Antu Schamberger

From Drmills

Topic: Permanently swollen breasts: Breasts, fertility, and attractiveness

Contributor: Antú Schamberger

Class: Psych 452 Evolutionary Psychology, Fall 2008

Humanity at large has been evolving ever since the beginning of its time. Not only has the human race evolved physically but it has also evolved psychologically. Compared to other closely related primates humans have acquired a new psychological attractiveness to swollen breast. There are many hypothesized reasons as to why swollen breasts have become, not only a societal concern with plastic surgery, but also as a form of evaluating fertility.

The first hypothesis attains to the idea of the nubile female. In the context of evolutionary traits permanently swollen breasts have come to signify whether a female is ovulating regularly, thus fertile and more attractive to males. Marlowe’s (1998) hypothesis suggests that females evolved permanently swollen breasts so that the size and shape of their breasts would signal to males their reproductive value. From this point of view, swollen breast evolved because of the fact that many males were having trouble relying on ovulation signals to indicate female fertility. Primate females were evolving the mechanisms to hide their ovulation as a strategic way to keep their partners from abandoning them and their offspring. Consequently, females evolved swollen breasts so that males could interpret their fertility from another dimension. To expand further, if a primate female had swollen breasts that meant they were pregnant and getting ready to lactate, which is a sign of fertility in itself of being able to have offspring and properly feed it. Therefore, swollen breasts have developed a new scheme for not only fertility but of a way to attract males.

The next two hypotheses segue into the proposal that swollen breasts can be attributed to fertility and attractiveness through body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and ultimately breast size. The hypothesis of Furnham, Dias, & McClelland (1998) is based on the notion that the form and structure of an individual female can correlate with judgments passed on the female’s attractiveness, age, and the appeal for a relationship. The findings suggest that even though evolved permanently swollen breasts are more alluring to males there are restrictions to a female’s attributed attractiveness. For the human breasts to make an effect on males, in reference to attractiveness, breast size is compared to overall body weight and waist-to-hip ratio. Jasieńska, Ziomkiewicz, Ellison, Lipson, & Thune (2004) found that the reason males focus in on the breasts size and waist-to-hip ratio is because it serves as cues to fertility. The study found that women with large breasts and low waist-to-hip ratio had higher fertility assessed through the daily measurements taken of 17-β-oestradiol and progesterone, two hormones essential for the capacity to reproduce successfully. Females in these categories had 26% higher mean 17-β-oestradiol and 37% higher mean mid-cycle of 17-β-oestradiol levels than women in other categories of body shape, such as low waist-to-hip ratio with small breasts or large waist-to-hip ratio with large breasts (see Figure 1). Swollen breasts not only help males asses the fertility of a female but also benefit the female with attaining a healthy body for procreation.

Another explanation as to why permanently swollen breasts arose in the human species can come from Manning, Scutt, Whitehouse, & Leinster (1999) where they propose that breast asymmetry contains information regarding the female’s fertility. Breast asymmetry was contrasted with body size, body composition (weight, height, breast density), and fertility. There were many positive associations found that lead to many conclusions, such as females with large breasts had less asymmetry expected for their breast size and asymmetry was lower in married females than unmarried females. Also, asymmetrical females had less children later in life compared to the number of offspring symmetrical females had. Manning et al. (1999) concluded that breast size was a strong indicator for body size and composition, which leads to a good set of genes. Females with superior genes produce large symmetrical breasts and are healthy and fit for a male to observe. Fluctuating asymmetry can also be connected to menstrual cycles. Manning, Scutt, Whitehouse, Leinster, & Walton (2003) found that breast size varies throughout a female’s menstrual cycle. Fluctuating asymmetry is highest at the beginning and end of a menstrual cycle when the female is the most infertile and lowest in the middle of the cycle when the female is most fertile. They hypothesize that these fluctuations in breast size indicate when a female is ovulating. For males, swollen breasts are not only attractive and indicative of fertility but now symmetrical breasts can further demonstrate when a female is ovulating (the prime for copulation and chances of pregnancy).

Permanently swollen breasts have been seen to be an indicator of fertility in numerous characteristics of a female’s physique encompassing waist-to-hip ratio to menstrual cycles. Fertility is one of the major measures of fitness and thus the evolution of permanently swollen breasts has given males the chance to select their mates more carefully in correspondence to attractiveness and high-quality genes. Overall, the evolution of permanently swollen breasts has connections to attractiveness and fertility for the female’s chances of surviving and spreading her genes to the next generation.

Reference list:

Furnham, A., Dias, M., & McClelland, A. (1998). The role of body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size in judgments of female attractiveness. Sex Roles, 39(3-4), 311-32 6.

Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune, I. (2004). Large breasts and narrow waists indicate high reproductive potential in women. The Royal Society,   

     271(1545), 1-5.
Manning, J. T., Scutt, D., Whitehouse, G. H., & Leinster, S. J. (1999). Breast asymmetry and phenotypic quality in women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 18(4), 223-236.

Manning, J. T., Scutt, D., Whitehouse, G. H., Leinster, S. J., & Walton, J. M. (2003). Asymmetry and the menstrual cycle in women. Ethology and Sociobiology, 17(2), 129-143.

Marlowe, F. (1998). The nobility hypothesis: The human breast as an honest signal of residual reproductive value. Human Nature, 9(3), 263-271.

Additional web resources:

Gender differences for specific body regions when looking at men and women
link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/42q118x795n5p782/

Waist-to-hip ratio versus body mass index as predictors of fitness in women
link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/98pkc3xq5djk940d/

Do women's preferences for symmetry change across the menstrual cycle?
link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6H-4M21T7H-5&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=article&_cdi=5031&_sort=v&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=21851&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=32772df49b314a907e29ced1b7f58b19

Is symmetry a visual cue to attractiveness in the human female body?
link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6H-40BG4NC-4&_user=10&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2000&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=article&_cdi=5031&_sort=v&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=21851&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=16d1c13608578c1d1d29215df19eaa2a

Ratings ( 1 - 5):

5 * found appropriate research references relevant to a topic, and submitted the research proposal on time.

5 * discovered, integrated and synthesized relevant information about the topic

5 * writing is of high quality: interesting, flows, analytic, organized

5 * used APA style referencing appropriately (including reference list)

5 * included a list of web links to the original articles cited (if available), and included a list of additional resources relevant to the topic on the web

Total Points: 25