The Breast Book

[MilkSpill]

My oldest daughter is heading towards puberty so I'm stocking up on resources to discuss it with her. I'd heard great things about the new book by Emma Pickett called 'The Breast Book' and it arrived today. I was having a flick through and lots of positives - normalising breastfeeding, discussion of sexualised media, and then hit this.

EIGHT pages dedicated to advocating for elective mastectomy.

Totally glossing over the risks, no discussion of sexuality, just basically 'someone said Jack was a girl when he was born' and off into a story of how Jack did a lot of thinking and then had his breasts cut off. Presented positively and affirmingly and in child-appropriate language.

How am I supposed to use this resource with my daughter? I can't just cut 8 pages out of the book. I want my money back.

This is utterly shocking!!! Just dreadful. Time to wade in on amazon reviews. That will speak massively.

So if it's not due to be published until mid March I suggest we all write to the publishers and demand these pages are removed before it goes on sale.

I think a few tweets have been deleted.

I'm linking transgender trend's article on breast binding here hoping the publisher will see it.

There's a massive duty of care in this. No official public bodies seem to be tackling any of this. SRE books cannot endorse self harm practices.

A book like this is very necessary given the lack of coverage on breastfeeding etc by SRE (recently mentioned on woman's hour) and perhaps it could go some way to helping young people deal with the body changes they go through and possibly help them to avoid thinking it's gender dysphoria and going down the rabbit holes on YouTube there. But it needs extremely careful thought.

www.transgendertrend.com/breast-binders-in-uk-schools/

www.transgendertrend.com/social-transition-and-chest-binding/

it'll have been printed already, they would have to pulp the stock. Which I think they should.

I am utterly shocked that a primary school teacher thinks this is fine. What the fuck has she been telling the kids at her school? I tell you for nothing, any teacher talks this crap at DD and I will rain hellfire and brimstone down on them.

The section on slicing off breasts does present gender identity as a fact unquestioningly at the begining, so the authur is promoting fully the idea that girls can be born in boys bodies and is reproducing it here as factual.

How many stupid adults are there? I am genuinely amazed at how many there are and how many want kids to treat this barbarism as normal.

Boys can be born in girls bodies. Sorry, this is so crazy.

Stella O'Malley on the issue of rushing into gender conformation surgery.

Stella O'Malley was the psychologist who did Trans Kids: it's time to talk on channel 4.

I hope the publisher is still reading.

Thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3430608-Stella-OMalley-Trans-Kids-Its-Time-To-Talk

It is out of place in a puberty guide on breasts for children who are on the verge of puberty.

It would be better in a book exploring self harm and anorexia and other problems teenagers have. Do we have these for 10/11 year olds?

I've never come across them.

This thread has just been posted and the synopsis is extremely relevant in this case:

Pique Resilience Project - young detransitioned women sharing their personal stories www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3507109-Pique-Resilience-Project-young-detransitioned-women-sharing-their-personal-stories

I think you can review it on their site
www.pinterandmartin.com/the-breast-book

well, I've sent them a review which is 'pending approval' - it won#'t get approved but hopefully they will take notice and withdraw this book from sale.

This is dangerous for girls to read as they go through puberty and goes against safeguarding surely? Also anti-science. I will be writing to the publisher.

Oh and donor milk isn't widely available in the UK, there are very few milk banks, promoting it as easy to access is just wrong.

Yes, I think there are parallels with promoting self-harm, too.

Out of interest, are there any parallel books that tell boys that it's possible to have their penises surgically removed if they feel they don't want them?

Gutted, Pinter and Martin often publish really interesting books on women's health subjects.

I know they publish Margaret McCartney, who's part of a group of medics writing in the BMJ and Lancet expressing concern about the lack of science behind trans kids treatment and that it is definitely may be doing long term harm.

She's really going to be unhappy when she sees this shit has been accepted by her publisher.

I can hear MM's groan from here!

Out of interest, are there any parallel books that tell boys that it's possible to have their penises surgically removed if they feel they don't want them?

I was just musing, as the mother of boys, how I'd feel about an SRE book that talked about testicle removal and testicle binding.

Circumcision is difficult enough,

correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they the publisher of the vulva book that was in the Guardian? Because it is my view that the author was obliged to include a 'neo vagina', which would suggest they are truly woke.

Jesus. What happened to safeguarding and helping kids adjust to adulthood with healthy self-esteem? That used to be the goal anyway. Now it's ok to publish books about having breasts removed as a solution to discomfort with what we know is the most turbulent period of a persons' life, the transition from child to adult?

Yes, they publish Laura Dodsworth too. Though, it is her choice to include trans and NB people in her work - all three books in the series have them.

The pics of the surgeries never look right to me, mind.

They are the publishers of the vulva book. Hurumph.

I'm not sure it was her choice, viva.

Letter by MM:

Susan Bewley et al Letter to the BMJ: Safeguarding adolescents from premature, permanent medicalisation www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3507254-Susan-Bewley-et-al-Letter-to-the-BMJ-Safeguarding-adolescents-from-premature-permanent-medicalisation