Editing Breast (section)

===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>