Why Do Men Have Nipples?
The short answer to the question is that men are mammals, and most male mammals have them. Some people think it is strange and unnatural for men to have reddish-brown circles on their chests, but they actually serve more purposes than most people think about.
The biggest misconception is that only females can produce milk. What most people don’t realize is that human males have the potential to produce milk if it is needed. For instance, if a woman is unable to feed a newborn baby, a male can get his body to produce the milk needed to keep the baby alive. Baby formula is a modern substitute for natural human milk, but not everyone believes that baby formula is completely healthy for a baby. Female hormones may be required to get milk flowing from a male in some cases, but some men are able to start producing milk simply by simulating a breast feeding action for several weeks. Male lactation is more common than people think, but it is not spoken about publicly because it is socially awkward for many people to talk about.
Another possible evolutionary explanation is the fact that nips are a source of pleasure. Humans have nerve endings concentrated in different areas of their body, and many of them exist primarily to produce pleasure. If males didn’t have them, there would be one less way for guys to experience pleasure, and that would make life a little less bearable.
Therefore, the long answer to the question, “Why do men have nipples?”, is that it allows them to produce milk when it is needed, and that it provides them with an additional source of pleasure. Without these optional uses, it would be slightly more difficult for humans to survive, although it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Photo Credit: Bain News Service, publisher.
August 12th 2009 in Knowledge
