Women’s rights groups have pledged to protest at a conference for breastfeeding consultants over plans to feature a speaker who specialises in helping men to lactate both for feeding babies and for ‘sexual gratification’.
US-based Jacob Engelsman is scheduled to give a talk on ‘lactation support for gender-diverse families’ at the annual conference of the Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland (ALCI) in October.
Mr Engelsman has previously given presentations on ‘inducing lactation for kinksters’, and has spoken several times at Frolicon, an annual adult lifestyle and fetish convention in the United States.
Jill Nesbitt of Women’s Space Ireland said her organisation would be among those protesting and demanding that the HSE prioritise the protection of babies at the ALCI conference, which takes place in Galway city on October 9 and 10.
‘It’s a perversion to suggest that men can put a baby to their nipples or attempt to lactate,’ she said.
‘Breastfeeding mothers are very careful in what they eat or drink in order not to harm their child and put their baby’s best interests first.
‘Men attempting to lactate to feed a baby is child abuse,’ Ms Nesbitt said, before adding: ‘A baby can’t consent to being used as a prop for a man’s sexual fetish.’
She described the statement by the ALCI that it does not necessarily endorse the views of its speakers as a ‘cop-out’, and questioned why an organisation receiving Government funding would host the talk by Mr Engelsman.
In his book, Lactation For The Rest Of Us: A Guide For Queer And Trans Parents And Helpers, Mr Engelsman wrote that the reasons men want to lactate include the desire to feed a baby, but also ‘curiosity, fun, or sexual gratification’.
The ALCI, which receives annual grant funding from the HSE, aims to provide support and expertise to both healthcare professionals and individuals seeking advice on breastfeeding.
It describes its annual conference as two ‘inspiring’ days of learning, networking, and professional development.
However, it states on its website that it is not responsible for the content of presentations and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed by speakers.
Catherine Monaghan, an Irish women’s rights activist and founding member of Wicklow Women 4 Women, said: ‘Surely ALCI can provide inclusive and compassionate lactation support to women, regardless of how they identify, without surrendering sex-based boundaries or accepting the proposition that male lactation is equivalent to the normal female process of breastfeeding?
US-based Jacob Engelsman is set to give talk on ‘lactation support for gender-diverse families’
‘Women are entitled to boundaries, and babies are entitled to have their welfare prioritised.
‘Is it too much to ask that women and babies remain at the centre of a profession established to support them?’
Ms Monaghan also pointed out the ALCI receives annual funding from the HSE, saying in an online report: ‘Ireland’s breastfeeding rates are persistently low compared with many European countries.
‘Shouldn’t public funding be concentrated first on improving practical breastfeeding support for women?
‘Any amount of money spent on supporting male lactation is money foolishly spent.’
Both the ALCI and Mr Engelsman have been contacted for comment.
