[148] Among barbarous and
civilized peoples the beauty of the breast is usually highly esteemed.
Among Europeans, indeed, the importance of this region is so highly
esteemed that the general rule against the exposure of the body is in its
favor abrogated, and the breasts are the only portion of the body, in the
narrow sense, which a European lady in full dress is allowed more or less
to uncover. Moreover, at various periods and notably in the eighteenth
century, women naturally deficient in this respect have sometimes worn
artificial busts made of wax. Savages, also, sometimes show admiration for
this part of the body, and in the Papuan folk-tales, for instance, the
sole distinguishing mark of a beautiful woman is breasts that stand
up.[149] On the other hand, various savage peoples even appear to regard
the development of the breasts as ugly and adopt devices for flattening
this part of the body.[150] The feeling that prompts this practice is not
unknown in modern Europe, for the Bulgarians are said to regard developed
breasts as ugly; in mediaeval Europe, indeed, the general ideal of feminine
slenderness was opposed to developed breasts, and the garments tended to
compress them.
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