Speaking of breasts....

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
Speaking of breasts....
10
Thu, 10-21-2004 - 9:22pm

The family and I went to a huge Renaissance Festival last weekend (loads of fun, BTW) and you wanna talk about breasts on display! Brittney and Janet have nothing on them, lol. With many RenFair goers in costume (including us) in the Ren style of low cut chemise, overskirt and pushup bodices, we saw breasts galore. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, round ones, pink ones, tan ones...even one pair that passed several times, causing my mother to remark that they 'looked like yeast rolls before being baked'. Mightily impressive.

Just goes to show you, modesty is everchanging. In those days (having done my research for costuming weeks before we went), breasts were prominently displayed - but no one, not even the poorest woman - would go out without stockings on!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2001
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 12:17am

>>The family and I went to a huge Renaissance Festival....we saw breasts galore.<<

I certainly can see the appeal of bodices and breasts on display. Makes me feel all warm just thinking about it. Lucky you for seeing it. Wish I'd been there ;-)

>>no one, not even the poorest woman - would go out without stockings on!<<

Hmmmmm. I can readily admit that I'm a sucker for stockings. I'm putty when I see a woman in stockings. 'Twas a sad day when pantyhose were invented.

Avatar for katmandoo2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 1:19am

Yes, I can recall reading about a period in history, when it was fashionable for the breasts to be completely exposed.....at least among the aristocrats.

We have an annual Scarborough Fair and it's the same thing. Breasts bulging out everywhere.




Edited 10/22/2004 1:23 am ET ET by katmandoo2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-13-2004
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 2:00am

Up until say, 60 years ago, women had to rely on their beauty to attract a man. And assets such as breasts were used as an advantage. (OK, perhaps the Victorian women covered up more). Just think of all the Jane Austen women and their low cut tops with busty cleavage.

What I find interesting is that many Westerners, upon seeing cleavage, now say things such as "oh, she must have low self esteem to show herself so sexually". However, I don't believe that humans can evolve that quickly. If women have had to rely on beauty for thousands of years, how can we expect all women to change their attitudes in such a short amount of time? I would argue the fact that nature dictates women use their assets, because this is how human females have had to evolved over many thousands of years.

It will be interesting to see the long term effects of women's lib on the future of the human race.

Dress Up Games, Doll Makers and Cartoon Dolls @ The Doll Palace
Avatar for sugarbeat
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 4:06pm
It's all about time and place. If these gals were no longer at the Renaissance Faire their bulging cleavage would be perceived differently. I see your point, however, there was a time our ancestors didn't wear much clothing (at least when it was warm out), but no one is suggesting we prance around naked. Hmmm, maybe we need to start a Tribal Faire so we have an appropriate place to do that too.
Avatar for katmandoo2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 4:18pm
Yes, I think women used their beauty and sexuality but not just to attract a man but because oftentimes it was the only way to stay alive! IF you could endear a boss, etc. to you, then you stuck around longer. But women also had to use their brains and learn to read men in order to have some control over their own futures and lives.

But I don't think there's anything wrong with using your assets as a woman, when needed. After all, isn't that men do to get ahead? And if the targeted man or men, are allowing themselves to be unduly influenced by those assets....well, that's a choice, too, isn't it?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2001
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 6:16pm

Kat said:
>>And if the targeted man or men, are allowing themselves to be unduly influenced by those assets....well, that's a choice, too, isn't it?<<

Hear, hear! There have been plenty of times where young women have tried to use their womanly wiles and physical assets to influence my judgement. I certainly don't think that I'm the only guy that they've ever tried to influence either. Perhaps I am just a little more aware of it than other guys.

I say that if you've got it, flaunt it. God knows that most good looking guys are well aware of the influence their attractiveness can have. I can't see why people get so upset about it. It's just another string to the bow in my opinion and if it can help you get along in life, then why not?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 7:01pm

Oh no they wouldn't....lol, why do you think the Wonderbra was invented ;)

Actually it's all just about standards changing throughout history. Men used to wear tights that showed their all, but with heavy long-sleeved doublets. Women could show the tops of breasts but not an ankle or wrist. Women wearing trousers and outlining their legs was unthinkable -and yet when Empire dresses were fashionable, women used to soak their chemises in water and let them dry while wearing them, to cling to the body. We've been through Elizabethan corsets and Victorian corsets, bustles, hoops, everything to shape a woman's body in every form but a natural one.

And yet today, no one thinks twice about a woman wearing shorts (how scandalous, exposing the entire leg!) or tank tops that show the entire arm. And there are plenty of breasts on display even now. Not to mention, tushes peeking out of lowriders. I wasn't really trying to make a point at all, or suggest we go back to going naked (although my ancestors in New England probably never went completely naked, lol) but just talking about breasts and the display of them, and how it goes back and forth through history, especially in view of all the cleavage I saw that weekend.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2001
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 7:38pm

>>but just talking about breasts and the display of them, and how it goes back and forth through history,<<

Same, same, but different....

I had to laugh when I saw the penis carved into the footpath stones outside a brothel in Pompeii. It was a multi-lingual sign to say "This is the Brothel". Thousands of years ago they had the same things, wanted to say the same things, and really nothing has changed much - just a slightly different way of showing it.




Edited 10/22/2004 7:41 pm ET ET by westridge2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
Fri, 10-22-2004 - 8:09pm
I couldn't care less if cleavage is shown or not or if we're all forced to go back to the puritan dress code and cover everything up, I just think that a woman should be able to breastfeed in public however she wishes, without being made to feel it's taboo. I guess that there are just those who want it to remain taboo, otherwise we'd be seeing commercials on television and signs on store windows promoting breastfeeding, exposed or not. Do you ever see movies where a mother is breastfeeding in public, even covered up? Can't think of any.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2004
Sat, 10-23-2004 - 12:57am
I believe that men are MORE influenced than women....just look at the beer commercials during a sports event. lol When was the last time you saw a hunk selling us anything on television....wait a minute...I don't watch Soap Operas, could it be that they have hunky men selling Oil of Olay? ;-) Men supply the VERY power that women have over them.