Why do men like big breasts?

Why do men like big breasts? According to Jena Pincott, author of "Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes” it has to do with science not sexual desire. We were sceptical but see what you think!

“Mammary glands turn off all male mammals except men. That’s because big teats signal temporary infertility in all female mammals except women. Out they pop on a pregnant or lactating dog or cat, a sign of sexual unavailability, and in they go, mostly, after the pups and kitties are weaned. But women’s breasts poke out at puberty and never go away. Guys find this totally titillating.

Nobody has a definitive answer as to why human breasts are so sexy and get so big but all theories have something to do with fertility. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that cleavage serves as a sort of proxy for the swollen rumps that other female primates get when they’re in heat. Freudian psychologists offer theories about men’s Oedipus complex: they’re always looking for a mother figure (literally).

Large breasts may be a sign of increased fertility, which could help explain why so many men think bigger books are better. The fact that accumulates in your chest (as well as butt, thighs, and hips) does so under the influence of the hormone estrogen, which also affects your ability to conceive. According to a Harvard study full-figured women are roughly three times more likely to conceive than other body types.

Breasts are also an advertisement of age, health and good genes which is why anthropologists think they’re crucial to sexual selection even in cultures that don’t eroticise the chest any more than the face. The larger the boobs, the more they reveal about you.

The symmetry of women’s breasts also reveals something about her health. Because breasts grow so rapidly during puberty, they’re especially sensitive to hormonal disruptions that could make one breast grow larger than the other and also compromise fertility. Women with asymmetrical breasts have fewer babies on average than women do with symmetrical breasts. The good news is on average most women have minor breast asymmetries and the left breast is often four per cent larger than the right.

Big chests are a part of a suite of sexy feminine features associated with healthy and higher estrogen levels, including rounder facial features with a smaller chin, and a higher pitched voice. Environmental factors also influence breast size. In China, the average cup size has increased by nearly an inch in a decade with more Chinese women wearing B and C cups than ever before, while the average in America went from 34B to 36C. Fattier diets are the culprit. Yet when women say they want to lose weight, they rarely mean the fat stored in their chests.”



This is an edited extract from "Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes? Why He Fancies You and Why He Doesn't" by Jena Pincott (Random House).

So what do you think? Why do men like bigger breasts? The girls in the SheSaid office took a poll and we reckon it’s simple. Men like bigger breasts because they don’t have any of their own. But tell us your thoughts!