Folks other than lactnetters are concerned about our culture's transformation of the female breast from primary use as infant feeding to body part for sex play. I thought you would be interested in the article that is in our local paper today. I have copied the first part of it for you. _____________________________________________________________________ From The Charlotte Observer, a KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPER, January 9, 1996: AMERICAN CULTURE CAN'T SEEM TO WEAN ITSELF FROM BREAST OBSESSION by Susan M. Barbieri They are milk-producing glands surrounded by fatty tissue, and they are designed for feeding infants. Breasts. Big deal. But men, boys, aging Cosmo girl Helen Gurley Brown and TV's "Breast-ertainment Tonight" are obsessed with them. A national restaurant chain uses a slang word for them to hawk burgers. "Baywatch," the brainchild of beach boy David Hasselhoff, showcases them -- giving literal meaning to the phrase "boob tube." True, some of the world's great art treasures celebrate breasts. But classical art celebrated maternity, not crass commercialism And at least in ancient Rome there was some equal time. Consider Michelangelo's "David." You'd think the public appetite for breasts would eventually wane due to overexposure and boredom, not to mention the weaning process required for anyone to mature beyond babyhood. But scholars, feminists and psychologists say our culture seems more breast-fixated than ever. "It has gotten worse," says Laura Kuhn of the Media Action Alliance, a Circle Pines, Minn. based group that monitors media and advertising for images that objectify women. "On the covers of magazines, there's much more exposed chest -- from the Naional Enquirer to Ladies fHome Journal. They're everywhere, even on product packaging. Video covers, even greeting cards. It's constantly in your face. "Nothing is really sacred anymore. It used to be the breast was a symbol of the Madonna and Child, a symbol of maternity and all these wonderful things. Now it's just the exploitation of the female body for selling something, the commercialization of the human body. It's no longer art." __________________________________________________________________________ If you want a copy of this article, let me know your address and I will mail it to you. Pardee Hinson, MPH, IBCLC Charlotte, NC [log in to unmask]