Tits Up

Boobs. Knockers. Jugs. Cans. Baps. Melons. Puppies. Fun bags. Bosoms. Hooters. In the English language there are over 700 expressions for female mammary glands – the vast majority of which are coined and mostly used by men. In Tits Up, sociologist and former Economist chief art market correspondent Sarah Thornton asks how is it that we look at breasts so much, but reflect on them so little. It was after Sarah underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery that she found herself consdiering how we think about breasts, and what that tells us about ourselves. Across five parts, the author interviews strippers, plastic surgeons, users and staff at milk-sharing lactation banks, bra designers, and nature goddess-worshipping pagans to create a far-reaching, colourful and utterly fascinating biography of humanity's most culturally important body part. As Sarah Thornton powerfully argues, breasts mean many different things to many different people, and as the rise of feminism and LGBTQ+ movements have shown, they complicate our most basic understandings of identity, gender, and desire. Tits Up explores our ideas of beauty, health, respect, self-esteem, self-determination, humanness and equality, and it’s also a brilliant read – surprising, funny, tender and honest.