Breasts through the ages
Depictions of breasts through the ages, as far back as prehistoric times, reveal how ideal breast size has changed, with some cultures favouring large breasts, others small and others totally flat chests.
© Jupiter
Preferences regarding breasts - whether they should be hidden or overtly displayed; whether big is best or small is better etc. - vary across cultures and can even vary within different social groups.
Art available from 30,000 years ago, including the carvings on cave walls and other engraved shapes and figures, show women with very large breasts, wide hips and rounded stomachs. However, there are also depictions of barely noticeable or small breasts traced on very stylised silhouettes. But these pictures tell us little about the sexual and erotic appeal of breasts.
The Ancient Greeks looked after their breasts, using a strip of cloth as a means of support. However, breasts didn't really have a strong erotic appeal and the statues of the classical period depict firm, but rather modest, breasts. Ancient Greek pottery, for example, depicts all kinds of erotic scenarios but there are no scenes of men caressing women's breasts.
Those crazy Romans indifference to breasts!
The Romans were as indifferent to breasts as the Greeks and in "The Satyricon," the great erotic novel by Petronius, the hero makes no mention of women's breasts. In his "The Art of Love," Ovid writes that only perfect breasts should be revealed and that a flat chest must be covered up. But it seems that it was the bare shoulder, rather than the breast, that really aroused desire.
The frescos in Pompeii depict women in erotic positions, for example straddling their lovers but even though they're naked, their breasts are not usually visible. And if they are, they are hidden under their "bandage-bras". Clearly then, breasts were not viewed as erotic objects and when shown were small and discreet.
It seems that it was Christianity that eroticised the breast. Fearful that women would tempt men to sin, early moralists declared that "women should not be allowed to uncover or reveal any part of their body in any way." And, eventually, because of this breasts came to be seen as erotic objects. The Middle Ages reacted against this Puritanism, preferring exposed breasts. Writers of this period sensually describe small, firm, apple-shaped breasts that women cleverly revealed through their intricate embroidered tops.
Depicting breasts : Renaissance painters to Hollywood pin-ups
Breasts were very evident in Renaissance art, with women shown having their breasts fondled and kissed. Poets vied with one another for the most original way of describing the breasts and from the XVI to the XVIII centuries, naked breasts were depicted more frequently, and as we see in the work of Titian, Rubens, Fragonard or Boucher were also much larger.
The French Revolution looked altogether more favourably upon breasts with diaphanous fabrics and later, Empire-line dresses, revealing and emphasized their rounded forms. However the bourgeoisie who liked large, maternal breasts continued to hide their breasts and wear corsets until the end of the century.
In the 20th century, the gamine look popularised the slim, sporty, small-breasted figure, replacing the maternal, womanly figure. Then, during the Second World War, American soldiers started the craze for the voluptuous, pin-up, which led to Hollywood's preference for well-endowed starlets. But interest in small breasts didn't disappear altogether and in the last third of the century small breasts once again become fashionable.
Today, opinion is divided; women who crave larger breasts can now have them thanks to surgical implants; the right bra can enhance and support your assets; and women whose breasts are too large can now have them surgically reduced.
So nowadays, if women don't like what they've got, they can do something about it.
Copyright © 2010 Doctissimo
Posted 30.06.2010
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