Are Breasts Sexy Because They're Hidden, or Because We're Pattern-Obsessed Apes? New Science Says: Yes.

Saturday, May 24, 2025.

Two new studies—one in Papua, one in the U.S.—suggest we all might be working from the same subconscious breast rubric.

And now we ask: what do women think about all this?

Breasts: somehow both breakfast and scandal.

Depending on where you live and what decade you're in, they are revered, restricted, blurred, boosted, or burned.

Western culture has long believed that their erotic pull comes from taboo—the fact that they’re hidden makes them hot.

Think modesty norms, religious shame, and the tragic underwire.

But what if that’s not quite true?

Two recent studies—one conducted in Papua among Indigenous men who grew up seeing topless women, and another involving a cross-section of Americans rating breast attractiveness—suggest that the sexual appeal of breasts may not be culturally manufactured so much as biologically baked-in.

Add to that: emerging research on how women feel about their own breasts—what they believe others think, how that belief affects their self-worth, and what it means for relationships—and suddenly we have a much bigger (and, dare I say, rounder) picture.

Study One: Papua, Where “Free the Nipple” Was Just the Weather

In Papua, among the Dani people, researchers (Stefańczyk et al., 2024) compared two groups of heterosexual men: those who grew up when toplessness was normal (ages 40–70) and those who came of age after Western norms brought the shirt back (ages 17–32).

If cultural exposure shaped desire, then surely the older guys—raised with daily, non-sexualized breast exposure—would be less sexually interested in them.

Nope.

The two groups were statistically indistinguishable in how sexually aroused they were by breasts, how often they touched them during sex, and how important breasts were to their perception of female attractiveness.

Whether they grew up in the era of the naked chest or the age of the polo shirt, male desire remained firmly... calibrated.

Study Two: Red States, Blue States, Same Cup Size Preferences

Meanwhile, in the land of TikTok thirst traps and injectable cleavage, researchers in the U.S. asked over 1,000 people to rate pre-surgical breast photos on a 5-point scale. The participants represented all races, genders, and sexual orientations.

Once again: surprising consensus.

Men gave higher scores on average, but their rankings aligned closely with women’s.

Folks attracted to women (regardless of their gender) also gave higher scores.

Racial groups gave slightly different averages but agreed on the same top-ranked breasts. There was no “in-group” favoritism—Black participants didn’t rate Black breasts higher, white participants didn’t show bias toward white ones.

Apparently, most of us—deep down—have a shared aesthetic preference for symmetry, fullness, and nipple placement.

Across all dividing lines, our brains still whisper the same strange evolutionary tune: “That one.”

Now, Let’s Talk About Women

This is the part those studies didn’t directly address. What about the people who have the breasts?

We turn here to related research on female breast self-perception and sexual self-esteem.

Numerous studies have found that how a woman thinks others view her breasts directly impacts her confidence, comfort with intimacy, and even her sexual functioning (Forrest & Stuhldreher, 2007; Pujols, Meston, & Seal, 2010).

Women in committed relationships who feel positively about their breast appearance report greater sexual satisfaction, while dissatisfaction is often linked to body shame, avoidance, and reduced arousal.

In fact, what women believe their partner thinks about their breasts matters more than objective features. If she thinks you find them beautiful, her sexual confidence increases—even if she’s just had a double mastectomy or nursed twins for five years.

So yes, evolutionary cues may make breasts a cross-cultural billboard for youth and health. But emotional safety and esteem remain essential. The body doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it exists in context. In conversation. In relationship.

Evolution, Symmetry, and a Sense of Humor

If both studies say anything, it's this: evolution built a blueprint, and culture decorates the scaffolding.

Breasts are sexually interesting not because we’re repressed Puritans, but because they may signal things our lizard brain likes—fertility, hormonal balance, and youth.

Yet, once again, we see that culture amplifies, aestheticizes, and complicates this blueprint—especially for women.

The pressures to “perform” ideal femininity, to appear youthful, to surgically alter one’s natural shape—those don’t come from biology. They come from the cultural layer that evolution never asked for.

So let’s be clear: symmetrical, perky breasts may light up men’s brains, but the emotional resonance—of safety, connection, playfulness, trust—still sets the mood.

Therapy Takeaway: Evolution is a Crude Map. Relationship is the Compass.

As a couples therapist, I see it every day: breast-related insecurity—especially postpartum, post-surgery, or during aging—often creeps into otherwise loving relationships.

One partner worries about being “less attractive,” the other swears nothing’s changed.

And it turns out both are right. Evolution might not notice the change. But culture trained us to.

The job of good therapy is to help clients exit the cultural shame spiral and return to the relationship. Not “do I look like the internet,” but “does this feel like us?”

Knowing that aesthetic preferences are more consistent than we assumed—and that emotional safety drives how women experience their own bodies—might help all of us have gentler, more honest conversations.

Closing Note: If Breasts Could Talk

If breasts had PR agents, they’d probably want to clarify: they are not just mating signals, infant food stations, or meme material.

They are also sources of pleasure, symbols of identity, and sometimes they’re two perfectly good reasons to go braless on a Sunday.

So the next time someone tells you attraction is only cultural, or only evolutionary, remember: it’s both.

Biology wrote the rough draft. Culture added margin notes.

And love? Love is the editor who decides what makes the final cut.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.

REFERENCES:

Boyd, C. J., Bekisz, J. M., Hemal, K., Sorenson, T. J., & Karp, N. S. (2024). Differential preferences in breast aesthetics by self-identified demographics assessed on a national survey. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2024.03.019

Forrest, L., & Stuhldreher, W. L. (2007). Patterns and correlates of body image dissatisfaction and distortion among college students. American Journal of Health Studies, 22(1), 18–25.

Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune, I. (2004). Large breasts and narrow waists indicate high reproductive potential in women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 271(1545), 1213–1217. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2712

Pujols, Y., Meston, C. M., & Seal, B. N. (2010). The association between sexual satisfaction and body image in women. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7(2), 905–916. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01604.x

Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 293–307. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.293

Stefańczyk, M. M., Sorokowski, P., Roberts, S. C., & Żelaźniewicz, A. (2024). Nudity norms and breast arousal: A cross‑generational study in Papua. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02703-2