UNDERSTANDING THE OBSESSION
Having lived with her 32DDD assets for 52 years, Seligson dives headfirst into the subject of breasts
BY DOUG FRENCH

According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, men take the same pleasure out of looking at an attractive female form as they do from eating a good meal or making money whereas women do not take any significant reward from looking at pictures of men.�

But Susan Seligson doesn�t concern herself with any of this mundane scientific research in her new book Stacked: A 32DDD Reports From The Front. Having lived with her assets for 52 years, the petite journalist and author decided to take to the streets and dive head first into the subject. Any gal who has endured as many catcalls as Seligson, must develop a sense of humor to go along with her curves. And her keen wit is on display throughout.�

The book is short, and extremely easy to read, or maybe, the subject is so engrossing I just couldn�t stop. Either way, Stacked is part autobiography, part pop culture, part boobiography and part self-esteem guide, with Dr. Freud looking over our shoulder.�

The, shall we say, less-endowed parts of the book were the sections stuffed in to fill up the book to a size where it could be called, well, a book. We know most of the slang terms floating around to describe women�s breasts, no need to spend precious ink on it. And the history of the bra: who cares?

The people in this story are what make the book stand out.�Fans of the E! Channel will recognize the egotistical, black-belt surgeon Robert Rey, star of �Dr. 90210.� You know, he with the constant million-dollar smile, issues with his Brazilian father, sharing a dysfunctional home life with his Barbie-like wife. Rey gets so much business from the TV show; he turns down about a third of the women who come to him for plastic surgery. Interestingly, our author falls for Dr. Rey. �His posturing, which can seem borderline cartoonish,� Seligson writes, �reflects his boyish zeal and unrestrained passion which, later and to my surprise, I concluded were good things, and so refreshing.� Well, giving the world big boobs for a handsome living will make anyone boyishly passionate.�

Someone you don�t probably know of is N. Morgen Hagen.�Our courageous author set out for the Beverly Hills offices of Larry Flynt Publications to get the inside skinny on the boob magazine racket. Hagen is now the managing editor of Hustler magazine, but for 15 years produced Busty Beauties, described as the �cutting edge breast mag.� Hagen slaves away for 70 hours a week, doing the real work of editing a tit magazine, described by the author as �coordinating shoots for photo spreads and concocting the cloying puns to go along with them.� Seligson kind of takes a shine to Hagen as well because, unlike most men, �he addresses only my face.��������

Sin City does make an appearance as the author tries valiantly to track down Maxi Mounds. Ms. Mounds carries the 2005 Guinness Book of World Records title for �World�s Largest Augmented Breasts.� Mounds and Seligson had struck up an e-mail relationship and the author was eager to meet the 6-foot blonde, with the 26-inch waist and 156MMM bust size at the 2005 Gentlemen�s Club Expo and Exotic Fan Fair held at Mandalay Bay. Seligson�s sardonic observations about trekking over to and through the convention center are hilarious. But her quest to meet the world record holder was unfulfilled.�

The chapter on the crusade for topfreedom focuses on activists like comedienne Sherry Glaser, who stood in front of Macy�s in San Francisco baring her 40DDD chest calling out �I need your support. Really!� And a number of transvestites spill their guts to Seligson at the Fantasia Fair.��

The author does spend some time with women who underwent breast-reduction surgery. All tell her she should do it: that her back pains would go away and her health would improve.�But, ultimately, Seligson decides, �in middle age I have come to accept, embrace, and even adore them.������������

Most women just don�t understand men�s obsession with boobs. But thankfully scientists have come to the rescue with brain scan studies showing that �reward centres� are triggered in men when they gaze at a woman�s face or body whereas these centres are not triggered in females. But Susan Seligson doesn�t need the science to understand, and admits, �I may even experience a pang of loss if and when those stares cease.�

Doug French, associate editor of Liberty Watch: The Magazine, is an executive vice president of a Nevada bank. He is the 2005 recipient of the Murray N. Rothbard Award from the Center for Libertarian Studies.