Opinion: Taxpayer-funded chest-feeding seminars are a step too far

HAVE we totally lost all sense of reality. Imagine using taxpayers’ money to fund seminars on teaching men to lactate. What is this country coming to? And who thinks it is alright to fund a conference online, off-line or on whatever line you like, supporting such a ludicrous notion? Or for that matter, hosting an event for breastfeeding/chest-feeding?

That’s what was swirling around in the news last week. First, we had the lactation debate and then the debate about ‘inclusion’ – which was really referring to the breastfeeding/chest-feeding issue.

As far as I am concerned, people can ‘identify’ whatever way they like, but then you read all sorts of stupid interpretations of the ‘they’ issue when some people decide they want to identify as a cat, dog, raccoon and God knows whatever else takes their fancy. And we are all so politically correct that we go along with it.

I’m not looking to start a movement against those deciding to do so – if they want to get down on all fours that is their business – but even though we see hard-earned taxes being wasted day after day by those with their hands on the national purse strings to fund or part-fund seminars or whatever you wish to call them about lactation for both sexes – and I mean both sexes – they should cop on and get a grip.

Yes, I said ‘both sexes’, which will no doubt get under the skin of the ‘they’ movement, but thankfully, as I have said in the past, this is a democracy and there is such a thing as free speech. So just like those who advocate on behalf of the ‘they’ campaign, I am allowed to express my thoughts on the subject.

Some people will point out that, yes, men can lactate, so having a chest-feeding seminar is not all that unusual. True, with regard to lactating, but that only occurs in specific circumstances.

Don’t take my opposition to the whole notion of chest-feeding as being against breastfeeding. That is not true. I can remember a time when the La Leche League had to educate the general public about the benefits of breastfeeding. Society had become used to the idea of formula food for infants and, thanks to intensive advertising, it took off.

It meant young mothers would get much-needed sleep and so on without having to feed their children every couple of hours. Motherhood was tough enough as it was.

Over the years, public opinion and attitudes have done a 360-degree turn and now young mothers who opt to breastfeed are no longer frowned upon if they decide to feed their child in public, and rightly so.

But let’s be honest: if a man – and most of us have man boobs – decided to do so, it would be a whole different kettle of fish.

Some might say I’m being a prude, but I say I am respecting motherhood, or whatever you want to call it. I really don’t care.

For the record – and I am not a doctor – yes, men can lactate under rare circumstances, usually because of hormonal imbalances or underlying medical conditions.

Men possess underlying breast tissue and mammary ducts similar to women, although they typically do not fully develop without specific hormonal signals. Lactation requires a surge in prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production. When prolactin levels rise abnormally, a condition called hyperprolactinemia, the mammary glands can produce milk.

Common causes leading to men producing milk can be benign tumours on the pituitary gland, certain antipsychotic meds, antidepressants, blood pressure drugs or opioids, underactive thyroid, severe stress, extreme starvation or anabolic steroids. Far from normal, wouldn’t you agree?

The funny thing about all of this nonsense is it only seems to become a topic of discussion when it appears that we have nothing else to talk about. During the downturn in the economy, there was no time to debate the rights or wrongs of chest-feeding or identifying as an animal – we were all too busy trying to put food on the table and keep the lights on.

Not so today. We have become so politically correct in this country that no-one wants to say anything that might ‘offend’ some section of society. We saw it with the act of the removal of crucifixes from public buildings and schools, no longer starting a public meeting with a prayer, and the removal of a Christmas crib.

Why? Because it might insult some sections of society. Yet go to another country and there is no way they would change some of their customs to accommodate all of society.

Don’t get me wrong: I am not a religious person in the traditional sense. In other words, I no longer go to Mass on a weekly basis, but I do believe the removal of such items eats into our identity.

Equally, hosting, in my view, what are stupid seminars on chest-feeding and wasting public money on such events achieves absolutely nothing, except to pander to a small section of society who show little or no tolerance for the rest of us.