this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago (20 children)

We're the only(?) species that have evolved them to become more than their basic function. Other species use colors and other features for mating signals, humans use shapes. Definitely wired to be interested in them.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago (19 children)

Hold up, are other hominids interested in boobs? Any other mammal? Any non mammals into boobs? How much tiddy science have we really done here? I need tiddy facts.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 days ago (13 children)

This might be pseudoscience I got taught 20 years ago, but I have been under the impression that human evolution of breasts as a secondary sexual characteristic has to do with the shift to becoming bipedal. Like a lot of animals, early hominids would see the rear end of a fellow hominid and know this as a trigger for copulation. But when homo erectus started standing upright, butts weren't so universally erotic anymore. They had a whole back and head above them now. Breasts didn't need to be very large to fill their function, but an increase in size gave them a curvy appearance similar to a set of butt cheeks. And early humans were like, yeah, I think that's right, and selected for increased (or at least variable) breast size.

[–] agamemnonymous 6 points 2 days ago

But when homo erectus started standing upright, butts weren't so universally erotic anymore.

This is where you lost me.

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