Evolutionary Science of Large Breasts
October 3rd, 2007
New York Times author Stephen J. Dubner writes about his feelings relating to evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa’s new book called Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters.
Last year Hiddenfeet posted the findings of scientists at University College in London, England. They believe that the size and shape of the breast is evolutionary because of a woman’s need to feed children, not to attract men. So why do men like large breasted women? This is Kanazawa’s explanation:
Until very recently, it was a mystery to evolutionary psychology why men prefer women with large breasts, since the size of a woman’s breasts has no relationship to her ability to lactate. But Harvard anthropologist Frank Marlowe contends that larger, and hence heavier, breasts sag more conspicuously with age than do smaller breasts. Thus they make it easier for men to judge a woman’s age (and her reproductive value) by sight—suggesting why men find women with large breasts more attractive.
Stephen J. Dubner doesn’t believe that large breasts can be used as a helpful indicator of age. And neither does the Hiddenfeet staff. We have posted numerous articles about very young girls with breasts suitable for women twice their age. Do large breasts have any other purpose? Are they just a pair of “man magnets?”
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