Erm - breastmilk - like cannibalism ??

[Bibbo]

Just now on BBC3 was the Baby Gaga breastmilk ice cream story. Cue lots of talking heads banging on about how disgusting it was...

DH speculated on why there is such a strong taboo about drinking human milk - wondered whether it's a bit too close to cannibalism for comfort???

I mumbled something about 'the patriarchy' but it didn't sound very convincing.

So why do so many people find it disgusting?

(btw when I began bfing DD, DH refused to try it for ages - then when he did finally try it, couldn't get enough of the stuff!)

I think people are squeamish about drinking bodily fluids from humans. Yes, it is just milk, but it comes from a lady's boobs! Most people think of them as sexual not food producing therefore it strikes a discord in their heads.

I think there is just to much of a stigma even to breastfeed your baby, let alone giving your breast milk to strangers in the form of ice cream!My dh not keen on trying breastmilk just very happy in the knowledge it's keeping our baby alive. Was sad they were so 'disgusted' tho!

Probably because except for extreme situations and emergencies (like organ transplants and blood transfusions), the sharing of fluids and other parts of our bodies tends to be a very intimate act in our culture.

So, partners, lovers, babies, children (as appropriate to the act and the nature of the bodily fluid, of course): Yes. Strangers? No thanks. Not unless I'm bleeding to death or my kidneys are failing.

I've been aghast at the misogyny on thus show! The Breastmilk ice cream bit was so unbalanced but hey can we be surprised?

The most shocking thing though is the bestiality which went unnoticed by all concerned! The mummy milk frappe was being sold next to - wait for it - ice cream made from hormonally artificially augmented fluids of an animal. A beast! A cow!! Moooo! How gross!

It's not taboo everywhere in the world. Someone showed me this great article about breastfeeding in Mongolia and how everyone drinks it! It's the "drink of wrestlers"- their national sport! Refreshingly different take. [http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/ruth_kamnitzer.html]

Loved that article on breastfeeding on Mongolia. I wonder how different life might be if breastfeeding were truly supported and normalised in my country (Australia) like it is in, say, Mongolia, or Norway, or Sweden etc.

I think that the reason that breastfeeding is so taboo in many cultures is because women are sexualised to the point of being objects first, foremost and only. They're rated on their primary and only value - their "fuckability", so to speak (sorry for being so crude) - and lacking that, they have little-to-no worth to society at large. There is a constant and ongoing campaign to keep women consigned to this role. On top of that, we live in an extremely commercialised world that values a company's ability to make a dollar.

Women's bodies producing BM and nourishing babies with it contravenes much of the above. It turns breasts from being sexual into being functional (as though the two are mutually exclusive!) and changes a woman from being a sexual object into a nourisher. It also reduces any company's ability to make money from her. A babe in arms who is breastfed actually doesn't need a lot by way of commercial products - and certainly not formula, which is a BIG money maker.

So...I don't know, I don't think there is one simple reason, I think this is a very multi-faceted issue.

as happy as i am to BF my baby (and donate my spare to SCBU) I have no desire for any human adults to drink my milk and nor would i want to drink anyone elses milk either.

I HATE the taste of my milk, it nearly makes me sick. euggghhh

IMO breast milk from humans is for human infants (and i have no issue drinking cows milk myself, but wont feed it (processed) to my baby)

I've had a number of PMs and emails (from journalists, I suspect) asking whether I really put my breastmilk in my coffee.

Er, no. Never tried it and prefer to stick to Starbucks.

Given how much I love BFing and how comfortable I feel doing it, I'm surprised by how icky I feel at the thought of it.