It’s common knowledge that men love women’s breasts. But why is that? Not everyone agrees on the explanation. Some suggest that a woman with a larger chest is perceived as more fertile and better able to nourish her baby. However, Larry Young, a psychologist at Emory University, and Brian Alexander, a journalist and writer, offer a different perspective. In their book The Chemistry Between Us, they argue that a network of neurons develops in women to facilitate the attachment to their child during breastfeeding. This same neural circuit is activated during sexual intimacy when a man caresses his partner’s chest, encouraging her to focus her attention—and love—on him…
Attraction to breasts: a matter of… brains
Larry Young specializes in studying the neurological bases of complex social behaviors. He explains that during breastfeeding when the baby suckles the mother’s nipple, her brain is flooded with a hormone called oxytocin, famous for its strong association with love and attachment. Thus, the woman devotes all her affection to her child.
The chest also plays an important role during sexual intercourse and actively contributes to arousal. It has been shown that caresses in this area activate the same regions of the brain as stimulation of the vagina or clitoris. And just as infants feed, the gentle gestures of a lover induce a massive release of oxytocin. In this case, the focus of the woman’s attention is none other than her partner.
From a reproductive success standpoint, it’s advantageous for a man to be attracted to women’s breasts—this attraction can encourage more affection and nurturing from his partner, both of which are essential for a lasting relationship. Young suggests that natural selection has played a role, with males showing a preference for breasts that have historically been linked to greater reproductive success. As a result, men’s attraction to breasts has become a norm, and Young even describes the development of a specific neural network in heterosexual males during puberty.
Loving breasts: a human trait?
But why would humans be the only exception in the animal kingdom? The authors of the book offer several explanations. First, among mammals, 97% of species are not monogamous, which excludes many species from the comparison. Additionally, humans are unique in engaging in face-to-face intimacy—a behavior not observed in other monogamous mammals. For example, in voles, the male mounts the female from behind, leaving her mammaries facing downward and inaccessible during intercourse. Consequently, this behavior has not been favored by evolution.
The theory is appealing, but it’s not universally accepted—after all, humans are influenced by both nature and culture. Thus, anthropologist Fran Mascia-Lees from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, United States) cannot fully agree with Young and Alexander’s thesis. She points out that not all men are attracted to breasts. She cites, for example, traditional societies in Africa where women walk around bare-chested without attracting particular interest from the male members of the group. The debate could therefore be more complex and might not be limited to simple neural networks…
*The human species cannot be considered strictly monogamous. Apart from issues of infidelity, polygamy has existed and still exists in various periods and regions of the world. Consider the Ottoman harems or the multiple marriages of Mormon men. Similarly, humans do not practice only face-to-face sex and have developed numerous practices and fantasies for pleasure, as sexuality in humans (as in others) is not solely a matter of reproduction.
