Usborne Puberty Book tells children that breasts exist to make milk and to make girls look grown up and attractive

[AssignedPerfectAtBirth]

www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/29/usborne-apologises-puberty-book-childrens-publisher?CMP=share_btn_tw

Breasts are there for 1) milk 2) to make girls look grown up and attractive

Nice to know that our children are being taught that breasts are there to look at

Replace the word 'creep' with the word 'slut' and suddenly the diatribe and shaming on this thread will look very familiar.

I don't see how. You've said what you did wasn't sexual. Why are you comparing to women who are shamed for sex?

Not to mention that 'slut shaming' is about policing what women do with their own bodies and you're being accused of creepiness for the way you've come (on to a mostly female board) describing what you do to someone else's sleeping body.

Unless you're just talking about insults in general? in which case it's interesting you didn't miss a chance to use the word slut.

You can't compare the word slut to the word creep in any meaningful way, unless you don't understand that slut is perjorative.

I wonder what's in newdaddie's mind when he says slut.

I thought that the sexualisation of breasts was social. In some other cultures, breasts aren't even attractive.

I'm sure someone on thus thread has mentioned this already though. I haven't rtft

Opah... it has, but it bears repeating

Surely the shape of a woman's breasts facilitates feeding two children of different size and age.

Not heard that argument before blue. Flat chested women still manage to feed a toddler plus newborn (for example) as well as a large breasted woman don't they?

I'm sure they do, but larger breasts presumably allow for more movement.

It's an interesting thought - while I know small boobs are perfectly capable of producing milk and feeding a baby, all the women I know who tandem fed have bigger boobs
I wonder if there is a study....?

I don't know anyone who intended to tandem fed and then weaned the toddler once the newborn actually arrived.

I know women who intended to but never got there due to issues during pregnancy (aversion, milk drying up etc). Some of those actually weaned the toddler in pregnancy but then found they could feed them again once baby born and free flowing milk.

But stopping tandem feeding once there are two children because of latching issues? Not heard of it. Not saying it doesn't happen just that it's something I've not heard of.

Would be interesting to know if there's been a study done, I doubt it though.

I'm considering this more in the context of early women where tandem feeding would presumably have been the norm.

I've read the end of the thread and the start of the thread so apologies if this is in the middle but I need to go out:

I haven't seen any mention of the fact that breasts also give women sexual pleasure and stimulation. Some women apparently can orgasm from breast and nipple stimulation alone.

Suggesting that breasts in a sexual aspect are only for male pleasure is the same as suggesting the vagina is merely a convenient sheath for the penis.

Yes, women can orgasm in sleep as well (I do).

But saying this will be attractive to men is wrong.

Men have wet dreams and this is most attractive to women.

Not all humans are attracted to the opposite sex.

No I agree totally elen I wasn't defending the view of breasts as for men. Rather I was trying to point out that even if you do view them as both for feeding and sexual pleasure the sexual pleasure should be the woman's - not some man viewing them (if any of that makes sense)

If breasts were for the pleasure of men evolution would've put tassels on them. Till then they're for breast feeding.

Sorry RJ, I was agreeing with you.

To be clear I do not agree with what newdaddie is saying, just that as someone who did extended breast feeding I could see the benefits of not having to wake up to do it.

We have the equivalent book for girls so I'm going to look at what it tells girls about boys. Whether there is any aspect of the male physique whos purpose is described as being attractive to the opposite sex.

I often have to point out to my daughters that their existence isn't just to please men. The message that they are in programmes and adverts is relentless. The latest I have seen is where 2 boys are fighting to be some girl's boyfriend. They feel like they are entitled to make the choice not the girl.

It would be incredibly wrong for Breast Cancer charities to say that the loss of a woman's breast means she is no longer attractive to men though, wouldn't it?

Can you imagine if men had to spend money in buying proper underwear that lifted and separated their testicles? Loads of information in how to make them more attractive? More productive?

Pregnancy and childbirth would have been very high risk for early women. The idea that women needed to convince men to procreate isn't logical.

The latest I have seen is where 2 boys are fighting to be some girl's boyfriend. They feel like they are entitled to make the choice not the girl.

It's so insidious, isn't it, MrsGWay?

Who cares what she wants?

I'd be very interested to know what you think of the book aimed at girls. Do report back.

Exactly bluegrape given that women put far, far more energy and time into producing offspring, the idea that it was men who chose mates is ridiculous.

Women have breasts to feed babies.(important full stop) That is a difference between men and women. Men have come to like them.
I am not condoning the way the book has presented information to children, but it is surely not this simple?
All mammals feed their young milk, but only humans have obvious breasts when not lactating. So I don't really see how you can infer that obvious breasts had to evolve in order to feed babies? What am I missing here??

I appreciate that we might prefer to think that they didn't evolve in their current form to attract men, and we may not want to point that out to little boys, but that doesn't make it untrue.

Common characteristics (legs, mammary glands) can take disparate evolutionary paths for all sorts of reasons. The fact that some men find breasts attractive doesn't mean that sex is the reason for obvious breasts. Unless we are claiming that sexual attraction is the reason behind all the characteristics that distinguish us from other animals.

Early women may have been lactating for much of their adult life.