Textiles and Dress

Cleavage (breasts)

Cleavage, formally the intermammary cleft, is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The superior portion of cleavage, to a greater or lesser extent, may be fashionably displayed through décolletage – using clothing such as a low-cut neckline to reveal the division. Joseph Breen, head of the U.S. film industry's Production Code Administration, coined the term cleavage when evaluating the 1943 film The Outlaw starring Jane Russell. The term was explained in Time magazine on August 5, 1946. It is most commonly used in the parlance of female fashion of the West to refer to necklines that reveal or emphasize a display of the upper breast area, i.e., the term cleavage is used to describe the low neckline itself, instead of the term décolletage. The visible display of cleavage can provide erotic pleasure for those who are sexually attracted to women, though this does not occur in all cultures. Explanations for this effect have included evolutionary psychology and dissociation from breastfeeding. Since at least the 15th century, women in the Western world have used their cleavage to flirt, attract, make political statements (such as in the topfreedom movement), and assert power. In several parts of the world, the advent of Christianity and Islam led to a sharp decline in the amount of cleavage which was considered socially acceptable. In some cultures today, cleavage exposure is considered unwelcome, or is even legally banned by law. In the Western world it is often discouraged in daywear or in public spaces. In some cases, exposed cleavage can be a target for unwanted voyeuristic photography or sexual harassment. Décolletage started becoming popular in the Christian West as it came out of the Early Middle Ages and enjoyed significant prevalence during mid-Tang-era China, Elizabethan-era England, and France over many centuries, particularly after the French Revolution. But in Victorian-era England and during the flapper period of Western fashion, it was suppressed. Cleavage came vigorously back into Western fashion in the 1950s, particularly through Hollywood celebrities and lingerie brands. The consequent fascination with cleavage was most prominent in the U.S., and countries heavily influenced by the U.S.

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See also

• ▸Honan Chapel
• ▸Arturo Casadevall
• ▸Helene Pons

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.