Aria Giovanni displaying cleavage

Suzanne Valadon, painting by Renoir, 1885. Profile view of cleavage.

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 (or décolleté in current French). 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. Aria Giovanni (born on November 3, 1977) is a nude model and actress who was Penthouse Pet for the month of September 2000. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 489 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (601 × 737 pixel, file size: 35 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 489 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (601 × 737 pixel, file size: 35 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in the U.S. according to the rule in Bridgeman Art Library v. ... Suzanne Valadon (September 23, 1865 – April 7, 1938) was a French painter. ... Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841–December 3, 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. ... okay that is all ... The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) is an organization dedicated to providing standard nomenclature for anatomy. ...

Theories of cleavage

Evolutionary psychologists theorize that humans' permanently enlarged breasts, in contrast to other primates' breasts, which only enlarge during ovulation, allowed females to "solicit male attention and investment even when they are not really fertile."^[1] Popular British zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris theorizes that cleavage is a sexual signal that imitates the image of the cleft between the buttocks^[2], which according to The Naked Ape is also unique to humans, other apes as a rule having much flatter buttocks. Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated EP) is a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i. ... Ovulation is the process in the menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum (also known as an oocyte, female gamete, or casually, an egg) that participates in reproduction. ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour (particularly of social animals such as primates and canids), and is a branch of zoology. ... Dr Desmond Morris (born 24 January 1928 in the village of Purton, UK) is most famous for his work as a zoologist and ethologist. ... A painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg of a woman with visible cleavage Butt cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the anal cleft between them, often because of low slung trousers. ... Desmond Morris (born January 24th, 1928) is most famous for his work as a zoologist and ethologist. ...

Controversies

In the United States there is controversy over how much cleavage exposure is acceptable in public. In two separate incidents in 2007 Southwest Airlines crews had asked travelers to modify their outfits, to wear sweaters, or to deplane. In the second case, dealing with two sorority sisters, the women were asked to leave because of their arrogance and lack of manners.^[3] This article is about the American airline. ...

Related slang

Exposure of the underside of the breast, such as below an extremely short crop top, is known as neathage, Australian cleavage, reverse cleavage or underboob. When the lateral aspects of the breasts are uncovered, it is known as side cleavage or sideboob. Crop tops (also cropped tops) are T-shirts or blouses that are cut off, resulting in the exposure of some of the wearers abdomen, worn by gay/effeminate men and women. ...

Annual celebration

On the first Friday of every April in South Africa, brassiere marketer Wonderbra sponsors a "National Cleavage Day". It is a day for women to celebrate not only their cleavage, but their independence.^[4] Bra - front Bra - back A brassiere ( ; , commonly referred to as a bra, ) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. ... The Wonderbra is best known in the United States as a push-up brassiere (bra) style re-introduced to the U.S. market in 1994. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Décolleté

• Breast fetishism
• Cleavage enhancement
• Mammary intercourse
• Buttock cleavage
• Toe cleavage

Breast fetishism (also known as: mastofact, or breast partialism[1]) is a type of sexual preference. ... enhanced cleavage with a deep V neckline Cleavage enhancement encompases a range of techniques used to temporarily improve the appearance of a persons breast cleavage or to create the illusion of breast cleavage on a person who has no such cleavage. ... Mammary intercourse. ... Buttock cleavage from sitting on a (too) low chair A painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg of a woman with visible cleavage A whale tail Buttock cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the gluteal cleft between them, often because of low-slung trousers. ... Toe cleavage is the partial exposure of a womans toes in shoes that are cut low enough at the vamp. ...

References

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 of Madame X".
• "Cleavage Is Back by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, The Baltimore Sun", viewed 9 June 2007.