A news story reporting that the NYPD re-mentioned to their officers that women could legally go topless in public has gone viral.

Photo: Topless New York: Exhibit, Calendar, and Book Kickstarter – check it out.

Everyone has an opinion!

There are many countries around the world where both men and women will be out in public topless, but since the US has traditionally only accepted males to go topless, this has caused quite a stir.

This post is less of a debate on topless laws, and more of an examination of this specific area of male and female anatomy.

So, what is the difference between a female and male mammary gland?

Woman Reading ( The topless woman), Felix Vallotton.

Not that much.

Why do men have mammary glands and nipples?

There are a couple of theories to answer this question. The most widely accepted is that men have mammary glands and nipples simply because females do. The trait would have to evolve and “uncouple” in order for men to not have them:

“The only way such differences can evolve is if the same trait (color, for example) in males and females has become “uncoupled” at the genetic level. This happens if a trait is influenced by different genes in males and females, if it is under control of genes located on sex chromosomes, or if gene expression has evolved to be dependent on context (whether genes find themselves within a male or a female genome). The idea of the shared genetic basis of two traits (in this case in males and females) is known as a genetic correlation, and it is a quantity routinely measured by evolutionary geneticists. The evolutionary default is for males and females to share characters through genetic correlations.” – Andrew M. Simons, professor of biology at Carleton University

Basically, there isn’t enough reason for deselection of this trait in males for nipples or mammary glands to go away. The trait persists not only because of lack of selection against it, but there is strong advantage to males keeping their mammary glands – they have the ability to lactate.  Although rare, transgendered parents are now using this once thought of vestigial part of their anatomy to breastfeed their children.

The lactating thing doesn’t make us different than males, but the shape of our breasts certainly does!

Why do human females have perennially enlarged breasts?

Check out any of the other Great Apes (or any other mammal) and you’ll find enlarged breasts in pregnant and lactating females only.

Unfortunately, no one knows exactly why this is, but there are, of course, very probable theories as to why this might be.

Bipedalism:

Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”)

Evolution and natural selection works to our advantage, as it makes almost every part of our body have a function. When our species began walking upright, we had an entire area (the buttocks) that served no helpful purpose in attracting a mate.

The theory that human females have permanently enlarged breasts suggests that this area of the body now could help attract a male, as this area was now focal when scanning a group of females, instead of the buttocks.

Fat is Fetching:

In addition to the fact that this bare chest area of bipedal humans could be useful in attracting a mate, the reason behind enlarged breasts rather than brightly colored or other eye-catching features that could have adapted onto this area is because fat signals a high reproductive value for males.

Breast, buttocks, and hips are typical areas where human females store fat. There is a theory that these areas (which are unique to human females only for fat storing) were selected traits humans adapted due to male preference. (–”Breast asymmetry, sexual selection, and human reproductive success” by Moller, AP, Soler, M and Thornhill R)

It is hypothesized that male humans would prefer the fat stored in these areas because it appeared to give women a wider pelvis (less complications in childbirth) and larger breasts would signal larger mammary glands (which at one time did signal better lactation).

Symmetry:

Breasts could just be another area of the body that symmetry can be displayed to attract a mate. Humans find symmetrical features more attractive, and asymmetrical breasts have been shown to be less attractive to males.

Breasts Allowed for Female Freedom.

Human females have concealed ovulation. Other primates like bonobos, baboons, and common chimpanzees have external signs of estrus to alert a mate of reproductive worth.

However, enlarged breasts typically are not seen as attractive to other primate species as it shows the female is either pregnant or lactating, which makes of very little reproductive value to the male.

So, as a benefit of concealed ovulation, the breast area adapted to have fat around it as a confusion signal to males, allowing them to be less closely guarded and available to multiple sexual partners for social, material, or genetic benefits.

The Nubility Hypothesis

This hypothesis suggests that permanently enlarged breasts in hominid females evolved as an honest signal of age, and thus, reproductive value.

This idea goes into detail about how pre-pubescent and post-menopausal women are infertile, and size and shape of breasts indicate to a male whether or not the female he is observing is of high reproductive value because her breasts give some signal of her age.

The reason the fat would specifically be in the mammary gland area was that it already coincided with menstrual cycle and aided in the signal of puberty.

No protrusion of breasts would indicate pre-pubescent (anovulatory) and not a reproductive match for a mating male.

Protruding firm breasts would indicate a mature (ovulatory) and reproductive match.

Sagging and thin-skin on breasts would suggest post-menopausal (anovulatory) and again, not a good reproductive match.

It seems, in this hypothesis, there is a trade-off of gaining maximum reproductive value during peak fertility, with less desired mates toward the end of her reproductive years.

Hadza Woman

Frank Marlow of the nubility hypothesis also offers information when given the argument of male cross-cultural breast size preference (it varies), but female breasts are an erotic stimulus for many cultures.

“Even though men’s interest in breasts may increase where women are clothed, the interpretation that men in nude cultures do not find breasts erotic is erroneous. Based on numerous interviews I conducted with the Hadza [ethnic group located in north-central Tanzania around the central Rift Valley], men find breasts erotic, even though women usually do not cover their breasts. They fondle breasts during intercourse [...]Such fondling is reported in numerous other nude cultures (Ford and Beach 1951). The contention that eroticism only occurs where breasts are covered would imply that men do not find vaginas erotic in completely nude cultures, and that there are no sexual signals among other species.” – Frank Marlow

After this marathon of breast information, breasts are sounding about a sexy as nose hairs right now.

The post NY Bare Breasts Controversy: What is the Difference Between Female and Male Mammary Glands? appeared first on I Am Not the Babysitter.

Laura and John Arnold

Yesterday, we asked, on our Facebook wall, how much money you would donate to charity if you were to win the Powerball (As of yesterday it was at 600 million USD).

Our group, overall, was extremely generous, but the percentages had a pretty wide range.

Tonight, I happened to catch this article from the Wall Street Journal website that told the story of the changing idea of philanthropy.

John Arnold was a natural-gas trader at Enron who founded his own hedge-fund with monumental returns.

He and his wife Laura founded the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

“The Laura and John Arnold Foundation strives to produce substantial, widespread and lasting changes to society that will maximize opportunity and minimize injustice.” -LJAF

John and his wife reportedly made around $4 billion dollars and were plan on giving the majority away and to devote their time to philanthropic endeavors.

The article discussed the Arnold’s plan to address is the obesity crisis in our country. According to the Wall Street Journal,  John contacted Gary Taubes, a food writer, in an inconspicuous and short email about obesity, and after a Google search the writer soon realized with whom he was dealing.

Gary Taubes ended up meeting with John Arnold and his staff and an obesity study was being set in motion, which is a big deal – the study is costing around $26 million dollars to fund.

Another problem the Arnold’s are attempting to tackle is our criminal justice system.

In an interview, Laura Arnold revealed some really interesting information about their view of philanthropy in an interview with Brad Reagan :

‘”We don’t have a bunch of smiling kids and graduation pictures. That’s not what we’re about,” she says.
 But she and her husband decided early on that the foundation would not pick what she called “the low-hanging fruit” of philanthropy. As she explained it, they don’t question the worthiness of writing checks to established groups that directly benefit needy individuals. In fact, they continue to do so privately. But they wanted to focus on public-policy problems that led to what Laura calls “moral inefficiencies,” where their considerable resources could help generate solutions. Using the vernacular of a trader, John calls them “high-leverage opportunities.”’ -Source

I find their view of philanthropy important and very timely. We need people to start realizing the importance of “high-leverage” charity work, in addition to the other ways of supporting our global and local communities.

The post Billionaires Donate Their Earnings: “High Leverage” Charity Work appeared first on I Am Not the Babysitter.

Beach Day! We took the boys to the beach yesterday, and spent the entire afternoon playing in the sand and ocean with them.

It reminded us of our own childhood memories and why those memories are so important to us as adults.

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”
                                                       -Isaac Newton

The post Beach Day appeared first on I Am Not the Babysitter.

The Mursi tribe of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is one of the oldest and most easily identifiable tribal cultures of Africa.

Most Mursi children nurse past toddler-hood, and clothing for women commonly leaves breasts exposed.

The breast area for the Mursi tribe is viewed as nourishment for children and signals to men peak nubility of the woman, based on shape and texture.

The Mursi people are at risk for displacement.

From Mursi Online:

Since the 1960s, the extension of government control over the Lower Omo Valley has been marked by  the ‘enclosure’ of large areas of communally held  land. In the 1960s and 1970s two national parks were set up which, it was hoped, would in due course make the lower Omo into one of Africa’s most popular tourist destinations. These hopes proved largely illusory, despite efforts to develop the parks with the help of EU funds in the 1990s and, more recently, through a public-private partnership agreement with a South African based conservation organisation. Today, spurred on by its ambitious aim to achieve middle-income country status within the next ten to fifteen years, the government’s plans for the lower Omo have shifted to large-scale commercial irrigation development, including a huge project now being implemented by the state-owned Ethiopian Sugar Corporation.  If these plans are realised, not only will the lower Omo become by far the largest irrigation complex in Ethiopia, but the resident population of agro-pastoralists is expected to be transformed into wage labourers and sedentary cultivators. This will involve a resettlement programme which, although described as ‘voluntary’, will  be forced, in the sense that those affected will have no reasonable alternative but to comply.

There is overwhelming evidence, from Africa and around the world, that a scheme of this kind, however well intentioned, will not benefit the affected population unless it is accompanied by a comprehensive programme of compensation, benefit sharing and livelihood reconstruction. If such a programme is not put in place for the people of the lower Omo, the future looks grim for the Mursi and  their neighbours.

The post Breastfeeding Culture: Mursi Tribe appeared first on I Am Not the Babysitter.

Our first book club book discussion is underway!

If you haven’t already, head over to the forum and join the conversation.

We are on to our second book!

We have chosen Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah

Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.

A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl’s journey into adulthood, Adeline’s story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

If this sounds interesting to you, pick up the book and join the discussion June 15!

The post Book Club: Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah appeared first on I Am Not the Babysitter.