Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts 1st Edition

by Fiona Giles (Author)

16 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0743211475

ISBN-10: 9780743211475

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While countless breastfeeding guides crowd bookshelves, not one of them speaks to women with anything approaching bestselling author Fiona Giles's level of intimacy and vitality. In Fresh Milk, through a provocative collection of stories, memories, and personal accounts, Giles uncovers the myths and truths of the lactating breast.
From the young mother grappling with the bewildering trappings of maternity wear to the woman who finds herself surprisingly aroused by new sensations, and the modern dad who learns the ins and outs of breastfeeding, the portraits in Giles's eye-opening book offer a funny, wise, and comforting resource for women -- and even their friends and partners who have had, or expect, intimate experiences with the pleasures and pain of lactation.
By turns poignant and informative, sexy and witty, empathic and empowering, Fresh Milk delivers everything we wanted to know about breastfeeding that our mothers never told us.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Australian scholar and feminist Giles (Dick for a Day) shows the personal is political (and vice versa) in this collection of accounts with commentaries, a look at the pleasures, difficulties and cultural attitudes about breastfeeding. She intersperses comforting images of Madonna-like mother-infant bonding with more disturbing and unexpected scenes: pus- and blood-oozing nipples, the sexuality of breastfeeding, "milkmaid" porn, nipples as technological fetish and a recipe for breast milk ice cream. Giles impressively argues that our culture's mixed message to women-breastfeed for the health of the child, but don't practice that disgusting act in public-reveals a squeamishness about the pure animality of breastfeeding, as well as an unwillingness to come to terms with its inherent sexuality. As Giles comments, "The stories in this book reach toward a wider, and a wilder, space in which breastfeeding might more freely ebb and flow." Drawn from historical research, conversations, questionnaire responses and Giles's own experience, some stories are presented straight from their sources; others are combined and fictionalized. The accompanying remarks are often as long as the stories, and readers may get confused about the identity of the narrator at any given moment. But this collection is sure to provoke deep thought and strong reactions, both visceral and emotional, from revulsion to longing, sometimes both at once.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is not your typical book on breast-feeding. Giles, author of Dick for a Day, which asked a group of female writers the question, What would you do if you had a dick for a day? turns her attention here to the lactating breast. Ranging in subject from nursing bras to breast-milk banks, the collection includes personal essays, short fiction, and responses to questionnaires. Notable selections include an essay in which a woman expresses indignation over the discovery that her baby was breast-fed by another woman at day care. Despite the ubiquity of images of (nonlactating) female breasts in the media, Giles argues that the topic remains somewhat taboo--at least in circles beyond baby showers and new-mother discussion groups. Even those venues may shy away from such topics as sexual arousal during breast-feeding, or at least be a bit shocked by the essay from an adult-film producer who specializes in "lactation porn" and whose best-sellers include The Battle of the Ultra Milkmaids and Lactation Nation. A fascinating look at breast-feeding as a personal and social phenomenon. Beth Leistensnider
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (April 2, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780743211475
ISBN-13: 978-0743211475
ASIN: 0743211472
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 16 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,908,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1578 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Home Improvement & Design > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Repair
- #3350 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Parenting > Early Childhood
- #4399 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Gender Studies

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Kristina K.

Fresh Milk, fresh perspective!

June 25, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was such a fresh offering in what can be a lot of the same material, book after book. In a series of essays, the author boldly delves into many aspects of breastfeeding and the consequences for mothers, families, partners and babies, positive, negative and unexpected. She did not shy away from topics that might make the reader uncomfortable, inviting them instead to think, challenge their perceptions, and broaden their perspective. There's no pressure to agree, but the table is set in a wonderful format for you to press against the edges of your comfort zone, and come away inspired. A must read!

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J. Benedict

Great book for expectant or breastfeeding mothers and their partners

January 4, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

During the time I was breastfeeding my son, I found few women who would talk about the experience of breastfeeding among my friends and acquaintances. I started searching for resouces where I could learn more about this amazing time in my relationship with my child. This book was a wonderful way for me to learn how others have enjoyed breastfeeding (or not enjoyed it, in some cases) and to delve deeper into the experience.

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July 24, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

shipped far faster than expected in better condition than expected- thank you!!

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October 4, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Read this while breastfeeding my kids years ago. Funny tales. Aussie style, must be open minded to enjoy the humor. Great read while nursing.

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Rebecca Allen

Subversively delightful

March 22, 2006

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Men breastfeeding. Need I say more? A lot of great stories and entertaining information about breasts that does not get mentioned in more Proper Books.

Lots of fun.

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Lauren

Eye-opening collection of different breastfeeding stories

December 19, 2009

Format: Paperback

If you have any interest in breastfeeding at all, Fresh Milk -- the secret life of breasts is an eye-opening collection of different breastfeeding stories. Touching on everything from the sexual fetishism of breastfeeding to how mothers have successfully breastfed adopted children, Australian author Fiona Giles proves no story is taboo.

And no issue, except of course, breastfeeding itself, and how our Western society has changed it from a natural practice into a pseudo-sexual shame, precluding the continuation of age-old practices like wet-nursing and public breastfeeding. This book is a fascinating read, even for the bottle-feeder.

The collection of stories cover an incident where a woman's baby was breastfed by someone else without consent, a father who used to latch his baby onto his nipple to comfort her, a woman who pumped for months after her daughter died -- donating her milk to a milk bank, children who weaned from their mothers very "late", and men who fantasise about lactating breasts.

Fresh Milk isn't necessarily a pro-breastfeeding book. Included are stories by those who never wanted to breastfeed their babies, those who tried and decided it wasn't "for them", and those mothers who "admitted defeat" after battling hard to create a successful breastfeeding team with their baby. For breastfeeding does take two, and both the baby and the mother need to be able to work in tandem to create a breastfeeding success story.

Breastfeeding is as individualistic as women's breasts themselves, and no stories are alike. This collection of essays and interviews are all centred on people who have been touched by breastfeeding, or its absence. As the author writes, "together they extend the boundaries of what we consider normal when it comes to human parenting. They reveal a glimpse into what lactation means to us, and how it might fit more amply into our lives."

Borrow it from the library, buy it for a friend (giving it away only after you've read it first -- it's an easy one to read through quickly), or keep a copy for yourself. This book will provoke thought and discussion on breastfeeding from all perspectives, promoting tolerance and acceptance of a range of views.

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Kathleen Bailey

Refreshing Book on Breastfeeding

February 8, 2006

Format: Paperback

I just recently became a breastfeeding mom for the first time and so I have been looking for books on breastfeeding. I've read lots of manuals and was refreshed to find a book on the subject that wasn't a how-to. Fresh Milk covers many different aspects of breastfeeding including the ones not talked about much like breastfeeding an older child, using lactation in the bedroom and cooking with breastmilk. There are stories of breastfeeding adopted children, older children and triplets. There are stories about the pressure to breastfeed versus bottlefeed, breastfeeding while you work and learning how to breastfeed. It's a good read for those people like me who like to know a lot about a subject before they do it. Even the parts I didn't agree with, I still read and tried to keep an open mind about. Reading the book also made my breasts fill with milk and helped me to pump more milk during a time when my baby was away from me.

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R. Charleson

Thoughtful and thought provoking

July 13, 2005

Format: Paperback

If you've ever pondered the contradictions about breasts in our society, this is an engaging book. It is based on the author's research and questionnaires about breastfeeding, and has stories from mothers, husbands, lovers, and adults who recall their own experiences being breastfed. Breasts are highly politicized (e.g. the controversy over Janet Jackson's momentary exposure). The topic of breastfeeding adds heat to the fire, as it blurs the boundary between motherhood and sexuality in a society of ideologues -- from Puritan prudes who think public breastfeeding is disgusting, or too sexy, to some breastfeeding activists who advocate a totally non-sexual role for breasts. Thus, almost anything said by the author would be taboo for someone. Given that many of the author's accounts are anonymous, the coverage is more diverse than one might expect in the public discourse. I liked the story of twin boys who had successful breastfeeding experiences as young children. Later in adolescence they revealed to their mother their attraction to Pamela Anderson's breasts -- just the opposite predicted by some Freudians who believe that sexual interest in prominent breasts is the result of inadequate breastfeeding. Thus, this book has much to invoke a more thoughtful discourse, and to comfort mothers and couples who want to raise their children naturally in our society that is so uptight about breasts.

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