5 Things Every Man Needs to Know About Breasts

The “twins”, saddle bags, titties, ta-tas, “the girls.” Men have a lot of words for breasts. Most of them speak to their fleshy, mound-like qualities. Men ogle them, fondle them, dream of being enveloped by them. Yes, we know you like them, either big and bouncy or petite and perky. But they have other, more important, purposes, in case you haven’t heard. Breasts are the only body part that produces food—the only food with unparalleled immunological properties that infants need and preventative health benefits for both mother and baby. So it’s important to end all male mis-education about breasts.

And this is the week to do it. It’s Black Breastfeeding Week—our annual time to understand the beauty and power of breasts to shift infant health patterns in our community. Numerous studies and CDC data prove that our sky high infant mortality rates and increasing incidences of diet-related diseases in our young children can all be reduced by increased breastfeeding among black women. But too many black women (and white women too) don’t breastfeed because of their male partner’s attitude. Studies show that male perceptions greatly influence a woman’s breastfeeding initiation and duration rates. With our infant health and the health of mothers at stake (breastfeeding is proven to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and heart disease), it’s important to get right about our perceptions about the breasts. And by “our” I mean, you, sir.

1. Brace yourself, for this shocker, guys: Breasts, are actually made of fatty tissue and mammary glands. Things to make milk. The breast contains 15-25 milk glands connected to milk ducts inside the nipple all held together with fatty tissue. In fact, the word “mammary” comes from “mamma,” the Greek and Latin word for the breast, which derives from the cry “mama” uttered by infants and young children, sometimes meaning “I want to feed at the breast.” So breasts were biologically designed to feed. And did you know, human are the only mammals with permanently enlarged breasts. In other animals, breasts develop only during pregnancy and nursing and then disappear. You can thank God later.

2. Yes, breasts bring pleasure to the owner and any visitors. In fact, there are thin muscle fibers and loads of nerve endings in the nipple that make them become erect, signaling arousal and also make them sensitive. This same pleasure principle often causes confusion for some men and women, who only see the sensual nature of the breast. Many men watch a lot of porn, which only fosters the oversexualization of the breast. But it has other, life enhancing functions. Let me put it this way, your mouth is also a sexual and sensual tool, but you also eat from it and vomit out of it. No one—ever, never has felt uncomfortable about eating because they used their mouth as a sexual tool. If we can accept that the mouth has both functional and sexual purposes, let’s give breasts the same courtesy. What do you say?