Communication on new building - room available for 'chest feeding'

These trans men/non-binary people who have trauma relating to their breasts better hope they never get cancer in that area, because (currently at least until it gets hijacked) it will be referred to as breast cancer. My husband has breast cancer and although he doesn't have breasts (just moobs) he still had to have a mastectomy, removing any tissue in that area. I wonder how long before these groups start insisting it's referred to as chest cancer.

@Sharptoothlemonshark me too! I am so over mental health proessionals telling me I can identify out of cancer (BRCA1 genetic - only affects the females in our family) and then some want to assume that because I have had my breasts removed due to cancer I must now be non-binary. School told my son that it might be possible for his mum to identify out of cancer when he asked and when I was distraught at the thought the school really assumed my mum and sister (his aunt and nana) had chosen to die as women instead of live as me the local area mental health crisis team parrotted the same line - yes you can identify out of cancer. I am so sick of this assumption that no breasts now means I must be non-binary or something other than a woman. Mental health professionals seem particularly anxious not to assume I am a woman and start asking me how I identify aftera mastectomy. I get that some people have surgery on their bodies to align with their minds but having had surgery for cancer the assumption now is that my mind must now follow my body. I am at a loss how to deal with these people and get past their trans fixation to get the help I need.

It may have escaped your notice - I don’t know how - but we’re not allowed to talk about this.

Women have been silenced on this issue. The ones who do speak up, are cancelled, fired from their jobs, and/or bombarded by death and rape threats.

Mumsnet is one tiny corner of the Internet where we are allowed to talk about this assault on our rights, safety, dignity. And my God, do the TRAs hate that.

I’m on the other side of the world, and have to come here to talk about it, because my country is so far down the rabbit hole, it’s suicide (especially as a public servant) to talk about it.

People I do talk to IRL think ‘chestfeeding’ is ridiculous at best, offensive and harmful at worst.

But as we’re silenced, as women, from talking about it, how can you possibly expect us to be able to give meaningful data?

Because I don't know a single woman or mother that uses or wants to use "chest feeding" as a description of breastfeeding. Most think it's completely laughable, insane or offensive. Of course women are never actually asked, we are expected by people such as yourself to accept our own language for our own bodies to be changed without our consent. I see no empathy whatsoever for the majority women from your comments - only for those who want to deny the reality of their womanhood and expect everyone else to participate in this denial and facilitate it.

As as aside, it's depressing how suspicious one gets over anything to do with this issue.

Oh well, there you go!

It's ages since I've breastfeed.

yes, I hadn't thought of that, but you're quite right. If anything it would be called infant feeding, wouldn't it. I've also seen nursing mothers?

If only the TRAs were half as honest, eh? 😀

Here you go:

https://equality.leeds.ac.uk/support-and-resources/bottle-and-breastfeeding-facilities/

https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/latest-news/uhp-opens-dedicated-breastfeeding-room-for-their-staff--5971/

Some 63% of perinatal women are upset by the use of "chest feeding". That is about 400,000 women each year. My very generous extrapolation would suggest that 280 "non cis mothers" are upset by the use of "breast feeding". I know that democracy should not be totalitarianism of the majority but when you have a ratio of 7 to 10,000 then you have achieved totalitarianism of the tiny minority.

What makes you think it's the vast majority?

I have breastfed for about 18 months of my life.

Can't ever remember anywhere being signposted as a 'breastfeeding room'.

There's something not right here.

But I can't say it.

Who are you to judge the vast majority of mothers who are offended by such misogyny as to deny the reality of female biology?

Soz, I was just trying to be as generous as I could think.

It's so illogical.

I don't agree with trans ideology. I think women having to call themselves men is as a result of sexism. Why would I use any kind of language to accommodate it?

I don't know, maybe they get dysphoric over the act of it as well but using a different word makes it easier to handle? I haven't personally had a conversation with somebody in that position. Have you? If not then who are you to judge what words they use?

Why the shaming and exclusion of female anatomy @Dadjoke2 ? They are doing what only those born female with female anatomy can do - just because they rename it doesn't make it any different- they are still doing a 100% female act. They hate being women but yet still want to have babies and breastfeed?? Using different language doesn't change the reality that they are using their female breasts to feed their baby. We are called mammals because we have mammaries.This just shows what a Kafkaesque world we live in currently.
The ONLY thing all women have in common is our biology!

Totally agree - this should be a no compromise situation. It's extremely offensive and disrespectful to women to not use the correct terms. Lactation would be fine "chest feeding" isn't even anatomically correct.

You'd have a point if it was decreed that all breastfeeding rooms also have to say "chestfeeding". The OP is angry at a room that says this though. Nobody is jumping through hoops for a small group of people. A place chose to do this, that's it. And the OP is angry because they've included some people who in their opinion shouldn't be included.

I think you're right, @EdithStourton . Aussies may be having more kids than Brits, but it's the number of TG births in a given sample that matters.

There were just over 300,000 births in Australia in 2022 of which 22 were to a transgender person. There were just over 600,000 births in England and Wales in the same period. This would suggest that there were 44 births to transgender people in England and Wales. The birth rate in Australia is twice that of England and Wales so it's possible that the guess of transgender births here should be doubled. That would give a number of 90.
You don't need to worry about the birthrate, do you? Just the absolute number of births and then the % to transgender people.

Or am I being dim? I've just been breaking my brain on some statistics after an insomniac night so it's very possible...

Australia is the only country that captures statistics for transgender births. I appreciate that Australia is not UK and has a higher birth rate but it's possible to do a rough extrapolation. There were just over 300,000 births in Australia in 2022 of which 22 were to a transgender person. There were just over 600,000 births in England and Wales in the same period. This would suggest that there were 44 births to transgender people in England and Wales. The birth rate in Australia is twice that of England and Wales so it's possible that the guess of transgender births here should be doubled. That would give a number of 90. This is only for transmen and doesn't include NB people. Making an unevidenced assumption that there are 3 NB births for every transman birth and rounding up to the nearest 100 gives 400 transgender births in 600,000 total births.

Dadjoke referred to a study upthread that indicated that 30% of transgender "mothers" are happy to use breast feeding so we are jumping through linguistic hoops for 280 people per year.

And actually, this just confirms what I already think / see / believe.

My observation is that female-bodied people (especially girls) seem to transition to escape their bodies, their sexuality and the heavy burden and risk that comes with having a female body (read: sexual violence, menstruation, pregnancy, abortion, childbirth, and yes, breastfeeding - some of those fall into the ‘heavy burden’ category, and some of them fall into the ‘risk’ category; all of them are ONLY experienced by female-bodied people).

Whereas male-bodied people transition to embrace and flaunt their sexuality. Or, at least, their acquired, male-gaze version of female sexuality. Without ever taking on any of the burdens or risks inherent in our biology.

Again, it’s insidious.

And this change in language only reinforces a societal push towards a movement that is profoundly damaging.

Those women can use whatever term they like,the rest of us don't have to play along with their nonsense.

you can tell them Sharptoothlemonshark is a poor and oppressed minority, having had a double mastectomy because of cancer and now in possession of a chest, but not any breasts, I find it deeply traumatising and triggering to read of "chest feeding" when those of us with chests only, most definitely cannot ever think of feeding.

How viciously and heartlessly exclusionary and "othering" to use such a term in front of me