When it comes to the sexualisation of breasts, I have a hypothesis.
As secondary sexual characteristics they do represent physical and sexual femininity. In terms of purely physical attraction, it is those features that distinguish you from the opposite sex that those inclined that way will find sexually attractive (plus cultural preferences). Think about it in respect to other sexual characteristics- it is almost universally true.
Also, as secondary sexual characteristics, they indicate that a female is sexually mature. In evolutionary terms, it is pointless to copulate with an underdeveloped individual.
So that explains the sexualisation of both the female and male breast (girls and Nate, do you not find the torsos of attractive men to be, well, attractive? This is more tentative than my other observations, because I have not been able to examine this effect from the other perspective.
However, I submit to you that the cultural difference can be explained by the historical differences in the gender roles of society. Men have traditionally been the breadwinners, long have men performed manual labour. Remaining fully clothed is not always practical, especially in the summer, for physically active men. Here I postulate is a major cause of the cultural disparities in attitudes to male and female breasts.
Can the woman's breast be culturally desexualised too? I think so. Many aboriginal cultures do not bother with modesty for breasts, and occasionally the whole body. This may simply be a generalised attitude due to the climate.
Still, even if western society could accept these changes, I still think bras would stay on more often than not. They are practical, providing support. Example: if women regularly performed manual labour the same way men did and do, supporting their breasts would keep them out of harm's way, making work both safer and more convenient. Men do the same when applicable in supporting (and sometimes shielding) their genitalia.
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