Breasts and Womanhood

Some women have wrongly allowed society to define their womanhood by the nature of their bodies generally and their breasts in particular. If a woman lacks the correct physiology, or if, for example, she has undergone a mastectomy, the woman may fear that she will be seen as less womanly.

American society treats female breasts differently from men's breasts. Society puts the woman at fault if a man stares when her breasts and nipples are exposed. It is as if women, by the mere fact that they have breasts, are "temptresses" and must be controlled. Societal rules, instead of holding the man responsible for his behavior and teaching boys and men that a woman's breasts are a natural part of her anatomy, require that women cover up their breasts at all times.

This attitude has led, for example, to unfortunate incidents, well-publicized in recent news events, where nursing mothers have been victimized, harassed, or asked to leave public places when breastfeeding. To their credit, a number of state legislators have responded with bills specifically allowing women to nurse in public, even where it was not illegal beforehand.

In our culture, breasts may be exposed to sell alcohol, but women may not be topless on a beach for their own comfort and pleasure. Some people, especially feminists, believe that the liberalization of attitudes towards female breasts could help free women from harassing behavior generally.

Perversely, anyone can find exploitative, graphic images of topless or naked women on the Internet in minutes. This is legal. But for a woman to be seen as a normal human being, topless on a beach or at a public pool, is a crime.

It is interesting to understand how women's breasts became so sexualized.