Breast/Legends

"Mara can't exactly drop what she's doing either. She's feeding Ben."

- Luke Skywalker

Breasts were the mammary glands of mammalian species and some reptomammals, normally a distinguishing feature of the female of the species.

Biological role
"She feels all... mushy."

- Ben Skywalker

In some cultures, sentient females nursed their own young. This was true of both primitive planetary societies like Dathomir, where the warrior-women of the Singing Mountain Clan would feed their children even during solemn councils of war, and high-tech interstellar civilization: Leia Organa Solo nursed her twins for some time and Mara Jade Skywalker nursed her son Ben until he was a few months old. Even Tenel Ka Djo, Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, nursed her daughter Allana herself (although this may have reflected her own Dathomiri heritage).

Alternative techniques of feeding infants did exist, as the TDL Nanny Droid could store up to two liters of milk internally.

Other sentient species retained strong breastfeeding traditions as well: female Wookiees had six breasts, which they used to nurse their large litters of cubs.

Cultural significance
In mainstream Galactic society, breasts were normally kept covered, although it is unknown whether exposing them was taboo.

Female patients in bacta tanks could have their breasts covered, but in some cases they chose not to. Leia seemed unperturbed by the sight of Shen breastfeeding in public on Dathomir, and Luke Skywalker was similarly unfazed when he encountered the Fallanassi adept Norika wearing only a sarong.

Based on these occurrences, it is probable that bared breasts were considered uncontroversial among the Dathomiri and the Fallanassi. Some Twi'lek dancers performed bare-breasted, and Askajian females were prized as dancers and lingerie models because of their six-breasted physique.



Non-mammals with breasts
A number of females belonging to non-mammalian species are known to have had breasts, most notably the reptilian Falleen. It is possible that these reflect a mammalian connection in the Falleen's genetic ancestry, but other sources indicate that the size and pigmentation of the spinal ridge were the main distinguishing feature of gender dimorphism in this species. It is possible that large-chested Falleen females like Savan had cosmetic surgery, or that this was an evolutionary trait reflecting the Falleen's nature as highly-evolved sexual predators.

Similarly, the physique that T'ra Saa, who was a Neti&mdash;a sentient species of plants&mdash;assumed in her pseudo-human form may have been consciously chosen, as she was a shape-shifter.

Rodian females also possessed breasts with functional mammary glands. Off-world females, however, would wear loose clothing in an attempt to disguise their gender. Some females did flaunt their physique if they knew it would work to their advantage.

Behind the scenes
As in many other comic books, female characters are sometimes depicted with breasts on the verge of being disproportionately large. However, breast size is only ambiguously canonical, as characters that appear in both comics and movies typically have smaller breasts in the movies, whose canonicity overrides that of the comics.

Appearances

 * Cloak of Deception
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Tales From Jabba's Palace
 * Goatgrass: The Tale of Ree-Yees
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Slave Ship
 * Hard Merchandise
 * Star Wars Rebellion 2: My Brother, My Enemy, Part 2
 * Heir to the Empire
 * The Courtship of Princess Leia
 * The Crystal Star
 * Children of the Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * Shield of Lies
 * Star by Star
 * Destiny's Way
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Tempest