Tits Up

“An excellent new book.… [You] will not look at breasts in the same way again.” —Economist An innovative investigation of the five strange worlds that worship women’s chests.

"Sarah Thornton’s book is premised on the broad truth that most American women ‘are dissatisfied with, indifferent to, or ambivalent about their breasts.’… [Tits Up] wants to set these organs free with the goal of gaining a greater understanding of and appreciation for the women to which they are attached."

"Tits Up asks readers to reimagine the bosom, no matter its size and shape, as a site of empowerment and even divinity."

"[Tits Up’s] trajectory is an uplifting one, with its five chapters exploring different hard-to-access Bay Area arenas rife with breast-related decisions and transactions.… All of these immersive experiences left [Sarah] Thornton in a newfound state of wonder about the magic of mammaries."

"Thornton has a history of being prescient.… There is so much new and illuminating information about breasts in Tits Up, which explores the worlds of five different breast experts…that it would be folly to list it here.… Thornton honors her subject throughout Tits Up through her meticulous research and critical contemplation."

"Required reading that expertly convers the ways in which social constructions, sexualization, and economic viability influence people’s views of bodies, their own and others."

"Thornton’s research and interviews are exhaustive, entertaining and enlightening.… Tits Up is a revelatory look at many different facets of this oh-so-vital body part.… One thing for sure, you’ll never think of boobs in the same way again."

"With intelligence and humor, Thornton examines how breasts can help women create new visions of themselves."

"Thornton’s engaging study of breast culture posits more questions than answers and mercifully leaves room for the reader to decide what she thinks, but there is one argument that rings clear throughout: It is we who are responsible for elevating the status of our own breasts, and with them, all women."

"Tits Up: The book changing how we think about breasts. The narrative weaves through various perspectives and professions, looking at how different cultures and industries perceive breasts."

"If breasts could talk, here’s what they’d say. Tits Up is a call for autonomy and liberation."

"With a sociologist’s eye, a reporter’s nose, and a double-D brain, Sarah Thornton explores the contradictions, power, and fundamental formidability of breasts. What a treat to follow her into worlds largely unknown as she upends culture-bound thinking and exposes breasts for what they are (or should be): a part of a woman, to be shown or not shown, used or not used, as she and she alone deems fit. Exquisitely written and consistently illuminating."

"Tits Up is Sarah Thornton at her best: irreverent, witty, deeply researched, and enlightening. I learned a lot."

"Sarah Thornton offers a revealing look at our most misunderstood organ. Her message is both powerful and overdue: it’s time for us to shape the narrative of our own bodies."

Sarah Thornton is a sociologist and author of four critically acclaimed books, including the international bestseller Seven Days in the Art World. A scholar-in-residence at University of California, Berkeley, for three years while writing Tits Up, she lives in San Francisco, California.