Obsessing over tits (big ones)

Go figure
Author Susan Seligson tries to understand America's obsession with breasts
By Mark Shanahan/Boston Globe

A petite woman naturally endowed with large breasts, humor writer Susan Seligson had only to look down to find the subject of her next book. Why, she wondered, do men and women fetishize the female anatomy? In "Stacked: A 32DDD Reports From the Front," Seligson, who lives in Truro, has written an entertaining treatise on America's breast obsession. She spoke to us by phone from the Cape.

Q. Why write a book about breasts -- your breasts?

A. I've always been interested in the issue of femininity and breast obsession.

Q. But a book? Did you ever worry that you wouldn't have enough to say?

A. No. I programmed a Google alert for "breast," and I got a ton of stuff, including the occasional chicken recipe. When I told women what I was doing, everyone wanted to talk to me about their boobs. Really. People chase me through the aisles of the Grand Union market to tell me stories about their boobs, and then they say, "You know who else you should talk to . . ."

Q. What did your husband think of your project?

A. First of all, I'm married to a cartoonist, so his view of the world is slightly askew. I'm not 20; I'm 52. I don't take my body very seriously anymore. I'm not trying to say what a babe I am. I'm trying to strike a universal note with women.

Q. There's been some suggestion on the Internet that you're exaggerating the size of your breasts. I must say, you look pretty normal on the book jacket.

A. I don't know what their problem is. Why would I lie about my breast size? I'm a small person -- I'm 5-foot-2 and wear a size 6. If you put my breasts on a Chicago Bear they'd look small, but on me . . .

Q. Why do breasts seem to agitate people?

A. It's an erotically charged part of the body that you get a good look at. If boobs excite you, you can look at them, at least in this culture. How they became so eroticized, I really don't know.

Q. Are you objectifying women in some way with this book?

A. No. If my book makes people laugh and think a little about our obsession with breasts, that's fine. I don't think I'm part of the problem. To deny that boobs are a universal obsession is ridiculous. With the implant craze, the average bra size has gone up in this country. We can't pretend that our bodies don't have a huge bearing on what life is like for us.

Q. Tell me about the implant culture in this country.

A. I've watched the surgery performed, and there are some excellent, artful surgeons. Obviously, some implants look good and some -- the half - coconuts that poke out -- do not. But I really try not to judge anybody in the book. It's totally out of control. You can get financing very easily, but I don't know what happens if you don't pay. Do they repossess your boobs? It's a really big thing among women in the military and the police. The military covers the cost of implants.

Q. Is that true?

A. Yes.

Q. Have you received any fan mail or calls from weirdos because you wrote a book about your breasts?

A. Just you. What's funny is when people want to get a look at my boobs. Luckily I'm old. I'm not a go-go dancer who decided to write a book. This is just something I decided to write about.

Q. Did you ever consider having breast-reduction surgery?

A. I almost went that route. I definitely thought of it.

Q. Norman Mailer blurbs your book. Is Norman a boob man?

A. He likes it all. He's not specifically a boob man. He was a neighbor of mine for years, and we got to know each other at family events. He offered to read the book and liked it.

Q. Do you know that Pam Anderson's sitcom had the same name as your book ?

A. I did know that. I wanted to change the title of the book, but the publisher told me I shouldn't worry about it. Did you watch the show?

Q. No. I mean, yes. Did you?

A. No.