or potential objections by other people, negative comments, or harassment.<ref name=Jordan_2002>{{cite book|editor-last=Jordan|editor-first=Tim|editor-last2=Pile|editor-first2=Steve|title=Social Change|page=[https://archive.org/details/socialchange0000unse/page/233 233]|publisher=Blackwell|year=2002|isbn=9780631233114|url=https://archive.org/details/socialchange0000unse/page/233}}</ref> It is estimated that around 63% of mothers across the world have publicly breast-fed.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Breast Feeding With Confidence|last = Cox|first = Sue|publisher = Meadowbrook Press|year = 2002|isbn = 0684040050|location = United States|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/breastfeedingwit00suec}}</ref> Bare-breasted women are legal and culturally acceptable at public beaches in Australia and much of Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=Theodore |title=Clothing Optional?: Nudity and the Law of the Australian Beach |url=https://doaj.org/article/3c5619e831254faca2c5e8cc6f9a617b |journal=Bond Law Review |language=en |issn=2202-4824}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Filmmaker [[Lina Esco]] made a film entitled ''[[Free the Nipple (film)|Free the Nipple]]'', which is about "...laws against female toplessness or restrictions on images of female, but not male, nipples", which Esco states is an example of [[sexism]] in society.<ref name="thedailybeast.com">{{cite news |url = http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/09/women-it-s-time-to-reclaim-our-breasts.html |title = Women, It's Time to Reclaim Our Breasts |first = Emily |last = Shire |date = 9 September 2014 |newspaper = The Daily Beast |access-date = 11 December 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161101085547/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/09/women-it-s-time-to-reclaim-our-breasts.html |archive-date = 1 November 2016 |url-status = live |df = dmy-all }}</ref>

[[Breast binding]], also known as chest binding, is the flattening and hiding of breasts with constrictive materials such as cloth strips or purpose-built [[undergarment]]s. Binders may also be used as alternatives to [[bra]]s or for reasons of propriety. People who bind include women, [[trans man|trans men]], [[non-binary gender|non-binary]] people, and [[cisgender]] men with gynecomastia.

===Sexual characteristic===
{{See also|Mammary intercourse|Breast fetishism|Stimulation of nipples}}

In some cultures, breasts play a role in [[human sexual activity]]. Breasts and especially the nipples are among the various human [[erogenous zone]]s. They are sensitive to the touch as they have many nerve endings; and it is common to press or [[massage]] them with hands or [[stimulation of nipples|orally]] before or during sexual activity. During [[sexual arousal]], breast size increases, [[vein|venous]] patterns across the breasts become more visible, and nipples harden.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} Compared to other primates, human breasts are proportionately large throughout adult females' lives. Some writers have suggested that they may have evolved as a visual signal of sexual maturity and fertility.<ref>{{cite journal |author = Anders Pape Møller |title = Breast asymmetry, sexual selection, and human reproductive success |journal = Ethology and Sociobiology |year = 1995 |volume = 16 |issue = 3 |pages = 207–219 |doi = 10.1016/0162-3095(95)00002-3 |display-authors = 1 |last2 = Soler |first2 = M |last3 = Thornhill |first3 = R }}</ref> In ''[[Patterns of Sexual Behavior]]'', a 1951 analysis of 191 traditional cultures, the researchers noted that stimulation of the female breast by a male sexual partner "seemed absent in all subhuman forms, although it is common among the members of many different human societies."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clellan S. Ford and Frank A. Beach |url=http://archive.org/details/patternsofsexual0000clel_d2x3 |title=Patterns of Sexual Behaviour |date=1965 |others=Internet Archive |pages=70}}</ref>

Many people regard bare female breasts to be aesthetically pleasing or [[erotic]], and they can elicit heightened [[sexual desire]]s in men in many cultures. In the [[History of India|ancient Indian]] work the ''[[Kama Sutra]]'', light scratching of the breasts with nails and biting with teeth are considered erotic.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/index.htm |title = Sir Richard Burton's English translation of Kama Sutra |publisher = Sacred-texts.com |access-date = 31 October 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100102051149/http://sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/index.htm |archive-date = 2 January 2010 |url-status = live |df = dmy }}</ref> Some people show a [[sexual interest]] in female breasts distinct from that of the person, which may be regarded as a [[breast fetish]].<ref>Hickey, Eric W. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Murder and Violent Crime. Sage Publications Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7619-2437-1}}</ref> A number of Western fashions include clothing which accentuate the breasts, such as the use of [[push-up bra]]s and [[decollete]] (plunging neckline) gowns and blouses which show [[cleavage (breasts)|cleavage]]. While U.S. culture prefers breasts that are youthful and upright, some cultures venerate women with drooping breasts, indicating mothering and the wisdom of experience.<ref>{{cite book |last = Burns-Ardolino |first = Wendy |title = Jiggle: (Re)shaping American women |year = 2007 |publisher = Lexington Books |location = Lanham, MD |isbn = 978-0-7391-1299-1 |page = 31 }}</ref>

Research conducted at the [[Victoria University of Wellington]] showed that breasts are often the first thing men look at, and for a longer time than other body parts.<ref name=ASB>{{cite journal |last1 = Dixson |first1 = BJ |last2 = Grimshaw |first2 = GM |last3 = Linklater |first3 = WL |last4 = Dixson |first4 = AF |title = Eye-tracking of men's preferences for waist-to-hip ratio and breast size of women |journal = [[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |volume = 40 |issue = 1 |pages = 43–50 |publisher = [[International Academy of Sex Research]] |date = February 2011 |doi = 10.1007/s10508-009-9523-5 |pmid = 19688590 |s2cid = 4997497 }}</ref> The writers of the study had initially speculated that the reason for this is due to [[endocrinology]] with larger breasts indicating higher levels of estrogen and a sign of greater fertility,<ref name=ASB /><ref name=BBC>{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3682657.stm |title = Hourglass figure fertility link |work = BBC News |date = 4 May 2004 |access-date = 31 October 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111011122830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3682657.stm |archive-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = live |df = dmy-all }}</ref> but the researchers said that "Men may be looking more often at the breasts because they are simply aesthetically pleasing, regardless of the size."<ref name=ASB />

Some women report achieving an [[orgasm]] from nipple stimulation, but this is rare.<ref name="Kinsey">{{cite book |author1 = Alfred C. Kinsey |author2 = Wardell B. Pomeroy |author3 = Clyde E. Martin |author4 = Paul H. Gebhard |title = Sexual Behavior in the Human Female |publisher = [[Indiana University Press]] |isbn = 0-253-01924-9 |page = 587 |date = 1998 |access-date = 12 August 2017 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JHWHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA587 |quote = There are some females who appear to find no erotic satisfaction in having their breasts manipulated; perhaps half of them derive some distinct satisfaction, but not more than a very small percentage ever respond intensely enough to reach orgasm as a result of such stimulation (Chapter 5). [...] Records of females reaching orgasm from breast stimulation alone are rare. }}</ref><ref name="Boston">{{cite book |author = Boston Women's Health Book Collective |title = The New Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women |publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn = 0-684-82352-7 |page = 575 |date = 1996 |access-date = 12 August 2017 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JFI4AQAAIAAJ |quote = A few women can even experience orgasm from breast stimulation alone. |archive-date = 24 December 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201224162656/https://books.google.com/books?id=JFI4AQAAIAAJ |url-status = live }}</ref> Research suggests that the orgasms are genital orgasms, and may also be directly linked to "the genital area of the brain". In these cases, it seems that sensation from the nipples travels to the same part of the brain as sensations from the vagina, clitoris and cervix. Nipple stimulation may trigger uterine contractions, which then produce a sensation in the genital area of the brain.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book |author = Merril D. Smith |title = Cultural Encyclopedia of the Breast |publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn = 978-0-7591-2332-8 |page = 71 |date = 2014 |access-date = 12 August 2017 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qrCCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 }}</ref><ref name="Lehmiller">{{cite book |author = Justin J. Lehmiller |title = The Psychology of Human Sexuality |publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn = 978-1-118-35132-1 |page = 120 |date = 2013 |access-date = 12 August 2017 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pQRgAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT120 |archive-date = 23 February 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190223070048/https://books.google.com/books?id=pQRgAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT120 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Komisaruk">{{Cite journal|author1-link=Barry Komisaruk|author1 = Komisaruk, B. R. |author2 = Wise, N. |author3 = Frangos, E. |author4 = Liu, W.C. |author5 = Allen, K. |author6 = Brody, S. |title = Women's Clitoris, Vagina, and Cervix Mapped on the Sensory Cortex: fMRI Evidence, Surprise finding in response to nipple stimulation |journal = [[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]] |year = 2011 |doi = 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02388.x |volume = 8 |issue = 10 |pages = 2822–30 |pmid = 21797981 |pmc = 3186818}}
*{{cite news |author=Stephanie Pappas |date=5 August 2011 |title=Surprise finding in response to nipple stimulation |work=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/surprise-finding-in-response-to-nipple-stimulation/  |access-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701074316/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/surprise-finding-in-response-to-nipple-stimulation/ |archive-date=1 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Anthropomorphic geography===
{{Main|Breast-shaped hill}}

There are many mountains named after the breast because they resemble it in appearance and so are objects of religious and ancestral veneration as a fertility symbol and of well-being. In Asia, there was "Breast Mountain", which had a cave where the [[Buddhist monk]] [[Bodhidharma]] (Da Mo) spent much time in [[meditation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usashaolintemple.org/chanbuddhism-history/ |title=The Story of Bodhidharma |publisher=Usashaolintemple.org |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130054841/http://www.usashaolintemple.org/chanbuddhism-history/ |archive-date=30 November 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other such breast mountains are [[Mount Elgon]] on the [[Uganda]]–[[Kenya]] border; {{lang|gd|[[Lochnagar|Beinn Chìochan]]|italic=no}} and the [[Maiden Paps, Caithness|Maiden Paps]] in Scotland; the {{lang|tl|[[Mount Tagapo|Bundok ng Susong Dalaga]]|italic=no}} ('Maiden's breast mountains') in [[Talim Island]], Philippines, the twin hills known as the [[Paps of Anu]] ({{lang|ga|Dá Chích Anann}} or 'the breasts of [[Anu (goddess)|Anu]]'), near [[Killarney]] in Ireland; the 2,086&nbsp;m high {{Lang|es|Tetica de Bacares|italic=no}} or {{lang|es|La Tetica|italic=no}} in the {{lang|es|[[Sierra de Los Filabres]]|italic=no}}, Spain; {{lang|th-Latn|[[Khao Nom Sao]]|italic=no}} in Thailand, {{lang|es|[[Cerro Las Tetas]]|italic=no}} in [[Puerto Rico]]; and the Breasts of Aphrodite in [[Mykonos]], among many others. In the United States, the [[Teton Range]] is named after the French word for 'nipple'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/grte/grte_geology/sec1.htm |title=Creation of the Teton Landscape: The Geologic Story of Grand Teton National Park (The Story Begins) |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |date=19 January 2007 |access-date=23 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419054617/http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/grte/grte_geology/sec1.htm |archive-date=19 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>