Chest -- the most publicly private part of our body

Author: Miriam Stillinger
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Miriam Stillinger tracks the special feelings of 22 women aged from 6 to 84 through their puberty, sexual experiences, breastfeeding, and menopausal aging. Through these subtle perceptions, women are encouraged to focus on themselves, understand themselves, and transform themselves. The book, titled "The Breast," caused a sensation in the United States upon its publication and was soon adapted into a nearly 90-minute documentary. In the West, it is hailed as the "Bible of the Breast." Women do not own their breasts; rather, the breasts own women and dominate the world's perception of them. Breasts grow from our physical bodies but, in turn, strip us of our uniqueness, reducing us to objects—strange objects. Suddenly one day, as we gaze upon our bare bodies and exposed breasts, we are startled to see the nipples resemble upright eyes, filled with question marks, staring back at us. They silently complain, murmuring protests. Then we remember our childhood, the many years since we first received bras from our mothers, recalling how they supported our growth and sweetly remembering those "second base" years:，，，，。Let us feed our lovers and ourselves with our breasts; meant to carry and nourish children through pregnancy and lactation. Let the breasts become love, become pleasure. "She was the core of desire, and also the center of women's power"—Hsu Shu-wen.