Men's attraction to breasts may be innate, not cultural
A joint research team from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Wroclaw in Poland and the Department of Psychology at the University of Stirling in Scotland has published research results suggesting that men's sexual attraction to women's breasts may not be due to cultural hiding, but may be an innate, or evolutionary, characteristic.
(PDF) Nudity Norms and Breast Arousal: A Cross-Generational Study in Papua
What Is It About Breasts? Science Explores the Big Question | Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202506/what-is-it-about-breasts-science-explores-the-big-question
The research team focused on the change in the norms regarding women's clothing among the Dani people living in Papua, Indonesia. Originally, Dani society did not have the custom of women covering their breasts, but in recent years, it has become commonplace for women, especially among the younger generation, to cover their breasts.
By Frans Huby
The 80 men surveyed were split into two groups: 40 older men with an average age of 50.2 who grew up in a time when it was normal for women to not cover their breasts in public, and 40 younger men with an average age of 24.0 who grew up after it became customary for women to cover their breasts in public.
When the research team asked participants about their level of sexual arousal when they saw naked breasts, how often they touched their partner's breasts during intercourse, and how important their partner's breasts were to their overall attractiveness, they found no statistically significant differences between the two groups on all three of these items.
Additionally, regardless of whether they had grown up in a cultural environment where breasts were routinely exposed or hidden, both groups reported being highly sexually aroused by the sight of naked breasts and frequently touching their breasts during sexual intercourse.
The researchers conclude that their findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the hypothesis that men's sexual interest in women's breasts is not simply a cultural artifact born of curiosity to 'see what's hidden', but a tendency with a more fundamental evolutionary basis.
However, both groups reported that breasts were relatively unimportant to a partner's overall attractiveness, and the researchers noted that because this study was based on a single indigenous group, the Dani, the results should be generalized with caution and that replication in other non-Western cultures is essential. The research team also noted that it is necessary to look at cultures that cover other body parts, such as the genitals and face, to further verify the hypothesis that 'hiding increases sexual arousal.'
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by log1i_yk