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About the Boob Lady™
Elisabeth Squires is a freelance writer living in Kingston, Washington. Proud owner of the “Boob Lady™” moniker, she’s on a mission to help women appreciate their breasts. Elisabeth is the daughter of a breast cancer survivor; she recently underwent surgery for a breast lift, and is the mother of three children, including a teenage girl. She has worked with non-profit organizations as a consultant, public speaker, grant writer, and volunteer fundraiser for the past 25 years. In bOObs, she reveals how women can be more charitable to their breasts.
Though Elisabeth has been breast obsessed since her early teens, her transformation into the “Boob Lady™” began with a short story in a creative writing class. For the first time, Elisabeth sat down and wrote about all the ways her own breasts had changed over her lifetime, from puberty to having children to her breast lift. She wrote the very first “mammoir.”
As Elisabeth began sharing her mammoir with other women, she discovered that they, too, had stories to tell. Some loved their breasts, some felt awkward with theirs, and others had trouble adjusting to their size or shape. All these tales were funny, thoughtful and somehow familiar. To find out more, Elisabeth sent out questionnaires to her breast friends. As answers came back, so did question after question. She found that women live their lives with breasts in many different ways, and most do so with little guidance. So Elisabeth set out to create a user’s manual for breast owners, and bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls was born.
The Boob Lady™ has completed her transformation by interviewing bra fitters, manufacturers, lingerie buyers, fitness experts, lactation consultants, plastic surgeons, oncologists, and other physicians about breasts. She’s studied the history of the bra, whether there’s any medical reason to wear one, nudity and breastfeeding laws around the world, and breast cancer issues and causes.
The Library Journal named bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls a Best Consumer Health Book of 2007. The Boob Lady™ is hard at work on her next breast ventures. She’s writing Mammoirs: Tales From the Front, a compilation of personal breast stories, and a revised second edition of , bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls. In addition to appearing on Good Morning America, The Tyra Banks Show, and NPR, she regularly speaks before audiences at schools, conferences, trade shows and other events, and has been featured in newspapers and magazines around the globe.
bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls
bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls, a humorous and informative owner’s manual by author and internationally-recognized “Boob Lady™” Elisabeth Squires, was published by Seal Press in October, 2007.
Filled with personal, true stories (“mammoirs™”) from real women, bOObs is also a style guide and resource for breast owners. Readers are given practical and useful advice from breast experts – lingerie fitters, doctors, clothing manufacturers, personal trainers and others – on what to expect from their breasts and how to put their “best breast forward” at each stage of their lives. bOObs celebrates the unique qualities of all women.
The book serves as an owner’s manual for women and an educational tool for men and growing girls. Chapters range from “Sprouting” to “Saggy but Sexy and Sassy,” and everything in-between. Readers learn the state of breasts today (how E is the new C), how to find and get the right fit from a bra, what to expect when pregnant, nursing, and beyond, how to keep “the girls” healthy, and what to do if they’re not.
Each chapter contains web and written resources, plus illustrations and sidebars with little known facts, trivia, and the best breast trends. bOObs also provides readers with diagrams, quizzes and instructions on how to perform a breast self-exam.
Empowering and eye-opening, bOObs is the ultimate guide to breasts. Squires encourages women of all ages, races and sizes to embrace their bosoms, and teaches readers that every breast is unique and special.
A Few Questions for the Boob Lady™
Q: Why are you the “Boob Lady™” and not the “Breast Lady”?
A: To me, “boobs” better describes the multi-functioning qualities of these mounds
of flesh resting on our chests. Boobs can be nurturing, sexual, playful, magical
and powerful. Boobs rock. Search the Internet for “breasts” and you get chicken
recipes.
Q: How did you first become interested in the subject of boobs?
A: Like most young girls, I was fascinated by my own development and how my
budding breasts changed the way others viewed me. I felt that I went from girl to
woman in a couple of cups sizes. Finding 34DDs attached to a 5’4” frame, I soon
discovered my boobs arrived in the room before I did. It’s hard not to be breast
obsessed when everyone one around you seems fascinated by them too! My
mother’s breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy made me aware at an early age
of potential health concerns.
Q: You’ve had a breast lift. Why did you have the procedure, and how has
it affected your own relationship with your boobs?
A: Anticipating my 50th birthday, I was determined to take off the “baby” fat
accumulated over three pregnancies and began visiting the gym regularly. Since
breasts are mostly made of fat, I soon learned that – short of surgery – there’s no
way to tone and firm the skin on our chests, like on the rest of the body. Even
though surgery left me with “Frankenboobs” (there is no way to avoid some
scarring), it dawned on me that my breasts had morphed all through my life, and
now “my girls” finally fit with the rest of me. This realization prompted me to
start up a boob dialogue with other women. I found that most of us know little
about our breasts (which may be why up to 85% of us wear the wrong size bra). I
was surprised to find that no one had yet written a book on a subject that is
always right in front of us!
Q: You’ve done extensive research on the subject of breasts. Have you
come across any fun breast facts many people might not be aware of?
A: Female humans are the only mammals that have fully formed breasts before they
can be used for lactation. Sociologists continue to disagree about the evolutionary
purpose of extra flesh and fat on this particular part of our body, which just adds
to their magical mammary mystery.
No one knows what keeps boobs buoyant. Scientists still debate whether it’s merely skin or the connective tissue that keeps them perky. Doctors do agree that there is no medical reason to wear a bra, since that alone won’t stop some girls from traveling south. Bra design is driven more by fashion than function, and relates to what rests over our foundations – not under.
Q: What trends have you seen in women’s bra sizes?
A: I always say “E is the new C.” Larger bra sizes are the fastest growing segment of
the $5 billion a year bra industry. Bra fitters have noted this swelling trend over
the past 10-15 years. Although many blame hormones in the food or an epidemic
of breast augmentations, it’s more likely the result of obesity. Boobs naturally
expand and contract with weight fluctuations.
Q: Have you noticed any other noteworthy breast trends?
A: Bra manufacturers are finally stepping up to make prettier bras in bigger sizes;
breast cancer researchers are implementing new ways to successfully treat breast
cancer using less disfiguring procedures, and the Internet has made it easier for
women to share information and learn from each other about such issues as
breastfeeding, surgery, and illness. (Boob owners beware: mammary myth-
information runs rampant on the Internet. Check out the Resources page of my
website for The Boob Lady’s™ recommendations!)
Q: Why do you think people are so interested in boobs?
A: Breasts are powerful symbols in our society. We sell everything from bras to beer
with cleavage. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but no one talks about them,
aside from their function in breastfeeding. But we don’t know how to deal with
public breastfeeding or boobs in the workplace, either. Having a forum to discuss
breast issues is needed, especially since they’re so physically over-exposed in the
media.
Q: You say that most women know very little about their boobs. How do
men compare?
A: Men seem to love boobs and in some ways know more about them than women
(how they come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, for instance). Women
appear more baffled by their bosoms and have specific questions they’d like
answered. Nearly all have a mammoir (a memory relating to their breasts) they’d
like to share.
Q: Your book is filled with information for breast owners. What is the
one thing you’d like women to learn above all?
A: Women’s boobs are all different, and most of us do not sport an identical pair.
There is no “perfect” size or shape of breast. Media images reflect a B or C up, not
the more common DD or E of real women. If you can’t find a bra that fits, don’t
blame your boobs. It’s not your fault you are forced to buy “off the rack” for your
rack. Your boobs are unique and are constantly changing. Get to know and
celebrate your girls!
The Boob Lady™ in the Media
The Boob Lady™ has been featured in print media and on websites around the globe, from local publications the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Weekly, Richmond Times- Dispatch, The Vancouver Courier to the Sunday London Times, as well as on RealSelf.com and Lifescript.com. She has been interviewed by publications in Canada and the UK, and in Glamour, Twist, Health Magazine and Complete Woman. The Boob Lady™ can also be found online at her own website, www.booksonboobs.com.
RADIO
The Boob Lady™ has been heard on nationally-syndicated radio show The Alan Colmes Show, as well as Life with Orla Barry on Newstalk Radio in Ireland. She has also appeared on Playboy Radio, available on Sirius, and on the Radio Ritas on Greenstone Media, among others.
TELEVISION
The Boob Lady™ has appeared on a number of television news shows. She was featured on Seattle’s KING 5 Evening Magazine and appeared on Good Morning America, where she talked with Diane Sawyer about appropriate cleavage for a woman’s life, from work to play. The Boob Lady™ has also appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, Seattle’s KING 5 Morning News, KOMO Northwest Afternoon, San Francisco’s View from the Bay, Chicago’s In the Loop with iVillage, and on-line at ABC News Now.
EVENTS
The Boob Lady™ has completed a number of lectures at local schools, bringing her message to Seattle’s school-aged girls and teaching them how to put their best breast forward. She has also appeared at women’s events such as Seattle’s Crave Show, the Junior League of Seattle, and the Seattle Yacht Club. She has been featured as the keynote speaker at various organizations, including Bastyr University and the National Charity League, a mother/daughter service organization.
Review from Library Journal
Squires, Elisabeth. Boobs: A Guide to Your Girls. Seal, dist. by Publishers Group West. Oct. 2007. c.256p. bibliog. ISBN 978-1-58005-207-8. pap. $15.95. HEALTH
If a protagonist from a Sophie Kinsella novel wanted to learn about mammograms, she'd consult this book while getting her lowlights done. Squires, author of the Books on Boobs web site (www.booksonboobs.com), discusses the health, sexuality, life stages, and cultural significance of the female breast with a breezy, best-girlfriend approach that might inspire readers to stand tall and throw their shoulders back. Sidebars provide breastcentric slang and factoids, with juicier tidbits dispensed in "Boob Flash!" text boxes. Squires also presents an annotated "boobography" and truly useful guidance on choosing a bra. The inclusion of women's compelling stories almost earns this guide the alternate title of The Breast Monologues. While Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book and Miriam Stoppard's The Breast Book may offer more coverage and the underwire support of white-coat science, Boobs is the sassy push-up that will get the attention of a younger audience who really needs this information. Recommended for all public library health and young adult collections. [For more on breasts, see LJ's annual roundup in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, p. 160.—Ed.] – Blanche Angelo, Livermore P.L., CA
