TITS

 

Tits, Boobs, Jugs, Ya-Ya’s, Melons, The Girls, Maracas, Knockers…. There are lots of terms for the female mammalian protuberances.

The breast is one of two prominence located on the upper ventral region of a primate’s torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.

In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secretes milk to feed infants. Subcutaneous fat covers and envelops a network of ducts that converge on the nipple, and these tissues give the breast its size and shape. At the ends of the ducts are lobules, or clusters of alveoli, where milk is produced and stored in response to hormonal signals. During pregnancy, the breast responds to a complex interaction of hormones, including estrogens, progesterone, and prolactin, that mediate the completion of its development, namely lobuloalveolar maturation, in preparation of lactation and breastfeeding.

Humans are the only animals with permanent breasts. At puberty, estrogens, in conjunction with growth hormone, cause permanent breast growth in female humans. This happens only to a much lesser extent in other primates—breast development in other primates generally only occurs with pregnancy. Along with their major function in providing nutrition for infants, female breasts have social and sexual characteristics.

Breasts have been featured in ancient and modern sculpture, art, and photography. They can figure prominently in the perception of a woman’s body and sexual attractiveness. A number of cultures associate breasts with sexuality and tend to regard bare breasts in public as immodest or indecent.

I grew up in the years when calendars featured topless gals for the male entertainment. These models did not show their breast in the movies or on television but came pretty close in some religious movies. Actresses who could get close to showing off their endowments became celebrities until age and gravity ended their careers. Movies even got modesty ratings for how much could be shown on the big screen and what age was socially acceptable to watch it.

Of course there were ‘blue’ movies and naughty magazines so kids already had an idea of what was going on.

Then puberty hit and my gender took an obsessive interest with the bulges in our schoolmate’s sweaters.

While we were growing hair all over the place, stuffing socks in our jock straps while our voices dropped, our wee-wee would uncontrollably become stiff at the thought of what the girls were growing. Every guy wanted to get in the backseat and find out what behind your slingshots.

The bra gained widespread adoption in the early twentieth century, when it largely replaced the corset. The first modern bra is attributed to Caresse Crosby, a New York publisher and activist who created the garment in 1910 by using two handkerchiefs and some ribbon. After patenting her design in 1914, she briefly manufactured bras at two-woman factory in Boston before selling her patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company, which began mass-producing the garment.

Bras have gained symbolic significance beyond their mere functionality. Since training bras become standard during puberty, the garment can symbolize a rite of passage to adulthood. However, some feminists have argued that bras sexualize and objectify women’s breasts to conform to the male gaze. Surveys suggest that increasing numbers of women are going braless or adopting more comfortable wireless bras and bralettes to achieve more comfort.

Your reputations were constructed on how far you would let a fella go. Getting to second base was bragged to friends. Getting to third base was a bit more difficult. Even the casual fondle could be enjoyed or excused.

The covers of magazines showed movie stars showing off cleavage and the fashions followed. The size numbers were indications of how ‘stacked’ she was. For those who needed a silicon beef-up, there were padded bras to give the illusion.

Then the feminism revolution came along and the gals were burning their bras. The wet tee shirts were flopping and the boys couldn’t get enough, though there were some restrictions. No nipples.

Pick up any tabloid today and there are photos of side boob or under boob or bikini tops the size of postage stamps. The names may change from Marilyn Monroe to Britney Spears, but doing the shimmy still catches the headlines.

It is a wonder why women running for office or applying for a raise don’t use this mythical weapon?

Eyes up here.