Name this famous tit or write about your own

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Rack: Women Write about Their Breasts

From Venus de Milo's chiseled cleavage to Janet Jackson's notorious SuperBowl wardrobe malfunction, women's breasts have long served as catalysts for cultural criticism, wonder, and infatuation. In a nation where a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes and teenage girls receive breast augmentations as graduation gifts from their parents, it is impossible not to wonder -- How do women truly feel about their breasts?

Rack: Women Write about Their Breasts will aim to explore this question by going right to the source and sharing the stories of women who have had extraordinary and ordinary experiences with their bust-lines. In order to complete this unique anthology, the editor is seeking well-crafted personal essays on a wide range of breast-related experiences and issues.

Each unique non-fiction piece in this anthology should shed its own light on the moving, confusing, and often hilarious experience of having breasts; diverse and unique perspectives are encouraged.

Submissions should be strong, developed, first-person accounts that don't tell your breasts entire life story, but instead highlight a specific moment, experience, or process that made a significant impact on your life.

Thematically, essays should address the question -- In a world of plastic surgery, piercing, and porn stars, how do we, as women, learn to love, lose, and eventually accept our breasts?

Some likely topics include:

-Getting nipples pierced/other breast-related body modification

-Accounts of breast implants (I love them, I hate them, implant-related illnesses, etc.)

-Experiences of modern-day moms (pumping, breast-feeding, what your mother never told you but you were forced to learn on your own)

-Experiences with mastectomy

-Growing up flat-chested, with uneven breasts, or with weird nipples

-Binding breasts for gender purposes

-Transitioning from a breast-friendly culture to American culture

-Breasts and sex work

-Shopping for a first bra

Editor: Abby Schwartz lives in San Diego, where she is a regular columnist for the Gay & Lesbian Times and the host of Siren Open Mic for Women, a popular monthly performance series. She comes from a long line of busty Jewish women, and proudly sports a 36-D.

Deadline: November 1, 2005
Length: 3,000-5,000 words
Format: Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and paginated.

Please include your address, phone number, email address, and a short bio on the last page. Essays will not be returned.

Submitting: Mail the essay to:
Abby Schwartz
P.O. Box 620720
San Diego, CA 92162-0720

Payment: Copy of anthology upon publication.
Reply: Replies will be conducted via email, unless a SASE is enclosed and noted as preferred.