Decades ago, microbiologist-turned-humanist René Dubos argued: René Dubos, Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress, and Biological Change (New York: Harper, 1959), pp. 29, 110-111.
PERMISSION CREDITS
Portions of this book appeared in different form in the New York Times Magazine as “Toxic Breast Milk” (from the New York Times, Jan. 9, 2005. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this content without express written permission is prohibited); in Slate as “My Ikea Couch Reeks of Chemicals” and “Younger Girls, Bigger Breasts”; and in O, The Oprah Magazine as “Do Breast Self-Exams Work? (And If Not, Why Do We Keep Doing Them?).”
EPIGRAPH CREDITS
Jayne Mansfield quote used by permission of CMG Brands.
Excerpt from Master Breasts by Francine Prose. Copyright © 1998 by Francine Prose. Reprinted with permission of the Denise Shannon Literary Agency, Inc. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Heartburn by Nora Ephron. Copyright © 1983 by Nora Ephron. Used by permission of ICM.
Excerpt from The Group by Mary McCarthy. Copyright © 1963 by Mary McCarthy, renewed 1991 by James Raymond West. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and the Mary McCarthy Literary Trust. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Olson, James S. Bathsheba’s Breast: Women, Cancer and History. p. 240. Copyright © 2002 The Johns Hopkins University Press. Reprinted with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press.
Excerpt from Citizenship Papers by Wendell Berry. Copyright © 2003 by Wendell Berry. Reprinted by permission of Counterpoint.
Excerpt from Doll, Richard, the forward to Mortality from Smoking in Developed Countries, 1950-2000 by Richard Peto et. al, Oxford University Press, 1994. Used by permission of Oxford University.
PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
Chapter 1: Joe Shere / MPTV Images
Chapter 2: Fate magazine, November 2000 / R. Crumb
Chapter 3: Ivan Mateev / iStockphoto
Chapter 4: Frederick’s of Hollywood, Inc.
Chapter 5: George Silk / Getty Images
Chapter 6: Gossard Lingerie
Chapter 7: Bettmann / Corbis Images
Chapter 8: Claire Reid Photography / Snugabell Mom & Baby Gear
Chapter 9: Mauricio Alejo
Chapter 10: MOMILK by Julien Bertheir / www.julienberthier.org
Chapter 11: “The Human Condition Medical Corset Project: Human Condition AaAa,” by Sarah Kariko, 2010/ photo by Neil Dixon, Yankee Imaging
Chapter 12: Patricia Izzo/www.izzophotography.com
Chapter 13: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Chapter 14: Chia Evers
• 1 • FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL
1 Industry sources in both the United States and Europe contend the average size has increased to a C over the past decade. Mine have creeped up as well. In both cases, I’m afraid, the boost is largely attributed to weight gain.
• 3 • PLUMBING: A PRIMER
1 The French royalty evidently had a thing for their organs. It is believed that Napoleon’s penis was removed from his body for posterity. In the 1920s, it was displayed in a blue velvet case at the Museum of French Art in New York, where one observer described it as looking “like a maltreated strip of buckskin shoelace or shriveled eel.” It was offered for auction in 1981. It did not sell, leading one British tabloid to trumpet, “Not tonight, Josephine!”
• 4 • FILL HER UP
1 Even recent journal articles, particularly in the plastic surgery field, continue to refer to micromastia as an “abnormal” or deformed condition, despite the fact that small breasts are in fact, perfectly normal. Breast-feeding is usually not a problem as the mammary gland grows considerably during pregnancy.
2 According to the seasoned fitting experts at Top Drawer, an esteemed Houston lingerie shop, it’s not unusual for women to break down crying because their implants are too big. “They’d tell the doctor they wanted a C cup,” said saleswoman Linda Parmley. “Doctors know ccs, not Cs.”)
Breasts Page 31