The cartoons of The New Yorker have been around for nearly a hundred years. In that time, they have become so famous that just about everyone has an opinion about them – even Facebook.
The highbrow magazine – which has featured contributions from the likes of Robert Graves and Truman Capote – was “temporarily banned” from Facebook over a cartoon in 2012.
The apparently errant piece depicts the Garden of Eden, with Eve saying to Adam beneath the Tree: “Well, it was original.” The magazine’s editors had posted the cartoon on the publication’s Facebook page.
But the innocuous cartoon apparently didn’t meet Facebook’s “community standards,” because – get this – Eve is topless. Facebook’s famously frustrating guidelines state that “naked ‘private parts’ including female nipple bulges” are forbidden – even if they do belong to Cartoon Eve.
The ban almost immediately earned Facebook widespread mockery and ridicule. Robert Mankoff, the editor for the magazine’s iconic illustrations, couldn’t help but laugh over the controversy in a blog posting entitled ‘Nipplegate.’
Mankoff points out that the nipples in question were represented as two very innocent dots. (If you ever find yourself in the same conundrum, just remember, “Male nipples are OK,” the National Coalition Against Censorship quipped of Facebook’s policies.)
The social media giant promptly did an about-face. In a formal apology, a Facebook spokesperson said the company “quickly worked to rectify the mistake” as soon as its team of moderators was alerted.
That being said, the incident does call attention to a principally human preoccupation with female breasts and nipples.
An Evolutionary Erogenous Zone
The fact is, no other mammal on the planet is as taken by the mammaries of their female counterparts than the male Homo sapien. Mammary glands are a defining feature of mammals, but humans seem unique in conferring them a signficant sexual role, hence the silliness of Facebook’s guidelines.
Over the millennia, human society has built an entire niche culture around its strange – and, at times, misogynist – breast fetish. This fixation is made apparent by designers and clothing innovators who produce highly-stylized lines of push-up bras, corsets, and other garments to highlight feminine voluptuousness.
Scientists have never satisfactorily explained the fixation, but theories abound. In The Naked Ape, zoologist and ethologist, Desmond Morris, theorizes that the female cleavage mimics the cleft between the buttocks. This is a strong sexual signal since, Morris infers, our male tree-dwelling ancestors were likely given to impregnating females from behind.
(Photo: Georgi Nemtzov/Flickr)
Evolutionary psychologists like to point to the human female’s permanently enlarged breasts, as well. Other primates’ breasts only enlarge during ovulation.
The permanently “ample” breasts of human females allow them to “solicit [human] male attention and investment even when they are not really fertile,” says psychologist George Miller in How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature.
Theories aside, however, breasts – particularly the nipples – are most definitely a focus of attention when boy-meets-girl and head for the barn for an old-fashioned roll-in-the-hay.
Know Thyself
Each nipple has hundreds of nerve endings, making them marvelously sensitive to touch and, consequently, a prime target for initializing physical intimacy. Playing with your own breasts and nipples can bring you a lot of pleasure, too, according to Healthline Magazine.
“When your nipples are stimulated, they shoot off sparks in the genital sensory cortex,” says Annamarya Scaccia in a blog for Healthline. “This is the same area of the brain that’s aroused by vaginal or clitoral stimulation.”
That’s at least one reason why Instagram model and bombshell bondage expert, Jessica Wilde, recommends that women familiarize themselves with their nipples.
“The areola (the pigmented skin around the nipple) is also a sensitive area,” Wilde tells Cosmopolitan. “The most sensitive area is the upper part between 10 and 2 o’clock. The size of the breast doesn’t determine nipple sensitivity.”
In short, get to know what your nipples feel like and how sensitive they are. You can then guide your partner accordingly.
(Photo: Tattoo Lovers/Facebook)
Blowing, Kissing, Licking, and Pinching
Blowing, licking, and kissing are likewise excellent foreplay activities because they introduce stimulation slowly and gently, says Wilde. “Start with a peck on top of the nipple and then open the mouth and start using your tongue, as though you are French kissing,” she suggests. “Lick the top of the nipple in a circular motion or switch to a lapping technique – like a cat drinking milk.”
Once you and your partner are sufficiently hot and bothered, Healthline recommends ramping up the pleasure with some pinching. A well-placed, deftly-executed pinch will send a rush of sensation throughout the body. “The harder the pinch, the better – but play around with pressure to find out what feels best to you,” says Scaccia.
(Photo: Joseph Paris/Wikipedia)
Clamps and Ice
The way humans make and use tools is perhaps what sets our species apart more than anything else. The earliest known human-made stone tools date back around 2.6 million years.
These days, new technology drives our lineage to ever-higher heights of tool use on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long for us to come around to creating tools specifically for breast-and-nipple play.
“Sex toys such as nipple clamps can seriously enhance pleasure as they create a pinching sensation and make the nipples much more sensitive,” says Wilde. “Nipple clamps aren’t for everyone as there can be an element of pain involved, but beginner-friendly clamps are a great introduction to painless pinching.”
Along with tools and toys, both Scaccia and Wilde encourage the creative use of varying temperatures.
“Adding ice to nipple play can send chills throughout your body and cause an instant nipple erection,” says Scaccia. “Nipple vibrators are a great, hands-free way to massage and stimulate your nipples, as well as feel sensations throughout your whole breast.”
Nipple play should by no means be limited to women. In fact, Healthline suggests that women should attempt nipple play with interested male partners, too.
“Talk to your male partner about what techniques they’d like to try, what makes them feel good, and what you need to avoid,” Scaccia says. “The method is the same, and communication — plus a sense of adventure – is key.”
(Illustration: Edouard Manet/Wikipedia)
Wilde says couples should try a combination of playful activities – from the deft use of the mouth to the inspired utilization of the right kind of toys.
“Mix it up by alternating between licking and sucking,” the popular model says. “Alternatively use a nipple sucker which you squeeze and release over the areola to create a gentle vacuum that increases size and sensitivity.”
The bottom line is that if your lover isn’t giving you the nipple love you desire, it’s time for that conversation. Lacking a lover at the moment? Then introduce your nipples to the joyful benefits of technology instead!
