They perpetuate a narrow idea of the ideal breast that women are left trying to meet to feel “normal” or “attractive.”
Mainstream advertising and media continue to hypersexualize women and their breasts. If your breasts change unexpectedly in shape, color, or texture, speak to your healthcare provider, as this could be a sign of a health condition.īy Laurie Ray, DNP Everyone’s breasts are uniqueĪcknowledging the diversity of breast characteristics is essential in deconstructing how female breasts are perceived and portrayed. Think about your face-is that perfectly symmetrical? Nope, no one is-so why hold your breasts to such high standards? (5) Some people may not even be aware that their breasts are slightly different. Having breasts that are slightly differently shaped or sized is common and typical. It’s common to have different-sized breastsīreasts come in all shapes and sizes-they’re just another feature of our body that help make us unique. If your nipple changes in appearance and shape unexpectedly, speak to your healthcare provider, as this can be a sign of a health condition. Some people (around 3%) have a common variation, where one or both nipples are drawn inwards or appear slit-like and do not protrude as much-this is called nipple inversion (4). The nipple is at the center of the areola, projects outwards, and is where breast milk exits during lactation. The oil produced from the Montgomery tubercles helps to keep the nipple soft and moisturized, which is especially important during breastfeeding (3). If there is excessively dark, coarse, thick hair growth around the nipples and on the breasts, this could be a sign of hirsutism (excessive hair growth) due to a hormonal imbalance and should be discussed with your healthcare provider.ĭuring pregnancy, the areola increases in size and darkens in color, and the Montgomery tubercles become more pronounced (3). There may even be a few little hairs that grow on the edge of the breast tissue surrounding or on the areola-this is typical (3). You may notice that your areolas also have small bumps on them-these are oil-secreting glands called Montgomery tubercles or Montgomery glands (1,3).
Different kind of breast shapes skin#
The areola is the darker skin surrounding the nipple. Around 4 out of 5 women report that nipple and breast stimulation increases their sexual arousal (2). They’re a secondary sexual characteristic (along with widening of the pelvis and armpit/genital hair growth) to signal that someone has gone through puberty (1).īreasts and nipples can also serve as areas of sexual stimulation and arousal-for people of all sexes, as these areas have many nerve endings and even become erect during stimulation. The majority of men do not develop "visible" or functional breasts, but in rare cases of hormonal imbalances, men can develop large breast tissue (and even possible milk production) in a condition called gynecomastia (1).īut breasts are for more than just breastfeeding! Breasts are also sexual organs. Everyone has some breast tissueĭon't think breasts are only for women-everyone has some breast tissue on their chest. This means people who don't ever become pregnant never fully develop their breasts (1). Wanting to learn more, we decided to look into the science of breasts.īreast tissue has a maturation period, starting with development while you are still a fetus, and ending in maximum maturity and growth during pregnancy (1). Yet not wearing a bra, I felt, was viewed as sloppy.ĭespite my acute awareness of my lack of boobs and frustration with available bras-as well as with the long history of societal fixation and favor of large female breasts-I liked my small bosom. Most of the bras I came across were very padded-it seemed like they were misleading my traits, and wearing one felt unnecessary because I didn’t think I needed the support. Going from a training bra to a cup bra didn’t seem applicable to me. Having tiny boobs initially seemed disappointing and like something I had to feel ashamed of. I thought boobs had to be at least a B-cup, or pretty significant mounds, basically anything that wasn’t my bust. But having a small bust throughout puberty felt unexpected. “Any day now!” I would gleefully tell myself as I peeked down at my chest most mornings. It seemed like breasts were the quintessential trait of “womanhood.” When I learned about adolescent breast development, I was stoked for my boobs to grow.
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