Cleavage (breasts)

Cleavage is the narrow depression between a woman's breasts, especially the top part, revealed by a low-cut neckline that exposes the division between the breasts that are not fully covered.[1][2][3] The term is most commonly used in Western female fashions and is most commonly applied to a neckline that reveals or emphasizes breast visibility. Cleavage-revealing low-cut necklines are a feature of ball gowns, evening gowns, leotards, lingerie and swimsuits, among other garments. In some cultures, display of cleavage is considered aesthetic or erotic, and may be associated with garments with low necklines that expose or highlight cleavage, which is accentuated in different ways. In these cultures women have, throughout history, sought to enhance their physical attractiveness and femininity, within the context of changing fashions and cultural-specific norms of modesty. In some cultures any display of cleavage may be culturally taboo, illegal or otherwise socially disapproved of, even provocative and shocking.

A woman's cleavage

Lexicography

Jane Russell in The Outlaw (1941). Director Howard Hughes' overemphasizing of her cleavage prompted the MPAA to take actions against the film and use the term "cleavage" in association with breasts.[4][5][6] Hughes and Russell are considered pioneers of exaggerated cleavage in movies.[7]

The word cleavage was first used in early 19th century in geology and mineralogy to mean the tendency of crystals, certain minerals, and rocks to split along definite planes. By mid 19th century it was being used to generally mean to splitting along a line of division into two or more parts.[4][8] In 1940s the term was applied to breasts by Joseph Breen, then the head of the US Production Code Administration (PCA), in reference to actress Jane Russell's costumes and poses in the 1941 movie The Outlaw. The trem, also applied in evaluating three British films The Wicked Lady (1945), starring Margaret Lockwood and Patricia Roc, Bedelia (1946), also starring Lockwood, and Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945), starring Googie Withers, was defined by a Time Magazine article titled "Cleavage & the Code" in August 5, 1946 as the "Johnston Office (the popular name for Motion Picture Association of America office at the time[9]) trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections."[4][5][10] The word is made of the root cleave (to split, from Old English clifian and Middle English clevien, cleft in past tense) and the suffix age (meaning the state of, or the act of).[8][11]

While the division of the breasts is a cleavage, the opening of a person's garments to make the division visible is called a décolletage, a French word derived from décolleter, meaning to reveal the neck.[12] The term was first used in English literature sometime before 1831,[13] and was the preferred term among educated people in the English-speaking world before cleavage became the popular term.[10] Décolletage (or décolleté in adjectival form) refers to the upper part of a woman's torso, comprising her neck, shoulders, back and chest, that is exposed by the neckline (the edge of a dress or shirt that goes around the neck, especially at the front of a woman's garment[14]). Necklines and collars are often the most attention grabbing and headline making area of a garment affected either by bright or contrasting colors or by décolletage.[15][16] The term is most commonly applied to a neckline that reveals or emphasizes cleavage,[17] measured as extending about two handbreadths from the base of the neck down, front and back.[18]

In anatomical terms, the cleft in the human body between the breasts is known as the intermammary cleft or intermammary sulcus.[19] In the surgical parlance the cleavage or intermammary cleft is also known as medial difinition[20] or medial fold[21] of breasts. An imaginary line between the nipples that crosses the intermammary cleft, serving as a landmark for some CPR procedures, is known as the intermammary line.[22] "Inter" is a prefix borrowed from Latin, indicating, among other meanings, something located between places;[23] "mamma" is another Latin word that means breast, generally of females and rarely of males;[24]; and "ry" or "ery" is a suffix that indicates, among other meanings, a place for something,[25] derived from Old French "erie".[26] Together "intermammary" means something that is located or performed between the breasts (example: intermammary intercourse).[27] "Sulcus" is a Latin word that means a furrow or groove,[28] commonly used to mean a fold, fissure or furrow of the brain (example: lateral sulcus).[29]

Anatomy

Anatomy of the cleavage, the red outlined area is the intermammary cleft

The intermammary cleft is delineated by where each breast sits in relationship to the sternum (breastbone),[30] dividing the two breasts.[31][32][33] Anatomically the width of a cleavage is determined at the point where the breast tissue attach to the periosteal bone membrane that covers the sternum. It is also defined by the medial attachments of the pectoralis major (chest muscle).[34]

The sternal side (towards the breastbone) of pectoralis major is distinct from the clavicular side (towards the collarbone), and the two are separated by a fascial interval.[35] The sternal side is usually more robust and has a fiber orientation that best emulates the downward pull of the subscapularis muscle (armpit muscle).[36] At the midline of the breast – the intermammary cleft – a deep layer of superficial fascia (lowermost layer of the skin) is firmly attached to the pectoral fascia (outer side of chest muscles) and the periosteum (bone membrane) of the sternum. It forms a shelving edge that supports the breasts.[37] A ligamentous structure of dense Cooper's ligaments is medially inserted into the skin overlying the sternum determining the shape of the breasts and intermammary sulcus.[38] These ligaments are helpful in supporting the breasts in an youthful disposition, and loss of elasticity or attenuation of these ligaments results in ptosis (sagging) of breasts.[39][40]

Lymph vessels originating at the base of the nipples can ventrally extend as far as the intermammary cleft,[41] and to the opposite breast.[19] The intermammary lymphatics begin as a bunch of small channels consisting of a single layer of epithelium supported by stroma. Each mesh of this network surrounds one or more of the ultimate lobules of the glands, and receives its lymph from the interacinous spaces between the acini of glands.[42]

Culture

See also: Dress code, Breast fetishism, and Modesty

A model in a décolleté gown at a fashion show

A model in a décolleté sari at a fashion show

Men typically find female breasts attractive[43] and this holds true for a variety of cultures.[44][45][46] Décolletage that exposes cleavage is used by many women to enhance their physical and sexual attractiveness and to improve their sense of femininity. Display of cleavage with a low neckline is often regarded as a form of feminine flirting or seduction, as much as for its aesthetic or erotic effect. According to Kinsey Reports, most men derive erotic pleasure from seeing a woman's cleavage.[47]

Opinion as to how much cleavage exposure is acceptable in public differs significantly between cultures and societies.[48] In contemporary Western society, the extent to which a woman may expose her breasts depends on social and cultural context. Among "respectable" women, displaying any part of the female breast may be considered inappropriate or even prohibited in some settings, such as workplaces, churches, and schools, while in some spaces showing as much cleavage as possible can be permissible or even encouraged, such as at the fancy parties, beaches or pools.[49][50] Art historian James Laver noted that the changing standards of cleavage is more about the evening wear than the day wear.[51] The exposure of nipples or areolae is almost always considered immodest and in some instances is viewed as lewd or indecent behavior.[49]

The fascination with female breasts and cleavage is widespread but not universal to all people. It is more prominent in western or westernized cultures, particularly in the US and countries heavily influenced by the US.[52][53] Many people in Western culture, both male and female, consider breasts an important female secondary sex characteristic[54] and aspect of femininity. The flaunting of cleavage even became an aggressive statement of gender.[55] Films like Erin Brockovich, in which Actress Julia Roberts was required to wear a custom made silicone gel filled bra to increase her cleavage,[56][57] demonstrating the cleavage as a woman's right and an application of female attributes as "a source of power".[58]

In some cultures, like many beaches of Europe or many African communities, it is not unusual to see uncovered breasts, so they are not as titillating.[52] According to Valerie Steele, director of Fashion Institute of Technology, "For centuries (even in the judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds), the sight of a woman nursing was accepted as normal. This factor contributed to the fairly rapid acceptance of dresses with low necklines, which were introduced in the fifteenth century."[59] Since emerging in the Christian West, the early décolleté dresses (termed by French court historian Jean Froissart as "the smile of the bustline") kept having incresingly plunging necklines as the Renaissance celebrated the beauty of the unclothed human body. But moralists, who blamed any number of chest illness on bare cleavages, were shocked by the development.[60]

"I interviewed a young anthropologist working with women in Mali, a country in Africa where women go around with bare breasts. They're always feeding their babies. And when she told them that in our culture men are fascinated with breasts there was an instant of shock. The women burst out laughing. They laughed so hard, they fell on the floor. They said, 'You mean, men act like babies?'"

Carolyn Latteier, All about breasts[61]

Women's traditional clothes in India generally exposes more midriff than cleavage,[62] but they still often wear sari and choli in a way that "the entire back, including the shoulders remain bare; in the front often the cleavage between breasts is exposed and the entire region between the breasts and navel remains uncovered."[63] Gagra choli, a dress taken as very chaste in India, also exposes significant amount of midriff and cleavage.[64] Cholis (blouse) customized for Bollywood movies produce particularly deep décolletage.[65] Women of the Bishnoi people wear kanchli blouses with very deep necklines embellished with frills and bells to draw attention to their cleavage.[66] Women of Ahir, Gadariya and Chamar communities wear Angiya, a small bikini-like top tied at the back with a string, often with the front open enough to show a deep cleavage.[67]

Muslims refer to the Quran where it is stated, "Let them draw their khimar (shawl/headscarf/veil) over their juyub (breast-line/cleavage)".[68] The ayat (verse) refers to the women's clothes worn, parted in the front to expose the breasts, at the time when it was cited.[69][70][71]^:589[72] It was later interpreted as total covering of a woman's body.[70][71]^:590[73] In the early 21st century Muslim world, there is a popular consensus that modesty requires coverage of any cleavage.[74] As of 2011, women were required to cover their body and face completely in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, ,[75] Iranian law required a chador (over-cloak) or a hijab (head scarf),[76] and in Egypt, the exposure of cleavage in the media was considered to be nudity.[77]

During adolescence, some girls become obsessed with breast shape and cleavage,[78] while some others try to resist the change by binding down their breasts, wearing loose clothes that disguise them or adopting a hunched or stooped posture.[78][79] A study found that early-developing girls breasts to be shaming and embarrasing because of unwanted stares.[80] There is historical evidence that some cultures, including the classical antiquity,[81] strongly discouraged cleavage or any hint of a bosom.[82] Early English Puritans used a tight bodice to flatten breasts completely, while 17th century Spaniards put lead plates across the chests of young girls to prevent their bosoms from developing.[82]

Theories

See also: Evolutionary psychology

Fertility ratings as a function of breast size and intermammary cleft distance[83]

Hypothetically non-paraphilic sexual attraction to breasts is a result of their function as a secondary sex characteristic. The breasts play roles in both sexual pleasure and reproduction.[84] According to sociologist Anthony Joseph Paul Cortese, the cleavage area between the breasts is "perhaps the epicentre" of display of female sexual attractiveness and stimulation of male sexual interest.[85] According to DSM-5, sexual attraction to breasts is normal unless it is highly atypical and is therefore a form of partialism.[86]

British zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris theorizes that cleavage is a sexual signal that imitates the image of the cleft between the buttocks.[87] Evolutionary psychologists theorize that humans' permanently enlarged breasts, in contrast to other primates' breasts getting enlarged only during ovulation, allowed females to "solicit male attention and investment even when they are not really fertile".[88] Hypothetically, with evolutionary changes, the sign of mating-readiness and attractiveness in females has shifted from swagging swelled anterior, a sign of mating-readiness in other primates, to the pendulous shape of breasts and cleavage of humans, whose upright posture reduces visibility of the buttocks.[89] Hence breast and buttock cleavages, sharing a similarity between their appearances, are considered to be erotic in many societies.[90] A study published in 2020 found that intermammary distance (IMD, or cleavage gap) is one of the major influences on people's perception about a woman's fertility, health and age.[91] Another study found that women who display cleavage are identified more as "voluptuous" than women who do not.[92]

From a cultural perspective, men are not as much biologically drawn to breasts as they are trained to find them erotic.[93][94] American anthropologist Clellan S. Ford and ethologist Frank A. Beach published in their book 1951 book Patterns of Sexual Behavior that only 13 cultures out of 130 cultures in a cross-cultural survey percieved female breasts as sexually attractive.[95][96] According to social historian David Kunzle, waist confinement and décolletage are the primary sexualization devices of Western costume.[97] According to psychologist Richard D. McAnulty, when breasts are "hypersexualized", it is not perceived as a body part to breastfeed infants. Therefore exposure of the breast (such as in public breastfeeding) is considered embarrassing. Feminist author Elizabeth Gould Davis theorizes that breasts (along with phalluses) were revered by the women of Catal Huyuk as instruments of motherhood, but it was after what she describes as a patriarchal revolution – when men had appropriated both phallus worship and "the breast fetish" for themselves – that these organs "acquired the erotic significance with which they are now endowed".[98]

Anahata chakra

The mandala (diagram) for anahata chakra, visualized as a 12-pointed green lotus

The cleavage area is special in Ayurvedic and Yogic philosophy, as the fourth chakra or anahata chakra (meaning "unstruck" in Sanskrit, the heart chakra) lies at the middle of the cleft, at the level of depression in the sternum.[99][100] The astral anahata chakra lies in the space between the two breasts, just inside the front of the chest, and on a level with the nipples in the physical body.[101][102][103] Yogashikha Upanishad, the sacred text on yoga, explains that 101 nadis (energy channels) connect the anahata chakra with the rest of the body, including ida, pingala and shushumna, the three major nadis.[104]

It is the yogic heart of a person, not the heart of flesh,[100] that serves as the bridge between the three lower chakras and the three higher chakras.[105] It is considered to be a fundamental center for growth as a human being,[106] that is a critical point in the journey from womb to tomb as the chakra that reinforces breast feeding.[107] A person is inclined to good and noble desires, thoughts, and acts when the kundalini remains in the Anahata Chakra.[108] The kundalini shakti rises from the muladhara chakra (root chakra) to reach the anahata chakra, where it is expressed in three way – love, hate and fear.[109] A deer is the symbolic vehicle of the chakra.[110]

Downblouse

See also: Voyeurism and Upskirt

Downblouse is a form of voyeurism, fetishism and sexual offence involving looking down a woman's dress or top to observe her cleavage or breasts. The phenomenon emerged in the 21st century,[111][112] and though the term has been used in English since 1994,[113] the popularity of covert downblouse and upskirt photography increased with the growth of camera phones, which were mass marketed in 2000.[114][115][116] NASUWT, the UK teachers' union, reported an upward trend of such pictures at schools in 2018.[117][118]

Many of these downblouse and upskirt pictures are uploaded to websites,[116][119] inclding pornographic websites like Pornhub, XVideos or Xhamster,[119] as well as subreddits like r/creepshots.[120][121] Some websites give lessons on taking downblouse and upskirt pictures.[122] As early as 2004, Google listed about 4 million websites that were tagged with "upskirt" and "downblouse."[123] The UK and Germany, as well as a number of American (per the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004)[121] and Australian states, have specific statutes that prohibit such photography.[111][124] In the UK, taking such pictures and posting them online can lead a person to be listed on the sex offender registry (per the Sexual Offences Act 2003),[119] and in Japan the government has pressured mobile phone manufacturers to have their phones make a warning sound whenever such pictures are taken.[111] Still, these types of offence "largely [go] unreported" and, according to Maria Miller, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, the legal provisions are inadequate.[119][121][125]

History

Ancient

Princess Nofret (27th century BCE) of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt

Minoan snake goddess (17th century BCE)

In 2600 BCE, princess Nofret of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt was depicted in a V-neck gown with a plunging neckline that exposed ample cleavage further emphasized by an elaborate necklace, as well as prominently protruding nipples.[126][127]

In ancient Minoan culture, women wore clothes that complemented slim waists and full breasts. One of the better-known features of ancient Minoan fashion is breast exposure, as women wore tops that could be arranged to cover or expose their breasts completely, with bodice to accentuate their cleavage.[128][129] In 1600 BCE, snake goddess figurines were sculpted in Minos with open dress-fronts, revealing entire breasts.[126] By that time, Cretan women in Knossos were already wearing ornamental fitted bodices with open cleavage, sometimes with a peplum.[130] Another set of Minoan figurines from 1500 BCE show women in bare-bosomed corsets.[131][132]

Ancient Greek women wore a long pendant necklace called kathema to adorn their cleavage.[133] Ancient Greek goddess Hera is described in the Iliad to have worn something like an early version of a push-up bra, festooned with "brooches of gold" and "a hundred tassels", to increase her cleavage to divert Zeus from the Trojan War.[3] Women in Greek and Roman civilizations had at times used breastbands to enhance smaller busts (like taenia in Rome), but more often women of the masculine Greco-Roman world, where unisex clothes were often preffered, used breastbands to suppress their breasts (like apodesmes in Greece and fascia or mamillare in Rome). Among these mamillare was a particularly strict leather corset for suppressing women with bigger busts.[134][81]

A silver coin found in South Arabia in 3rd century BCE shows a buxom foreign ruler with much décolletage and an elaborate coiffure.[135] Rabbi Aha b. Raba (circa 5th century) and Nathan the Babylonian (circa 2nd century) measured the appropriate size of the cleavage as "of one hand-breadth between a woman's breasts".[136] In The Golden Ass, the only Roman novel to survive in entirety,[137] Photis, a major female character, is described as sporting significant cleavage and perfumed nipples.[138]

Medieval

La Bohémienne (c. 1628) by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals,[139] who re-painted it after the initial public exhibition to make the cleavage more daring.[140]

Detail of Portrait of Madame X (1884) by John Singer Sargent, whose cleavage caused enough controversy for Sargent to re-paint and make the cleavage less daring.[141]

During the Tang dynasty (7th to 9th centuries) women in China were increasingly more free than before and as part of the that, by mid-Tang, their décolleté dresses became quite liberated.[142] Instead of the loose garments of the past Chinese women of the time deliberately emphasized their cleavage.[143] In the 8th century, the popular clothes maong Chinese women featured long gowns in soft fabrics cut with a pronounced décolletage or a décolleté knee-length gown worn over a skirt.[144]

Between 11th and 16th centuries the prevailing décollette clothes of women of Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan in India were replaced by covered bossoms and long veils as the region increasingly came under foreign control.[145] Bewteen the 13th and the 16th centuries, elaborate and opulent courtly dresses with wide décolletage became popular in the Italian maritimes states like Venice, Genoa and Florence.[146]

In the 14th century, necklines were lowered, clothes were tightened and breasts were once again flaunted.[147] Décollette gowns were introduced in the 15th century.[148] Women started squeezing the breasts and applying make up on the breasts to have more attractive cleavage.[149] In 1450, Agnès Sorel, mistress to Charles VII of France, is credited with starting a fashion when she wore deep low square décolleté gowns with fully bared breasts in the French court.[147] Other aristocratic women of the time who were painted with breasts exposed included Simonetta Vespucci, whose portrait with exposed breasts was painted by Piero di Cosimo in c.1480. In the 16th century, when Spanish conquistadors overtook the Inca Empire, traditional cleavage revealing and colorful Inca dresses were replaced by high necks and covered bosoms.[150]

Tang dynasty courtiers in China (circa 706)

Rajput painting of Chitrashala Dancer from Bundi (circa 1640)

Across Europe, décolletage was often a feature of the dress of the late Middle Ages. This continued through the Victorian period. Gowns that exposed a woman's neck and top of her chest were very common and uncontroversial in Europe from at least the 11th century until the Victorian period in the 19th century. Ball or evening gowns especially featured low square décolletage designed to display and emphasize cleavage.[151][152]

During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent in mid 16th ccentury Turkey, respectivibility regulations allowed "respectable" women fashionable dresses with exposed cleavage, which was denied to "prostitutes" so that they cannot draw attention to the livelihood.[153] Entari, a garment popular with women of the Ottoman Empire, was like the corsetted bodice of Europe sans the corset with its narrow top and narrow and long plunging décolletage that exposed a generous cleavage.[154][155] Around this time, cleavage reaveling gambaz gowns became accepted among married women in the Levant as bossoms were regarded as a sign of maternity.[156]

By the time of the Mughal Empire in 16th century, Hindu women started emulating the overdressed conquerors by covering their shoulders and breasts,[157] though, in contemporary paintings, Mughal palace women were often protrayed wearing Rajput-style cholis[158] and breast jewellery.[159] Mughal paintings often portrayed women with extraordinarily daring décolletage.[160] Contemporary Rajput paintings often feature women in semi-transparent cholis that cover only the upper part of their breasts.[161]

During the 16th century, women's fashions with exposed breasts were common in European society, from queens to common prostitutes, and emulated by all classes. Anne of Brittany has also been painted wearing a dress with a square neckline. Low square décolleté styles were popular in England in the 17th century and even Queen Mary II and Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England, were depicted with widely bared breasts; and architect Inigo Jones designed a masque costume for Henrietta Maria that widely revealed both of her breasts.[162][163] Corsets that enhanced cleavage were introduced in the mid-16th century, which use whalebone and other stiff material to create a desired silhouette, a fashion also adopted by men for their coats.[164][165] During the extreme décolletage of the Elizabethan era, necklines were often decorated with frills and string of pearls, or sometimes covered with tuckers and partlets (called a tasselo in Italy[166] and la modiste in France[167]).[168][169] Around these times French fashion started gain popularity in Italy, including Spanish inventions of high neckline and face-framing ruff, replacing House of Medici-style décolletage.[146]

Early modern

Anne of Austria, Queen of France, was an early 17th century fashion icon wearing dresses that showcased her cleavage[170][171]

Around 1610, flat collars started replacing neck trims, allowing provocative cleavage that was sometimes covered with a handkerchief.[172] During the Georgian era, pendants became popular as décolletage decoration.[173] Anne of Austria, along with female members of her court, was known for wearing very tight bodice and corsets that forced breasts together to make deeper cleavage, very low necklines that exposed breasts almost in entirety above the areola, and pendants lying on the cleavage to highlight it.[126] After the French Revolution décolletage become larger in the front and less in the back.[174] During the fashions of the period 1795–1820, many women wore dresses that bared necks, bosoms and shoulders.[126] Increasingly the amount of décolletage became a major difference between daywear and formal gowns.[175]

In many European societies between the Renaissance and the 19th century, wearing low-cut dresses that exposed breasts was more acceptable than it is today; a woman's bared legs, ankles, or shoulders were considered to be more risqué than exposed breasts.[176][177][178] In aristocratic and upper-class circles the display of breasts was at times regarded as a status symbol; a sign of beauty, wealth or social position.[179] The bared breast invoked associations with nude sculptures of classical Greece that exerted influence on art, sculpture, and architecture of the period.[162]

Turkish Woman by Jean Baptiste Vanmour (circa 1730)

Detail of Das Korsett by William Hogarth (1774)

During the Victorian era period, social attitudes required women to cover their bosom in public. For ordinary wear, high collars were the norm. Towards the end of the Victorian period (end 19th century) the full collar was the fashion, though some décolleté dresses were worn on formal occasions (see 1880s in fashion).[180] Wearing multiple pearl necklaces to cover the décolletage was a style in this period.[181]

During the French Enlightenment, there was a debate as to whether a woman's breasts were merely a sensual enticement or rather a natural gift to be offered from mother to child. In Alexandre Guillaume Mouslier de Moissy's 1771 play The True Mother (La Vraie Mère), the title character rebukes her husband for treating her as merely an object for his sexual gratification: "Are your senses so gross as to look on these breasts – the respectable treasures of nature – as merely an embellishment, destined to ornament the chest of women?"[182] Nearly a century later, also in France, a man from the provinces who attended a Court ball at the Tuileries in Paris in 1855 was deeply shocked by the décolleté dresses and is said to have exclaimed in disgust: "I haven't seen anything like that since I was weaned!"[183]

In 1884, Portrait of Madame X, a painting by John Singer Sargent of American-born Parisian socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau,[184] was criticized for depicting her in a sleek black dress displaying what was considered scandalous cleavage with her right shoulder strap having fallen off her shoulder. The controversy was so great that he reworked the painting to move the shoulder strap from her upper arm to her shoulder, and Sargent left Paris for London in 1884.[185][186] In 1908, a single pad made of rubber or a "bust form" was advertised that was to be worn inside the front of the bodice to make cleavage virtually undetectable.[187]

By the late 18th century, cleavage-enhancing corsets grew more dramatic in pushing the breasts upward.[188] The tight lacing of corsets worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries emphasized both cleavage and the size of the bust and hips. Evening or ball gowns were especially designed to display and emphasize the décolletage.[151][152] Elaborate necklaces decorated the décolletage at parties and balls by 1849.[189] There was also a trend of wearing camisole-like clothes and whale bone corsets that gave a bust without a separation or a cleavage.[190] In the Edwardian era extreme uplift, without any hint of cleavage, was common as a bow-fronted look was the popular silhouette.[191] On the other side of the Atlantic, the Gilded Age saw women adorning their cleavage with flowers attached to clothes and carefully placed jewellery.[192]

1900s-1950s

Bollywood actress Begum Para became the first Indian actress on Life (December 31, 1951).[193] The photo feature by James Burke made her into Indian movie industry's first "pin-up girl"[194] Her photos were also popular among US soldiers in the Korean War.[195]

Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe, in Some Like It Hot (1959). She once said, "The trouble with censors is that they worry if a girl has cleavage. They ought to worry if she hasn't any."[196] She was voted a cleavage queen 50 years after her death.[197]

By 1904 necklines of evening attire were lowered exposing the shoulders, sometimes without straps, but it still ended above the cleavage.[198] Clergymen all over the world became shocked when dresses with modest round or V-shaped necklines became fashionable around 1913. In the German Empire, for example, all Roman Catholic bishops joined in issuing a pastoral letter attacking the new fashions.[199] Corsets started to go out of fashion by 1917 when metal was needed to make tanks and munitions for World War I,[200] and due to the 1920s trend of boyish figures.[201]

Frustrated with the whale bone corset, New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob (better known as Caresse Crosby) created the first bra from two handkerchiefs and some ribbon to show off her cleavage.[200][202][203][204] She patented it as "the backless brassiere" in 1914 and, after making a few hundred bras, sold the patent to The Warner Brothers Corset Company for US$1,500. In the next 30 years, Warner Brothers made more than US$15 million from the design.[203][204] During a century of existence, the brassière industry went through many ups and downs often infuenced by the demand for cleavage.[205]

With a return to more womanly figures in the 1930s, corsetry maintained again a strong demand even at the height of the Great Depression.[201] From 1920s to 1940s corset manufacturers constantly tried training young girls to use corsets,[206] but fashions became more restrained in terms of décolletage, while exposure of the leg became more accepted in Western societies during World War I and remained so for nearly half a century.[207]

During the times of Republic of China in early 20th century, qipao, a dress that shows the legs and not the cleavage, became so popular that many Chinese women consider it as their national dress.[208][209] John Dudgeon, a Scottish missionary in China in late 19th century, appreciated the Chinese non-décolleté fashion as a protection for "abdomin and chest".[210]

Under the Motion Picture Production Code in effect in the United States between 1934 and 1968, the depiction of excessive cleavage was not permitted. At least one British film, The Wicked Lady, had to be partially reshot due to period costumes that were deemed overly revealing.[5][211] In 1953, Hollywood film The French Line was found objectionable under the Hays Code because of Jane Russell's "breast shots in bathtub, cleavage and breast exposure" while some of her décolleté gowns were thought "intentionally designed to give a bosom peep-show effect beyond even extreme decolletage."[212]

Many actresses defied those standards; for example, Gina Lollobrigida raised eyebrows with her famous low-cut dress in 1960. Other celebrities, performers and models followed suit, and the public was not far behind. Low-cut styles of various depths are now common in many situations. During the 1950s, Hollywood and the fashion industry successfully promoted large cloven bustlines and falsies. Stars like Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Jane Russell were as celebrated for their cleavage as their beauty. [213]

Bras in the 1940s left a substantial amount of fabric in the center, thus creating a separation of breasts instead of the pushed-together cleavage of today.[214] Frederick Mellinger of Frederick's of Hollywood created the first padded bra in 1947, followed by an early push-up bra a year later (dubbed "The Rising Star").[200][202] In the 1940s, Christian Dior introduced a "new look" that included elastic corsets, pads and shaping girdles to widen hips, cinch waists and lift breasts.[215] In the 1950s, the brassière industry started experimenting with half-cup bras (also known as demi-cup or shelf bra) to facilitate décolletage.[205] Around the same time, dramatic necklaces that emphasized the cleavage was popular in balls and parties in France,[216] and TV shows tried to mask exposed cleavage with tulle in the US.[217]

1960s-1990s

Lais Ribeiro at a Victoria's Secret show. Push-up bras by Playtex, Wonderbra and Victoria's Secret controlled and constructed the mandatory bustline of 1990s.[218] In their haydays, Wonderbra sponsored a National Cleavage Day in South Africa every year,[219][220] and the first of webcast of the Victoria's Secret show became Internet's biggest event till that time.[221]

In the late 1960s, erogenous attention began to shift from the large bust to the trim lower torso, reasserting the need to diet, especially as new clothing fashions — brief, sheer, and close fitting — prohibited heavy reliance on foundation lingerie. Legs were relatively less emphasized as elements of beauty.[222] From the 1960s onward, changes in fashions leaned towards increasing displays of cleavage in films and television, with Jane Russell and Elizabeth Taylor being the biggest stars who led the fashion.[223] In everyday life, low-cut dress styles became very common, even for casual wear.[224] Lingerie and shapewear manufacturers like Warner Brothers, Gossard, Formfit, and Bali took the opportunity to market plunge bras with a lower gore suitable for low-cut styles.[225] In late 1960s, there also was a bra burning movement against constructed cleavage and disciplining breasts, while Yves Saint Laurent and Austrian-born US designer Rudi Gernreich experimented with a bra-less look.[213]

In the early 1970s, keeping the top buttons open became popular with both men, to display their pectoral muscles, and women, to display their cleavage.[226] In the late 1980s, supermodels Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson flaunted cleavage in everyday clothes, and Singer Madonna, popularized cleavage. Polly Allen Mellen, the editor of Vogue, wrote, "Décolletage hasn't been as fashionable or as dramatic since the 18th century."[227] In the mid- to late 1980s, cleavage-enhancing bustiers and corsets were sometimes used as outerwear, in a trend driven by Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier, who famously dressed Madonna.[228][229] Décollette dresses in the later of half of the century came to be closely associated with small pearls necklaces around the neck.[230]

In the 1990s, the push-up bra and exaggerated cleavage became popular. In 1992, the bra and girdle industry in America posted sales of over US$ 1 billion.[205] The Wonderbra brand, which had previously existed elsewhere, entered the United States market in 1994 with a newly designed cleavage-enhancing bra.[231][232][233] Driven by a controversial advertising campaign prominently featuring model Eva Herzigova's cleavage, one Wonderbra was sold every 15 seconds shortly after the brand's launch.[233][234][235] The hypersexualized styles of Victoria's Secret became a "zeitgeist" in the 1990s.[236] By 2013, Victoria's Secret had captured one-third of the women's underwear market in the United States.[236] Sara Lee Corporation, then owner of Wonderbra and Playtex brands, introduced in early 1990s, along with UK lingerie manufacturer Gossard, a bra for Asian women who, according to Sara Lee, "is less buxom, has narrower shoulders."[237] Even traditional brands like Maidenform joined the fray in producing similar styles.[238]

Underwire bras, the most popular cleavage-boosting lingerie, accounted for 60% of the United Kingdom bra market in 2000.[239] and 70% in 2005.[240] About 70% of women who wear bras wear a steel underwire bra according to underwear manufacturer industries of New York in 2009.[241] In 2001, 70% (350 million) of the bras sold in the United States were underwire bras.[242][241] As of 2005, underwire bras were the fastest growing segment of the market.[243] Corsets also experienced a resurgence in the 2010s, a trend driven by photos on social media. According to fashion hisstorian Valerie Steele, “The corset did not so much disappear as become internalised through diet, exercise and plastic surgery.”[244]

In the late 20th century India, cleavage became a staple point of attraction in Bollywood movies.[245] By 2010s, Indian men and women wearing décollette clothes were seen as fashion statements and not a sign of desparation like in the past.[246] At the same time, cleavage on the screen waned as a point of attraction, as cleavage revealing clothes became more commonplace.[247] But both male and female respondents in study of youth in Mumbai, the financial, commercial and entertainment "capital" of India,[248][249] in 2006 were still found to believe that women wearing cleavage revealing filmi (movie-like) may be more prone to sexual violence.[250] In February 1999 issue, American men's magazine Esquire ran a cover story declaring the "Triumph of Cleavage Culture", which was widely criticised.[251]

21st century

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt wearing a sideboob gown

Adult film actress Mikayla Mendez wearing an underboob top

By the turn of the 21st century, some of the attention given to cleavage and breasts started to shift to buttocks, especially in the media,[252] while corsetry returned to mainstream fashion.[244] At the same time alternatives to décolletage emerged out of the western cleavage culture, which still were often called cleavages.[253] By early 2010s, "sideboob" (also known as side cleavage or sidewinders.[254][255]) — the exposure of the side of the breast — had become popular; one writer called it the "new cleavage".[256][255][257][258] The term was included in the Oxford English Dictionary by 2014.[256]

In 2008, Armand Limnander wrote in The New York Times that the "underboob" (also known as bottom cleavage or reverse cleavage.[254][255]) was "a newly fetishized anatomical zone where the lower part of the breast meets the torso, popularized by 80s rock chicks in cutoff tank tops."[259] It was further popularized by dancer-singer Teyana Taylor in the music video for Kanye West's 2016 song "Fade".[260] Supermodels like Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, and Kendall Jenner contributed to the trend,[261] which has featured particularly at beaches, on the red carpet, and in social media posts.[262]

In the 2010s and early 2020s, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, cleavage-enhancing bras began to fade in popularity.[263][264] Bralettes and soft bras gained market share at the expense of underwire and padded bras,[265] sometimes also serving as outerwear.[266] Some bralettes still provide plunging designs, light padding, or bottom support.[267] In 2017, the sales of cleavage-boosting bras fell by 45% while, at Marks & Spencer, sales of wireless bras grew by 40%.[268] Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion editor of UK newspaper The Guardian, reported in 2018 that many women are dressing without a bra producing a less dramatic cleavage, which she calls a "quite cleavage".[269] In November 2016, the UK version of fashion magazine Vogue declared that the "Cleavage is over", which was widely criticised.[270] According to Sarah Shotton, creative director of Agent Provocateur, “Now it’s about the athletic body, health and wellbeing", than "about the male gaze,”[271] while according to independent lingerie designer Araks Yeramyan “It was #MeToo that catapulted the bralette movement into what it is today.”[266]

Despite a long history, display of cleavage can still be controversial.[272] UK women's magazine Stylist in 2017 and Indian newspaper Mid Day in 2019 reported "cleavage shaming" as commonplace in news and social media.[273][274] Bollywood actresses like Disha Patani, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Nargis Fakhri and others were trolled and shamed for cleavage baring outfits in social and new media including newspapers like Times of India.[275] Extraordinary attention is generated when politicians like, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Senator Hillary Clinton and British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wore cleavage revealing outfits even from media outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times.[276][277][278]

As late as in 2010s, Reports from Langley, British Columbia, Shreveport, Louisiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Reno, Nevada, Rockford, Illinois, Houston, Texas, Thunder Bay, Canada, Kerikeri, New Zealand and elsewhere showed female students, especially students of color, evicted from school, banned from entering school, and punished for wearing dresses that revealed cleavage or legs.[279] At the same time, there also has been reports of passengers of airlines, including Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and EasyJet, were instructed against and evicted for showing "too much cleavage".[280] 2014 TV series The Empress of China was pulled off-air in China days after its premier because of too much cleavage, and aired again after much censor.[281] In the next year, organizers of ChinaJoy, the largest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition held in China,[282] levied a fine of US$800 on women who reveal "more than two centimeters of cleavage."[283]

Both sideboob and underboob are regulated by the law in some US counties,[256] and both were banned by CBS as "bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic" at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013.[284] Underboob was banned in Springfield, Missouri in 2015 after a Free the Nipple rally.[285][286] Thailand banned selfies showing underboob with provisions for up to five years in jail in 2016.[287] Amazon subsidiary Twitch, a video game streaming service, banned underboobs and instructed on the amount of cleavage permissible in 2020.[288]

Enhancement

Throughout history, women have used many methods to enhance their physical attractiveness and femininity, including accentuation and display of breasts within the context of cultural norms of fashion and modesty. Fetishization of breasts result in significant female anxiety about having the right breasts and resultant cleavage. All kinds of exercises, brassières and other methods of bust improvement is recommended and advertised to cater to that need.[289]

Corsetry and bras

Breast Supporter (1893): New Yorker Marie Tucek patented this modified corset similar to modern push-up bras. It had a metal or cardboard plate shaped to fit under the breasts and around the torso, covered with silk or canvas forming pockets for each breast.[242][290]

Padded underwire bra (2016): Evolving from patents like the breast supporter in the 1930s these did not become popular before 1950s[291][292]

Corsetry and bras are often used to enhance cleavage. Before the spread of brassières, the bust was encased in corsets and structured garments called "bust improvers" made of boning and lace.[293][294] Bras enhance cleavage by lifting and altering the shape of the breasts.

Development of underwire brassières started in the 1930s,[295] but they did not gain widespread popularity until the 1950s, when the end of World War II freed metal for domestic use.[291][292] An underwire bra utilizes a wire sewn into the bra fabric and under each cup, from the center gore to under the wearer's armpit. It helps to lift, separate, shape, and support the breasts. These bras use a thin strip of metal, plastic or resin, usually with a nylon coating at both ends.[241][296]

A padded bra adds material (foam, silicone, gel, air, fluid etc.)[297] to the cups to help the breasts look fuller.[298] There are different designs that provide coverage and support, hide nipples, add shape to breasts that are far apart, and add comfort.[298] Graduated padding uses more padding at the bottom of the cups that gradually tapers off towards the top.[299] There are also padded bras that suit deep neck dresses.[300]

A plunge bra covers the nipples and bottom of the breasts while leaving the top part bare, making it suitable for low-cut tops and deep V-necks.[300][301] It also has a lower, shorter and narrower center gore that maintains support while increasing cleavage by allowing the gore to drop several inches below the middle of the breasts.[302][303][304][305] Plunge bras may be padded or push the breasts together to create cleavage.[301][303] [306]

Push-up bras, which emerged in the mid-20th century, are designed to press the breasts upwards and closer together to give a fuller appearance with help of padded cups, differing from other padded bras in location of the pads.[307][204][233][308] It leaves the upper and inner area of breats uncovered adding more cleavage.[309] Most of the push-up bras have underwires for added lift and support, while the padding is commonly made of foam.[300]

Tape and inserts

Cotton and silk bust improver, circa 1890

Different accessories, including lingerie tapes or duct tapes, removable pads made of gel, fabric or other material, inserts made of silicone or microfiber, and even socks and clothes are used to enhance cleavage.[310][311][312] Many women, such as beauty pageant participants and transgender people, create cleavage by using tape underneath and across their breast, bending forward, tightly pulling them together and up.[313][314][315] Types of tape used include lingerie tape, surgical micropore tape and athletic tape. Some also use a strip of moleskin under the breasts with tape at the ends to hold it in place. Use of the wrong techniques or tape with too strong an adhesive can cause injuries such as rashes, blisters and skin being torn off.[314][315]

Falsies are small pads similar to the removable pads sold with some push-up bras. Falsies made from silicone gel are also sometimes referred to colloquially as "chicken fillets".[316] Falsies evolved from the bosom pads of 17th century, often made of stiff rubber.[317][318] By mid 1800s, the Victorian era, "bust improver"s were being made out of soft fabric pads of cotton and wool or inflatable rubber.[318][319] In 1896, celluloid falsies were advertised, and in 20th century soft foam rubber pads became available.[319] Young women, some as young as 15 years old, were expected to wear them to fill out their bodices.[30]

Surgery

See also: Breast augmentation and Breast implant

Breasts before and after Mammoplasty, with scars visible.

Some flat-chested women feel self-conscious about their small breasts and want to improve their sexual attractiveness by seeking breast augmentation.[320] Plastic surgeon Gerard H. Pitman says, "you can't have cleavage with an A cup. You have to be at least a B or a C."[3] Bigger breasts are easier to push together to accent the hollow between them.[30] For breast reconstruction and for the augmentation and enhancement of the aesthetics — size, shape, and texture — of a woman's breasts, there are two types of breast implant devices in practice: saline implants filled with sterile saline solution and silicone implants filled with viscous silicone gel.[321][322] Plastic surgeons transitioned from using bodies own tissues to these newer technologies in 1950s.[323]

Seometimes, fat is injected into the subcutaneous plane to narrow the gap of the cleavage,[324] and grafted onto wide chested individuals.[325] Generally cautionary procedures are followed during breast reconstruction to preserve a natural cleavage of breasts.[326] But, if a surgeon attempts to create or increase cleavage by loosening the medial borders of the breasts, it could result in symmastia (also called a uniboob), a confluence of the breast tissue of both breasts across the midline anterior to the sternum, creating a lack of defined cleavage.[327] About 3 cm of cleavage distance is recommended while augmenting breasts, to avoid medial perforation, compromised soft tissues, visible implants, rippling and symmastia.[328][329] A high surgical release of pectoralis major muscles can enhance cleavage at the risk of the implant showing through soft tissues.[330]

Saline filled breast implants

Silicone gel filled breast implants

A 2016 paper reported breast augmentation to be one the most common aesthetic surgery procedures performed by plastic surgeons. Annually an estimated 8,000–20,000 surgeries are done in the UK and over 300,000 in the USA. The paper correlated 4% of US women to have breast implants at the time. It reported and annual sales of 300,000 implants in Brazil and South America and estimated the global number of women with breast implants to be between five and 10 millions.[331]

Women seeking breast augmentation often request a specific form of cleavage enhancement and often bring photographs of desired cleavage shapes and appearances.[34] Many of those who seek breast augmentation want a "full cleavage", which, according to plustic surgeon Jeffrey Weinzweig, "in reality results only from external forces, such as a brassier. Attempts to create such full cleavage require unacceptable compromise to other aesthetic factors of the breast."[332]

By modern cultural values a cleavage is considered more attractive when breasts are close together,[333] but a narrow cleft is also identified as unusual anatomy.[334] Plastic surgeon John B. Tebbetts finds creating a narrow intermammary distance not to be a priority over other aspects.[335] He suggests that if a patient wishes a gluteal appearance for her cleavage, she should use "an appropriate push up brassiere", avoiding "the temptation to create it surgically."[336] Since having larger breasts does not mean they will be closer together and implants change only the volume of the breasts, not position, they cannot produce a tight cleavage if the breasts are wide apart.[337] The recommended intermammary distance between 2 to 3 centimeters.[338]

Exercise and supplements

See also: Upper body exercise, Asana, and Breast enlargement supplement

Exercise on a machine fly, a recommended way to develop cleavage[339][340]

Regular exercise of the muscles and fibres of the pectoral complex, which lies just under the fatty tissues of the breast, helps prevent droopiness, creates the illusion of larger and firmer breasts, and enhances cleavage.[341][342][343] Exercises like incline chest press, chest fly and chest dip are the most effective in developing breasts and getting a better cleavage.[344][345][346] Weight training, nautilus machines, push ups and chest presses are helpful, as well as a number of other exercises, including exercise balls, dumbbells, rowing and basketball.[341][346][347] Even in moderately athletic people the pectoralis major muscles on either side of the cleavage becomes more prominent.[348] In some form of exercise, breasts unsupported by a sports bra are exposed to greater risk of droopiness.[349][350]

It is inportant to remember that no exercises will enlarge someone's breasts, but developing the pectoral muscles on the chest can give them a fuller overall appearance.[351] Also training the chest will not change the overall structure of the breasts, as breast tissue is fat and fat cannot be shaped, but it can help to prevent them from drooping and sagging by firming the muscles that surround the breastbone.[352]

Bhujangasana (cobra pose) is one of the most recommended yoga poses for cleavage improvement[353][347]

Cleavage enhancing exercises can be grouped into four parts: (1) an incline exercise accentuates the upper chest and declines stresses the lower region. It helps augment proportions and symmetry; (2) properly developed upper pectoral region, with help from incline exercises, give an appearance of a firm, elevated chest; (3) the lower pectoral region is the easiest to develop, and, unless it is a specific weak spot, does not need occasional decline exercises; (4) push-ups are great complimentary exercise, sometimes also as an alternative to chest presses.[354][355] Flat chest dumbbell pullovers and dumbbell flyers on incline bench is recommended for beginners, while the advanced exercisers may include bench press movements, flyers, pullovers, exercise of the pec deck and push-ups at least twice a week.[356]

Pilates, tai Chi, and, especially, yoga boosts cleavage by improving posture and strenthening chest muscles. Hunching, tightening and closing off of the chest in yoga asanas are particularly helpful, along with breathing exercises like deep breathing (sama vritti or kapalabhati) and retention (kumbhaka).[357][358][359] The most recommended poses to develop cleavage are backbends like bhujangasana (cobra pose), dhanurasana (bow pose), ustrasana (camel pose), setu bandhasana (bridge pose) and salabhasana (locust pose); twisted poses like gomukhasana (cow face pose) and matsyendrasana (lord of fishes pose); front bends like halasana (plough pose) and balasana (resting child pose); standing poses like vriksasana (tree pose) and virabhadrasana (warrior pose); and leg stretches like uttanpadasana (raised leg pose) and viparita karani (inverted leg stretch).[353]

Supplements are frequently portrayed as natural means to increase breast size with the suggestion that they are free from risk.[360]^:1330 Commonly used ingredients include Black cohosh,[360]^:1330 (shown to have no estrogenic effect[360]^:1330) Dong quai,[360]^:1331 Hops,[361]^:4914 Kava[362]^:1347 (may cause liver damage[362]^:1347) and Zearalenone[363] (increases probability of estrogen dependent breast cancer and may reduce fertility[363]) among others.[360]^:1330[362]^:1345 Despite historical folklore about using herbs for breast enlargement, there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of any breast enlargement supplement.[362][364] In the United States, both the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have taken action against the manufacturers of these products for fraudulent practices.[365]

Make up and grooming

Making cleavage appear deeper and the breasts look fuller alongside the cleavage with makeup is achieved using shading effects. The middle of the cleavage is made to look deeper by using a darker makeup colour than the base colour of the skin, while the most prominent areas of the breasts (either side of the cleavage) are made to look larger or more protruding by the use of a paler colour.[366][367] An illuminator on the collar bones and bronzing below them is also advised.[368] Beauty journalist Zoe Weiner recommends the following cleavage contouring method – outlining the breasts with a contouring stick slightly darker than the skin tone, then hightlighting inside the contour lines with a highlighter slightly lighter than skin tone, followed by blending with a contouring brush in circular motions.[369] According to Victoria's Secret model Taylor Hill, most professional models use make up to better define their cleavage.[370] Makeup artist Stephen Dimmick recommends using a luminizer on the clavicle area.[371]

Products routinely used on the face also applies to the cleavage, including vitamin A, vitamin B3, and vitamin C, masks, cleansers, moisturizers, and exfoliators.[372][373][374] Regular use of sunscreen is recommended by reconstructive surgeon Dr Anh Nguyen.[375] There also are separate products available for cleavage and neck areas.[376] Body oils (like shea butter, coconut oil or almond oil[371]) and bronzers can help to have a "glowing" cleavage.[373] Splashing cold water on the cleavage also helps.[377]

Embellishments

Cleavage piercing

Cleavage tattoo

Cleavage jewellery

Bright colors, ornaments and accessories, including ruffle and glitters that add detail to the cleavage area helps to make breasts bigger while drawing attention to them.[378] Using the cleavage as a canvass, a recommended way of adronment is to layer necklaces and chokers with a pendant as a centerpiece of the cleavage.[378][379][380] Georgian era-style rivière necklaces are also popular in dressing the decolletage.[381]

According to celebrity tattoo artist and tatoo historian Lyle Tuttle, sternum tatoos (also known as cleavage tatoos) became popular with women's liberation.[382] Popstar Rihanna was a major driver in popularizing cleavage tatoos.[383] Tatoo artist Mira Mariah says, "Since most sternums are a flat plane, there are really good opportunities for detail."[384] An underboob tattoo is a tattoo under the breast(s), but it could include tattoos that wrap around the sternum, cleavage, side boob, ribs, and anything in the general chest area.[385]

Cleavage or chest piercings (also known as sternum piercing), one of the most admired body piercings, is done on the cleavage area vertically or horizontally.[386][387] A sternum piercing can be located at any point along the sternum (breastbone) and can be either a surface piercing or a dermal piercing. The jewellery, generally flexible rods made of hypoallergenic metal like surgical titanium, surgical stainless steel, niobium or gold (14 karat and above), is placed vertically or horizontally between the breasts.[388]

Male and transgender cleavage

Male musician Peter Lewys Preston

Drag performer Shequida

Transgender businesswoman Angelica Ross

The male cleavage (also known as heavage), a result of low necklines or unbuttoned shirts, has been a movie trend since 1920s. Douglas Fairbanks revealed his chest in movies like The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Iron Mask (1929). Errol Flynn showed his male cleavage in movies like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). This aesthetic continued into 1950s and 1960s with movie stars like Marlon Brando who displayed his chest in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Sean Connery in his many James Bond movies. The fashion tapered out since 1970s, which according to fashion historian Robert Bryan was "the golden age of male chest hair" Epitomized by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (1977).[389]

This look was also popular with celebrities like Mick Jagger and Burt Reynolds in the 1970s, and Harry Styles, Jude Law, Simon Cowell and Kanye West in 2010s.[390][391] In India, male cleavage became popular with Bollywood movies stars like Salman Khan (named the king of cleavage by The Economic Times[392]), Shekhar Suman in 1990s, and Shahid Kapoor and Akshay Kumar in 2000s.[393][394][395] Many male K-pop stars are also known for man their cleavage.[396]

Man cleavage came back in style in 2010s, especially among hipsters and Hispanic and Latino Americans.[389][390][391] Stylist Christiaan Choy attributes the resurgence of male cleavage to fit physiques and the urge for personal styles.[397] Fashion entrepreneur Harvey Paulvin suggests that a men's V-neck should be between "two to four inches from the collar".[398] Some men groom their chest hair to improve the man cleavage look (sometimes known as manscaping[399]).[389][390][391][393] But, many still considered the look as inappropriate for most situations.[393][400]

Men may also get a prominent cleavage because of Gynecomastia (also known as man boobs or moobs[401]),[402][403][404] an disorder in which male breasts increase in size.[405][406] Gynecomastia is thought to be caused by an altered ratio of estrogens to androgens mediated by an increase in estrogen production, a decrease in androgen production, or a combination of these two factors.[407] This may occur even if the levels of estrogens and androgens are both appropriate, but the ratio is altered,[407] as estrogen acts as a growth hormone to increase the size of male breast tissue.[407][408][409][410] Gynecomastia is benign[411] and common among three age populations: newborns, adolescents, and men older than 50 years old.[412] as physiologic gynecomastia develops in up to 70% of adolescent boys,[405] which is usually associated with benign pubertal changes.[406] Adults can also have it because of drugs, liver diseases and other reasons.[413][414]

Gynecomastia can result in psychological distress for those with the condition.[415] Support groups exist to help improve the self-esteem of affected people.[416] Mild gynecomastia in adolescence may be treated with lifestyle habits like proper diet and exercise.[408] 75% of pubertal gynecomastia cases resolve within two years of onset without treatment.[406] Some men resort to wearing male bras (also known as compression bra or compression vest),[403][404][417] which typically flattens the cleavage rather than give it a lift.[418] Different exercises like cardio and strength training are also recommended in reducing a man cleavage.[419] In more severe cases, medical treatment may be tried including surgical intervention.[408] According to British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), 323 men had breast reduction surgeries in 2008 in UK, which was 44% more than the number in 2007.[401]

Male cross-dressers and trans women often want female-appearing cleavage as part of making their body appear feminine. Convincing cleavage may distract attention from less feminine aspects of their appearance and improve their ability to pass.[420][421] For cross-dressers or trans women who have not undergone hormone therapy or breast augmentation, semi-rigid pieces of material such as plastic can be applied to the skin using surgical tape, surgical adhesive or specialist adhesives normally used to glue mastectomy breast forms to the body.[315][422][423] Even a general purpose craft glue can be used for this purpose.[424]

One such design is called a "Diva". It has conventional bra style hook-and-eye fasteners at the front instead of the back and has cups that curve inwards, are fairly rigid and covered on the inside with a material that grips the skin to hold it in place using pressure rather than adhesive.[425] Another similar device is called the "Busty Cleavage Creator". It uses a pair of crossed velcro straps on the front to pull the skin towards the centre, leaving an uneven surface for the breast forms to sit against.[426] Adhesive gel bras consist of two shaped silicon gel filled bra cups that stick to the skin of the breast using built-in re-usable adhesive, then clip together to pull the breasts together.[427] It is difficult to produce sufficiently feminine cleavage for trans women, even with breast augmentation surgery, because people assigned male at birth have nipple-areolar complexes set farther apart on their chests than do those assigned female at birth.[428][429][430] Fat grafting may be used to narrow wide cleavage in trans women.[431]

Hazards

For clinical conditions, see Intermammary cleft.

Sunburnt upper décolletage (neck and shoulder)

According to Samantha Wilson, founder of skin care product manufacturer Skin Republic, dermatologist Paul Jarrod Frank, and Philippa Curnow, national training manager for Elizabeth Arden, The skin on the cleavage and neck, fewer hair follicles and oil glands, little subcutaneous fat cushioning the area, and limited melanocytes, and is much thinner and fragile than it is on the face.[375][376][372][3] It can suffer from a wide variety of hazards from cleavage wrinkles and uneven skin tone to age spots and scars from heat rash, or even female chest hairs,[372] and may show loss of elasticity sooner.[3] According to Curnow, the skin of the cleavage area often ages faster because of more exposure to UV radiation and environmental factors like pollution, as most of the body remains more covered in many cultures, while moisurizers and sunscreens are used more on the face and neck.[376] According to Marnina Diprose, founder of skin care clinic Aroze Dermal Therapies, UV radiation can breakdown collagen and pigment deposition causing mottled pigmentation on the cleavage.[375] The skin of the cleavage area may show loss of elasticity sooner.[3]

Dermatoheliosis (photo aging) is a problem common to the cleavage exposed for prolonged periods to UV radiation (sunlight). It is characterized by hyperpigmentation, leathery texture, roughness, wrinkles, lentigines (age spots), actinic elastosis, and telangiectasias (spider veins), is a common problem for the skin of the breast cleavage.[432] Use of strong sunscreen on the cleavage area is also recommended.[3] Some perfumes and colognes can cause a phototoxic rash out in the sun on the sides of neck, wrists and cleavage that leaves a patterned hyperpigmentation when healed.[433]

Most women have an increase of hair as they grow older, but some gets more hair on their cleavage, face and elsewhere because of hirsutism, often as a result of polycystic ovary syndrome. The hair on the cleavage is upsetting for many women. There are two ways to remove the hair — temporary (i.e. shaving, waxing, plucking, hair removal creams or bleaching) and permanent (electrolysis or laser hair removal. Contraceptive pills also help.[434][435]

Spending long hours sleeping on the side, which makes the top breast to bend past the body's midline, or long hours wearing a sports bras or a push-up bra that presses breasts together, can give cleavage wrinkles. These deep vertical creases stay longer as the collagen in skin start to breakdown with age and exposure to sun. Also women with bigger breasts, either natural or surgically enhanced, suffer more from cleavage wrinkles.[436] Cleavage wrinkles are treated by botox.[3][436] According to Wilson, treatments like Intense pulsed light (IPM), Collagen Induction Therapy (CIT), and High-intensity focused ultrasound are also used to treat cleavage wrinkles.[375]

See also

• Neckline
• Backless dress
• Halterneck
• Topless
• Gynecomastia

Notes

1. Clevage, Oxford Learner's Dictionary
   Cleavage, Collins Dictionary
   Cleavege, Macmillan Dictionary
   Cleavage, Dictionary.com
2. Kenny, Erin; Nichols, Elizabeth Gackstetter. Beauty around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2017, p. 81, ISBN 978-1-61069-944-0.
3. Daphne Merkin, "The Great Divide", New York Times, August 28, 2005
4. Cleavage, Etymology Online
5. "Cleavage & the Code" (August 5, 1946). Time. Vol. 48, (6). p. 98.
6. Florence Waters, Jane Russell: the poster controversy that made a star, The Telegraph, 2011-03-01
7. Murray Schumach, The Face On The Cutting Room Floor, page 61, Da Capo Press, 1964, ISBN 9780306706035
8. cleavage, Merriam-Webster Dictionary
   cleavage, Cambridge Dictionary
9. Ruth A. Inglis, "Need for Voluntary Self-Regulation", The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Volume 254), page 153, November 1947, JSTOR
10. Leslie Dunkling, When Romeo Met Juliet, page 55, Trafford Publishing, 2005, ISBN 9781412055437</ref name="Slide">Slide, Anthony. (1998). Banned in the U.S.A.: British Films in the United States and Their Censorship, 1933-1960. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781860642548
11. cleave, Merriam-Webster
    -age, Merriam-Webster
12. "décolleté", The Free Dictionary
13. Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1994). Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology (1st ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-270084-1.
14. neckline, Cambridge Dictionary
    neckline, Collins Dictionary
    neckline, Dictionary.com
15. Mary Kefgen and Phyllis Touchie-Specht, Individuality in Clothing Selection and Personal Appearance, page 167, Macmillan, 1971, ISBN 9780023621901
16. Janey Ironside, A fashion alphabet, page 48, Joseph, 1968, ISBN 9780859655514
17. Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1994). Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology (1st ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-270084-1.
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