Women with large breasts are more likely to experience aggression from other ladies because they're seen as a bigger threat, study finds

When it comes to body image, having bigger boobs is something many women may dream about.

But be careful what you wish for – as those who boast larger cup sizes tend to be on the receiving end of more aggression.

That's according to a new study, led by researchers from Texas A&M International University.

The study suggests that this aggression may be driven by the perception of women with bigger breasts as a threat.

'Given the strong importance men place on women's breast morphology, most notably size, women, in general, are attentive to this factor,' the team wrote in the study.

When it comes to body image, having bigger boobs is something many women may dream about. But be careful what you wish for – as those who boast larger cup sizes tend to be on the receiving end of more aggression (stock image)

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In their study, the team set out to understand whether or not breast size influences aggression among women.

Writing in their study, published in Sexes, the team, led by Ray Garza, explained: 'Physical traits that are desired by men can drive tactics of intrasexual competition in women.

'We tested the role of breast morphology in impacting women's likelihood of engaging in rival derogation tactics, such as verbal and indirect aggression.'

The team enlisted 114 women, who were shown various images of women's breasts that had been manipulated for both size and sagginess (also known as ptosis).

Importantly, the images only included a view of the woman's lower neck to her upper torso, meaning the face was not taken into consideration.

For each image, the participants were asked how likely they were to be 'indirectly aggressive' against the woman.

'For example: gossip maliciously about her, spread harmful rumors about her, or try to socially exclude her,' the team explained.

An analysis of the results revealed a 'significant' link between aggression and breast size, but not sagginess. 

The team enlisted 114 women, who were shown various images of women's breasts that had been manipulated for both size and sagginess (also known as ptosis). Importantly, the images only included a view of the woman's lower neck to her upper torso, meaning the face was not taken into consideration

An analysis of the results revealed a 'significant' link between aggression and breast size, but not sagginess

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'Breast size contributed to rival derogation towards other women, with women with larger breast sizes more likely to be the victims of verbal and indirect aggression,' they said.

While the reason for the findings remains unclear, the team suggests that the aggression may stem from the perception that women with bigger breasts are more of a threat.

'It has been suggested that women have psychological mechanisms that prompt them to compete with other women, primarily in the mating arena,' they explained.

'If men consider women with large non-ptotic breasts attractive, women may be more vigilant to those with such a breast morphology and engage in tactics to mitigate the risk of competition those women present.'

In terms of why sagginess did not appear to influence aggression, the researchers say this may be down to the participants' ages.

'Breast ptosis is often a marker of a woman's age, as ptosis increases as women grow older, they concluded.

'Our participants were young, and they may pay more attention to breast size as that is more easily discernible among women their age compared to levels of sagginess; therefore, they do not consider women as competitive rivals based on variations in ptosis.'