You have fifteen seconds to name a fictional heroine who doesn’t have an amazing rack. And your time starts … now!
[Magic blog time-lapse technology]
Couldn’t do it? Eh, don’t sweat it. Seems they’re in pretty short supply.
I am flat-chested. And when I say ‘flat chested’, I don’t mean small hillock, gala apple, or half an orange. I mean like a blackboard. Little House on the Prairie flat. As a teenager, it used to bother me a lot. All the girls around me wore bras, filled out their tops and generally had the whole womanly shape thing going on. Me? Let’s just say there wasn’t (and still isn’t) much between me and an ironing board.
These days I’m perfectly fine with my flatness but there’s no denying that, as a society, we’re pretty damn obsessed with breasts. And, as far as the media is concerned, if you’re not sporting a pair of perfectly-shaped D cups then you might as well pack up and go home. Much to my dismay, however, it seems that the big-breasted ideal has set up shop and commenced trading in a lot of romantic and erotic fiction, too.
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed more and more authors eschewing the cookie-cutter perfect body – and quite rightly! – in favour of heroines with more realistic body shapes and sizes but, invariably, they seem to draw the line at women with non-existent breasts. It’s okay to have relatable heroines with flaws, it seems, as long as you can make up for the latter with a great rack. In fact, I can only think of one book off the top of my head that specifically calls attention to the leading lady’s small boobs and that’s Rachel Gibson’s See Jane Score (incidentally, one of my favourite mainstream romances). Oh, and Beth from Cherise Sinclair’s Breaking Free (although she doesn’t seem to be quite as flat as Jane).
Interweb and Amazon searches for ‘heroines with small breasts’ aren’t particularly helpful in turning up ladies with more economical assets either, although this thread and this one have a good bash at it. I wonder, is a small chest really that difficult to write about? Are they that difficult to view as beautiful and sexual? Not always, it seems. Tamsin Flowers, God bless her, recently told me she was writing a short (not yet published) titled Cherries on Top which specifically focuses on an erotic encounter with a woman who is a little challenged in the chest department – and was even kind enough to send me a wee teaser:
‘They used to sing it to me in the schoolyard; you know, the old taunt, “Flat as a pancake with cherries on top!” Over and over again. So I was flat chested? So the fuck what! And as for cherries on top? Some girls were lucky; I was looking down on two tiny nubs that were closer in size to a pair of red currants. I hated the other girls for it but at least back then I thought there was still a chance I might grow a pair. I would sit through lessons with my pencil case stuffed up my T-shirt, resting it on crossed arms and hoping it would somehow morph into an actual part of me.’
Tamsin, can I just say I can’t wait to read this rest of this. It gladdens my little heart that you’ve written it.
So ladies and gents: am I alone here? Do you want to read an erotica or romances that feature heroines who are a little lacking in the chest department? Have you read a good one that you could tell me about? Or is there, perhaps, another ‘non ideal’ body type or part that you’d like to see appearing more frequently in the books you read?
I’ve seen plenty of anthologies of stories about curvy girls – which is great – but perhaps there’s a need for their less-blessed sisters…
Oooh. Nice idea, Ms Flowers …
I want to read about all sorts of women and now just the flat chested. I want to read about women over 40 and women with stretch marks and caesarian scars and….. you get the picture I am sure. I am in complete agreement with you about this subject.
Mollyxxx
I agree. All the bits that make us real? More. More, more, more!
Oh! I can name them!! No incredible racks in my books. Except one with what I imagined to be full B cups – maybe a small C. I have small boobies (a modest A…with some space left over in the cup most days of the month) so my ladies also have small boobies. When I was younger, boyfriends would come over, have a look at my sisters with their amazing racks, then look at me and ask ‘what happened to you?’ Yep – seriously.
Can I say on this note – I saw a photo on FB once with a thin heroine whose ribs showed. She was not super skinny by any means, just thin and the comments on that pic about her body were awful in a way you would never be – that would never be ok – with someone bigger. I think that coin goes both ways (weird saying – sorry). You can be healthy and your ribs might show and you can be healthy and have more flesh on your bones. Body type is not something that is easy to control either way – a lot of it is just genes. Depending on the society you live in, you’re either lucky or you’re not. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. It is what it is and there’s something beautiful in all of it.
On a side note, in our books, along with those amazing racks go those amazing alpha males – all super hot men who own BDSM clubs, are multi millionaires and know how to make a woman come every single time…often more than once.
I am absolutely with you on the derogatory comments. I’ve seen that happen, too. I don’t know how, but somehow it’s become okay to be snarky or just downright inappropriate about someone who is perhaps on the thinner side. A personal example: a lady who I’d never before was seated next to me at wedding and asked within the first five minutes of conversation how long I’d been anorexic for. I am not kidding. (I don’t have an eating disorder, by the way. Just my grandmother’s genes!)
On the alpha males – you forgot the gigantic penises!
Oh yes, they all have gigantic penises that go for hours and hours…
OMG – the anorexic comment! People are just conditioned to think a certain way – I don’t think they mean harm, it’s just a conditioned reaction. Sad but I don’t think you even notice it unless you’re on the wrong side. I wonder how many things I get wrong or maybe areas I’m not as open minded as I think myself to be.
Ah life…layers…
I like heroines with full chests, as that’s what I have … but they always seem to be skinny, and their boobs so perky. In fiction – whether it be novels, or movies – the boobies never seem to be saggy, or the skin around the midriff fleshy. Bras and support underwear can only do so much … how many heroes in novels have you ever read about peeling off a woman’s super-elasticated bodysuit? It’s hard work! Doesn’t happen in books!
Incidentally, another thing I’d like to read about is older women who don’t have children. In fiction the “older women” are always mothers, mothers of children or mothers of adults, with motherly figures and motherly worries. I wish I could read about middle-aged women who aren’t parents, and have other things in their lives instead. I want to have someone to relate to as much as any mother does …
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head perfectly, Xenia. It’s about finding heroines we can personally relate to; big breasts, small breasts, Rubenesque, angular, 60+ … They’re the most powerful and compelling, in my opinion, and I really hope more erotica and romance writers will go there. Super-elasticated bodysuits and women in different social and lifestyle situations? Bring them on!
I honestly tend to breeze right through physical descriptions of characters. The most I can ever remember is hair color and that isn’t always the case.