Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, protruding, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake, as an erogenous organ used in kissing and other acts of intimacy, as a tactile sensory organ, and in the articulation of speech.
Because they have their own muscles and bordering muscles, the lips are very movable. Lips are used for eating functions, like holding food or to get it in the mouth. In addition, lips serve to close the mouth airtight shut, and to, hold food and drink inside, and to keep out unwanted objects. Through making a narrow funnel with the lips, the suction of the mouth is increased. This suction is essential for babies to breast feed. Lips can also be used to suck in other contexts, such as tactile stimulation of other people.
Lips are often viewed as a symbol for sensuality and sexuality. This has many origins; above all, the lips are a very sensitive erogenous and tactile organ. Reproductive psychologists have suggested that one reason the female lips are seen as sexually attractive might be because they mimic the appearance and sexual swelling of the labia of the vulva, and that a woman's lips are effectively a secondary sexual organ. This is consistent with research showing male sexual attitudes towards a woman's lips and mouth to be very similar to those towards a woman's vulva. Furthermore, in many cultures of the world, a woman's mouth and lips are veiled because of their representative association with the vulva, and because of their role as a woman's secondary sexual organ.
See also: Love Tattoos Index
