Cleavage (breasts)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cleavage is the cleft created by the partial exposure of a woman's breasts, especially when exposed by low-cut clothing. The neckline of a garment that exposes cleavage is known as décolletage.
Exposure of the underside of the breast, such as below an extremely short crop top, is known as neathage (see example). In the USA, some people refer to this as the "down under" side of the breasts and refer to it as Australian cleavage.
[edit] Anatomical terminology
"Intermammary sulcus" or "intermammary cleft" are the terms adopted by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists for the area of cleavage between the breasts not including the breasts.
[edit] Theories of cleavage
The popular British zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris theorized that cleavage is a sexual signal meant to imitate the image of the cleft between the female buttocks.<ref>http://sil.mcmaster.ca/Archive/life/041014lifefeature.html</ref>
[edit] Trivia
In Britain and South Africa, brassiere marketer Wonderbra has proclaimed the first Friday in April as National Cleavage Day, a day for women to wear cleavage enhancing ensembles and for men to avert their gaze.<ref>"Put your best breast forward" (PR Newswire)</ref>
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- "Sargent's Portraits", an article including a mention of the scandal caused by the portrayal of cleavage in John Singer Sargent's portrait Madame Xda:Kavalergang
de:Dekolleté es:Escote fr:Décolleté nl:Decolleté ja:胸の谷間 sv:Dekolletage
