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.

Fortunately Joss Prior has put it on Joss’s twitter with a handy critique if you want to watch

Posie said its down for a bit of editing. I'm guessing that would be hiding the glimpses of a few children in the audience. Her and that other woman (a mumsnetter I think?) spoke really well.

Not sure if it is the done thing to link to discussions on FB here. But if it is, here is a long discussion regarding the book and some of the points were raised by protesters in the video too.

www.facebook.com/maureenkminchin/posts/1441120639364235?comment_id=1442342699242029&reply_comment_id=1443034355839530&notif_id=1552775965151481&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

I do fully respect the author for all she does for breastfeeding.

However this point I fully disagree with her on.

Within this interview, a detransitioned women describes some very pertinent points re dysphoria about her developing breasts. Whilst the adult described in the book is free to do what they wish with their body, this is not an area for teens to read inside a body positive book.

I don't have the words to describe why; watch the film and you understand why. The great part is around 25 mins but the whole film is needed for context. The way this woman was accessed by abusers through the trans community is described in eloquent detail.

She also describes how she discovered gender critical thought, and how it eventually helped her realise the fallacy and harm of the whole movement.

I very much hope the publisher - who I otherwise respect too - watches to understand why this was not appropriate.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=QAMar22S0ck&feature=youtu.be

I'm delighted Maureen M agrees.

Not great part, breast part

Thank you for sharing that video Neurotrash. I only had time to watch the section you recommended but I hope to watch the full interview soon. Really highlights just how dangerous McKinnon et al are in their calls to turn away from family to the trans community.

And so insightful that she says her dysphoria was at it worst when she was trying to pass and that as soon as she stopped trying to pass it got better.

This screenshot was shared on twitter, yet more evidence that Pickett's story of 'Jack' is pure propaganda and irresponsible in the extreme

twitter.com/lacroicsz/status/1107085999253921797

It's worth watching the rest as she describes the grooming she underwent to lead her to believe she needed to transition.

The irony is that in the breast book the transman says they wish they could have been accepted as a masculine female.

Have you seen this thread too?

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

Really highlights just how dangerous McKinnon et al are in their calls to turn away from family to the trans community.

Yes absolutely.

And that screen shot is tragic.

Though the author of this book emphasises it was a story of an adult; in reality her target audience are able to get access to irreversible hormones and blockers if they push hard enough.

As the girls in the pique Resilience Project describe.

There is an extreme culture of affirmation.

I think the breast feeding and birth world both have a strong theme of affirmation that is in the framework of their training.

This seems to interact with how welcoming and willing they are to ‘affirm everyone’s feelings’ and subduing any criticality both in themselves and in the group when some pretty extreme and damaging ideas come out in these scenarios.

I will not be buying this book for my daughter, 11 pages advocating breast binding & double mastectomy. The author is also a paid breast feeding consultant, this book is horrific for impressionable young girls. For those of you thinking about buying the book, it might be worth buying it from Amazon & then returning it.

Amazon sometimes withdraws products that have high levels of returns and/or negative reviews.

Thanks for the link, this is the fb film of the discussion with the author.