New theory on why men love breasts

[Jamie D]

LiveScience: New Theory on Why Men Love Breasts

Why do straight men devote so much headspace to those big, bulbous bags of fat drooping from women's chests? Scientists have never satisfactorily explained men's curious breast fixation, but now, a neuroscientist has struck upon an explanation that he says "just makes a lot of sense."

Larry Young, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University who studies the neurological basis of complex social behaviors, thinks human evolution has harnessed an ancient neural circuit that originally evolved to strengthen the mother-infant bond during breast-feeding, and now uses this brain circuitry to strengthen the bond between couples as well. The result? Men, like babies, love breasts.

When a woman's nipples are stimulated during breast-feeding, the neurochemical oxytocin, otherwise known as the "love drug," floods her brain, helping to focus her attention and affection on her baby. But research over the past few years has shown that in humans, this circuitry isn't reserved for exclusive use by infants.

Recent studies have found that nipple stimulation enhances sexual arousal in the great majority of women, and it activates the same brain areas as vaginal and clitoral stimulation. When a sexual partner touches, massages or nibbles a woman's breasts, Young said, this triggers the release of oxytocin in the woman's brain, just like what happens when a baby nurses. But in this context, the oxytocin focuses the woman's attention on her sexual partner, strengthening her desire to bond with this person.

(Full article at the link.  Word count: 236)

Okay, so my questions ...

When male-bodied nipples are stimulated, do those neurochemicals also flood the brain?  If not, does that reaction develop under the influence of estrogen therapy?

If the "circuitry isn't reserved for exclusive use by infants," then does it, or does it not, also act to mutually pair bond female couples?

[~RoadToTrista~]

I thought it was just because everyone loved breasts. I love breasts.

[Nero]

Interesting questions Jamie. Some men love their nipples pinched during climax. So, probably the same thing.

I would think a lesbian would get the same feeling from a woman on the breast as a man on the breast. After all, some babies are female.

[Shang]

I thought it was just because everyone loved breasts. I love breasts.

I dislike breasts.  I don't like them on me nor do I like them on my partners [I would happily date a FtM still, but the chest would never be touched by me if they're pre-op].  They're just not attractive and I generally think they detract from a person's experience.  But this is just me.

Anyway, the idea posed in the article is interesting.  I would say the same thing happens in regard to female couples for the reasons stated by Not-so Fat Admin. 

[Devlyn]

Now, Jamie, don't you remember the first day of Moderator school?

5. The posting of messages on the chat or forums which are of a threatening tone, contain obscene or pornographic materials, are intended to titillate, or which depicts illegal acts; will not be permitted

[Jamie D]

Now, Jamie, don't you remember the first day of Moderator school?

5. The posting of messages on the chat or forums which are of a threatening tone, contain obscene or pornographic materials, are intended to titillate, or which depicts illegal acts; will not be permitted

The is teatillation

[Devlyn]

Use your breast judgment.

[Kevin Peña]

Interesting questions Jamie. Some men love their nipples pinched during climax. So, probably the same thing.

Nipple twister! Ouch! 

Anywho, I thought it was because men like to motorboat them... 

[ford]

Recent studies have found that nipple stimulation enhances sexual arousal in the great majority of women...

Oh, well total shock that I would have been in the 'vast minority' of "women" that STRONGLY dislike anyone touching those evil things.

Gotta wonder about these scientists though. I picture a few guys sitting around the lab with brewskies going, 'Hey dudes, you know what would be anawesome study...?'  Heehee

[Elspeth]

More to the point, why had I assumed that the fairly well-known oxytocin linkage was already something psychiatrists would have figured out decades ago?  I'd certainly known (or at least suspected) this at least as recently as 19 years ago, when I was dealing with the care and handling of breastmilk, and discussing this with my not-yet-ex when our first was in infancy. This makes me question psychiatrists and psych researchers' dimness more than anything.

[Jamie D]

Perhaps we should nominate the researchers for the DIMBULB Award

[Elspeth]

LiveScience: New Theory on Why Men Love Breasts
When male-bodied nipples are stimulated, do those neurochemicals also flood the brain?  If not, does that reaction develop under the influence of estrogen therapy?

If the "circuitry isn't reserved for exclusive use by infants," then does it, or does it not, also act to mutually pair bond female couples?

On the first question, it seems likely to be true, though I'd have to wonder whether the presence of higher testosterone levels doesn't also change things. I would think a scientist would actually want to measure a statistically significant sample of individuals, so they could work from objective data and not suppositions. I'd imagine my own feelings on this also might be questionable, given the added factor of female identification.  I'll admit that I did from time use a breast pump to provide self stimulation and as a coping tactic for my dysphoria, to the decree that it was triggers at times while I was caring for infants, and providing them with reheated meals of my partner's breast milk.

On the second question, I'm finding it hard to think of any conceivable reason there would be any cause for it not to affect pair bonding, with the exception, of course, of transmen whose dysphoria is triggered by the presence of breasts in themselves and (or some) in partners. But again, the range of experience is likely not entirely even or present for all people, so again, objective data collection would tend to trump reasonable conjecture.

[Elspeth]

Perhaps we should nominate the researchers for the DIMBULB Award

On reflection, I was being a little harsh. I think they too had probably assumed this was likely. What is described in the article are specific studies, and many of those may have not been done in the past for a variety of reasons, such as the fact that such dynamics are not often reported as being problematic for anyone. Sex research in general tends to take a back seat when it comes to medical and psych research, since there remain plenty of unanswered questions about many things that present far more distressing problems or issues for those affected.

[spacial]

I'm an old school type that firmly believes men like boobs because they want a mother.

The problem with citing stimulus it none of these experiences are ever going to be universal. There is indeed a recorded response in lactating women, when breast feeding their babies, that the muscles in their pelvis will flex. But the purpose of that is to pull the womb back into place after the rigors of child birth. I recall that much from my time in obstetrics. Apparently it can reduce the possibility of uterine prolapse.

The problem with citing that as general is there isn't as far as I know, any proper evidence to suggest this is a general response to mammary stimulation or something that only tends to happen when a lactating woman is actually feeding a baby.

[JessicaH]

Men or women can't have an orgasm without oxytocin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18086171




Male and Female Orgasm: Not So Different?
The experience of orgasm for men and women is very similar.
Published on April 16, 2010 by Alan Fogel in Body Sense
Women are from Venus and men are .... Well, let's not go there.

These and other metaphors point out a common truism: that men and women are different when it comes to love and sexual response. Women like to be cuddled and men like sex. Women like to talk and men want to have sex. Most women take longer to achieve orgasm than most men. A common sexual dysfunction in women is inability to achieve orgasm, while the corresponding dysfunction in males is premature orgasm.

Here's what you may not know: The actual orgasm, for both men and women, is very similar. This is the case both for the timing and duration of pelvic muscle contractions during orgasm as well as the body sense - the felt experience - of orgasm.

This is not exactly new information. The research on this goes back to the late 1960's. I want to review these findings to make a few points about the erotic dimensions of body sense, points that lead to important implications about enjoying and improving one's sex life by cultivating your body sense.    continued----> http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/body-sense/201004/male-and-female-orgasm-not-so-different

[Dahlia]

And of course babygirls aren't being breastfed at all.....oh, wait, yes some of them! Being breastfed turns them into lesbians! 

[Cindy]

And guys get turned on by girls bums because???

And in Victorian times - 'the cute flash of an ankle' was enough to drive a man into a sexual frenzy.

And in societies where breasts are openly revealed all the time?


I love science, on many occasions I wish I saw some evidence of it.

[Dahlia]

And of course babygirls aren't being breastfed at all.....oh, wait, yes some of them! Being breastfed turns them into lesbians! 

It's a good way to determine the child's future sexuality:

boy-breastfeading- goes straight.

boy breastfeading too little and being fed bottle milk as a supplement- milk-goes bi.

boy-NOT breastfeeding- goes gay.

girl- NOT breastfeeding- goes straight.

girl-breastfeeding- goes lesbian.

girl-breastfeeding too little and being fed bottle milk as a supplement milk-goes bi.

boy-breastfeeding on too large breasts-goes mtf.

girl- breastfeeding on too small breasts goes ftm.

baby given up for adoption- only fed bottle milk-goes a-sexual.

[JessicaH]

In most mammals, the females show obvious signs of being in heat as well as give of pheromones signaling they are in their fertile window.  With humans having such a long maturity cycle of our young, nature has favored ways that keep the breeding couple "pair bonded" long enough for the rear the offspring to an age where they don't rely of the "pair bond" as much.

One way nature has of keeping the couple together is to mask fertility and keep the couple in state of sexual interest that is bonded even further by the release of oxytocin during sex.  The permanently swollen back ends and breasts are a full time signal of fertility, breeding and survival of the genetic line which are the the keys to natural selection.

So as arrogant and self-righteous as many humans think we are, we are still just animals that are driven by our biochemistry that has developed over millions of years. Love is not some heavenly gift but rather a complex chemical cocktail.

[Elspeth]

I love science, on many occasions I wish I saw some evidence of it.

Please consider, though, that what was given was a journalistic distortion of research that probably was not in fact trying to make the assertion that made a "sexy" lead in, in the mind of the scientifically illiterate journalist.  When I went to the article itself, it was buried fairly far down in the piece, but there was in fact some hint that the research itself was adding something to our collective knowledge base. It probably had bugger-all to do with the reason men fetishize the things that some of them do.

Anne Fausto-Sterling, where are you?