How has culture and society influenced the way women's breasts have been viewed throughout history - Essay Example

How has culture and society influenced the way women's breasts have been viewed throughout history Spiritual Culture and society can influence the way women's breasts are viewed spiritually. In the 15th century, the women breasts were so sacred. For example, for the painting, "The Vision of Saint Bernard" (1408), according to some references, it only mentioned that Virgin Mary strengthened him when Saint Bernard was feeling ill and tired1. However, according to less religious references, it recounted that Saint Bernard knelt and received a jet of breast milk from Virgin Mary.2 The painting was closer to the less religious references. There was no physical contact between Saint Bernard and Virgin Mary's breasts to show that what he had was clearly a vision. Nevertheless, we can also say that the painter made a conscious effort to make sure that the society saw breasts as a sacred object during that period. As a result, we can see that the religions like Christianity also had a big impact on how the society would view breasts to that extent. Women breasts were still seen as being sacred in the 16th century. In the painting "The Origin of the Milky Way", the interpretation of the painting follows closely to a story in the Roman mythology. Jupitor, the father of gods who wished to immortalise the infant Hercules whose mother was the mortal Alcmene, held him to the breasts of the sleeping Juno. The milk, which spurted upwards, formed the Milky Way in the space while some flowed down to have lilies on the ground. The sketch of the painting started in the year 15383. Juno was the sister of Jupiter and important Roman goddesses. She was known to be a protector of the Roman people and especially women, being the goddess of marriage, fertility and childbirth.4 As such, it proved that the belief in Juno was strong during the 16th century. It can also be interpreted that at that time, they knew that breast milk is nutritious and because of wars and food storage, breast milk was the best alternative for the baby. Therefore, breasts were seen as sacred due to the main source of food provided by the women for the baby. Without breast milk, the baby might not survive. As a result, we can also say that during times of turmoil, the war changes the society which in turn, views breasts as source of milk for their children compared to sacred originally. As the society became more open-minded and comfortable with discussions about body issues, breasts were also starting to be seen as being erotic by the man. This could be evidenced from a comment made by early 16th century Clemant Marot, a French poet who once compared breasts to "lawns of milk."5 From his opinion, it implies that breasts stimulated the male sexual desire. As the society and culture becomes more open-minded, the painting, "Eva Prima Pandora" (1540) by Jean Cousin, is one of the first few paintings that have hints of lust and eroticism. According to references, the passive pose of Eve in the painting was similar to Cleopatra who was labelled as a cruel and lustful woman during that period.6 In addition, from the painting, Eve was depicted to have physical characteristics such as having long bodies and legs and round breasts. Coincidentally, most men during that period saw the characteristics she has in the painting as desirable and erotic. However, these physical characteristics of Eve were also seen as evil and lustful under the Judaism and Christianity religion due to the association with Pandora who was responsible for bringing evil into the world. Therefore, in the eye of the society during that era, desirable physical attributes like round breasts equates to evil. Unlike modern times when there is physical contact between the doctor and patient, Holland during the 17th century showed an opposite situation. From the painting, "The Doctor and his Patient" by Jan Steen, it could be interpreted that breasts were considered a private area of a woman in Holland and there should not be any physical contact between a male and a female who are not closely related to each other. This goes to show that the physical culture in Holland during that period was taboo unlike the modern times. 2. Domestical In Holland, the Dutch believed that children received the important lessons by following the examples of their parents. Breast feeding was a deep-rooted tradition in Holland. Thus, children of mothers would pass on the domestic tradition to their children. It is reported that in Holland, a good mother would pass on the moral and intellectual nourishment through the breast milk during that era.7 This is evidenced from the painting, "Women Nursing an Infant, with a Child Feeding a Dog" (1658 - 1660) by Pieter de Hooch. As a result, it is believed that as the society places more emphasis on family and children, the perceptions on breasts also changes. The breast milk matters more than the physical attributes of the breasts. Similarly for the painting, "The Origin of the Milky Way", it also suggested that in France, people knew that breast milk is nutritious and breasts are viewed as a source of food. From the two paintings, we can also say the breasts were a strong indicator of motherhood during those 2 eras. It also seems to suggest that man was the receiver of breast milk and did not play a major part of the feeding process in a family. 3. Political The 19th century started with ideas like democracy and freedom. Ideas like "Gender Equality" also arose. This is shown from the painting, "Liberty Leading the People" (1830) painting by Eugene Delacroix. The female soldier was viewed as having "strong breasts". This shows that breasts were also seen as a source of courage for women, the weaker sex compared to men.8 The painting also revealed that both the female and male soldiers win a fight in the war together.9 The breasts was also deliberately revealed to emphasize that one of the soldiers is a woman. This means that as the society progresses and starts to see women as equal, breasts become the distinctive feature of women. In addition, as the society becomes more conscious of human rights, regardless of black or white, it also affects the way how breasts are looked upon. In the first section of this paper describes that during times of turmoil, breasts milk is a main source of food for babies. Similarly, in this painting, "The Natural and Fair Mother", it depicts a white woman breast feeding a white and a black child. It is as if to hint that both the white and blacks are entitled to the same food. It can be further evidenced from another painting called "My Wet Nurse and I" in 1937 when there should be more racial equality between the blacks and whites. However, the face of the baby in the painting is shown to be a white female adult and the nurse is a black. The facial expression of the nurse was a hint of reluctance, which seems to mean that she was resigned to her fate as a nurse. 4. Commercial As women become more aware of their internal need and emotions to dress up, the women wear starts to become more commercialised. There will always be a market for women who are willing to spend on women wear. In the 19th century, the empire waist that was worn just below the breast was considered a trendy accessory for women. In addition is that women had no qualms and worries about wearing low-cut necklines to reveal their cleavage. This can be shown from an English painting, "The Dressing Room Parade". In the painting, the woman wore a long low-cut high-waist dress. This shows that breasts were seen as an accessory of a woman, rather than a part of a body. They also had no problem displaying their figures through wearing low-cut dresses that could reveal a lot of cleavage. Unlike the English painting, a French painting showed that they preferred short low-cut high-waist dress. This shows that trends in apparel wear and fashion can influence the culture in the country, which in turn can affect the way in which breasts can be used to allow a woman to dress better and nicer. Cleavage-revealing dresses were in non-existence during the 17th century. Women during the 17th century did not view breasts the same as women during the 19th century when people were more creative with apparels and willing to wear more provocative and different dresses. References 1. Irene Earls, Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, 1987. Jeanne Chenault Porter, Parthenopes Splendor: Art of the Golden Age in Naples. Penn State Press, 1993 2. Rose-Marie Hagen, What Great Paintings Say. Taschen, 2003 3. R & T Enterprises Ltd., "Ancient mythology", 2000, 4. Sarah Lonsdale, "What size perfection, and what size", September 29, 1998 Independent, The (London), 5. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980929/ai_n14183253/pg_2 Natalie Zemon Davis, Arlette Farge, A History of Women in the West. Harvard University Press, 1993. 6. Thomas Buser, Experiencing Art Around Us. Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. 7. Fitzroy Dearborn, Encylopedia of the Romantic Era. Routledge, 1760-1850 8. Sean Conelly, Gender Equality. Black Rabbit Books, 2005 Read More