{"id":55137,"date":"2021-02-18T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T15:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/?p=55137"},"modified":"2021-02-18T10:01:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T15:01:02","slug":"breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","title":{"rendered":"“Breastfeeding” too “heteronormative” in Newspeak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. […] Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. […] The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking\u2014not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The prophetic words from 1984<\/em> by George Orwell (1903-1950) seem increasingly to correspond to everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operation began decades ago, in predictably peaceful and seemingly positive ways. Here in Italy, the trash collector became l’operatore ecologico<\/em> (the “ecological operator”)\u2014as if the dignity of such daily toil were amplified by a more prissy description. Or there’s the case of the handicapped being re-designated the “differently abled.” Yet already here something must have gone wrong; because, despite such verbal cleverness, in reality malformations and handicaps (even slight)\u2014far from having gained in dignity and consideration\u2014have become sufficient grounds to abort a fetus with such “defects,” even in the second trimester of pregnancy (not only in Italy, but also elsewhere<\/a>). Such are regarded “lives not worth living<\/a>” to such an extent that, even after<\/em> birth, in some places, being “differently-abled” under certain circumstances can be grounds for terminating life<\/a>. Supposedly it’s in the “best interest<\/a>“\u2014yet another euphemistic neologism\u2014of the individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newspeak in the university<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The evolution of language, however, goes on apace. Some researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra last year published a gender-inclusive<\/em><\/a> handbook, or rather a guide to “uplift female and gender minority students.” The use of the concept of “gender” as a social construct<\/a> and the assimilation of the female condition to that of “gender minorities” are already perplexing<\/a>\u2014as if “gender minorities” really existed, in addition to the male and female sex\u2014but particularly striking are the tips for the use of the parent-inclusive<\/em> Newspeak. With the supposedly noble aim of easing the plight of those in school who are already looking after a child, the Australian university says it is “celebrating diversity among students”. [The handbook says, “While many students will identify as ‘mothers’ or ‘fathers,’ using these terms alone to describe parenthood excludes those who do not identify with gender-binaries.”]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heterosexuality is traumatizing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2019 study done by researcher Lauren Dinour, Speaking Out on Breadfasting Therminology<\/a><\/em>,<\/a> quoted in the ANU handbook, “heterosexual and woman-focused lactation language [. . .] can misgender, isolate, and harm transmasculine parents and non-heteronormative families.” So, in place of such quintessentially “heterosexual” terms as “breastfeeding<\/a>,” the handbook “therefore recommend[s]… the terms ‘breast\/chest feeding’… rather than ‘breastfeeding’…’ to describe lactation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a problem remains for the neo-linguists, a subtle contradiction: namely, they seem to take for granted that only women have breasts. Perhaps a “transgender female-to-male” who has retained her mammary glands would <\/em>feel more “welcomed” by hearing about “chests” instead of “breasts.” But isn’t it discriminatory also toward “male-to-female transgender” persons who have resorted to cosmetic surgery not to acknowledge their “breasts” as being just as real as those Mother Nature gives to those XX chromosomes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trampled by seahorses<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is also very wrong, we learn, to speak of “mother’s milk” when there are more “inclusive” expressions: “human milk” or “parent’s milk”. And, because they are “discriminatory,” terms such as “mother” and “father” should be abolished in favor of “gestational parent” or “birthing parent” and “nongestational parent” and “nonbirthing parent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidently there is still some reason, surely of a practical order, that requires one to distinguish between a “gestating parent” and a “parent” who does not <\/em>gestate their child; but it is no longer part of polite and civilized vocabulary to take for granted that it is the “mother” who carries on the gestation of a child and gives birth to it. For example, there are “seahorse dads<\/a>,” or “‘men’ who give birth”\u2014and to refer to such as these as “mothers” would in be truly unforgivable indeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Breast milk’ also banned in UK hospitals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Australian university’s pamphlet is but one example of the attempt at linguistic revolution underway today. In the two facilities run by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, midwives are no longer allowed to use<\/a> the terms “breastfeeding” and “breast milk.” ‘Maternity wards’ have become ‘peri-natal services’ and practitioners, having successfully removed the terms ‘mothers’ and ‘women’, are ‘proud to care for trans and non-binary people’. In fact, according to the health workers of those hospitals<\/a>, the classical narrative of pregnancy, birth and nurturing of the newborn brings with it “biological essentialism and transphobia.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nominalism and nihilism: the denial of pain<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The University was once the place where people learned that known truth involves correspondence with reality; as the Medievals put it, adaequatio rei et intellectus<\/strong> (“the intellect must be adequate to the reality known”). Epistemic nominalism\u2014a presupposition now implicit in any “scientific” research\u2014has, however, eliminated the relationship between thoughts\/words and concrete data. In the debasement of bodies, which are mutilated and shaped according to the whim of minds that are increasingly too immature<\/a> to have attained adequate self-understanding, the lying illusion is that altering the narrative can alter the facts. A man, or a woman, who is by condition\u2014or conditioning\u2014uncomfortable in relation to his or her own body can now adopt the illusion that the “celebration” (another significant Newspeak term) of his or her own “diversity” suppresses meaningful and inconvenient facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The names of snow<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An urban legend has it that the Eskimos have a hundred different words to indicate snow (despite several studies<\/a> to disprove this statement). Yet, in the myth there is still a deep meaning: man, the more he deals with a certain reality, continues to build observations, knowledge, and descriptions. And the more knowledge grows, the more specific and precise the language becomes: reality is indicated with ever greater accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where, on the other hand, we find language systematically thinned out and impoverished, it is evident that the ultimate intention is not to describe or know better, but to hide something, to obscure what it uncomfortable or inconvenient. But to deny the uncomfortable doesn’t make the pain go away. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Intelligence in danger of death in Australia and Britain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":54756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"Intelligence in danger of death in Australia and Britain.","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override":[{"single_blog_custom":"","sidebar":"","second_sidebar":"","share_position":"","share_float_style":"","post_date_format":"","post_date_format_custom":"","post_reading_time_wpm":"","zoom_button_out_step":"1","zoom_button_in_step":"1","number_popup_post":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"","single_post_gallery_size":""}],"trending_post_position":"","trending_post_label":"","sponsored_post_label":"","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"514"},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[804,510,805,514],"tags":[8129],"class_list":["post-55137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-family","category-foreground","category-science","tag-foreground"],"yoast_head":"\n"Breastfeeding" too "heteronormative" in Newspeak - IFN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Intelligence in mortal danger in Australia and Britain, where neo-language dictates that the phrase "breastfeeding" be removed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Breastfeeding" too "heteronormative" in Newspeak\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Intelligence in mortal danger in Australia and Britain, where neo-language dictates that the phrase "breastfeeding" be removed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iFamNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-18T15:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-18T15:01:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1003\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cristina Tamburini\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@iFamNewsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@iFamNewsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cristina Tamburini\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Breastfeeding\" too \"heteronormative\" in Newspeak - IFN","description":"Intelligence in mortal danger in Australia and Britain, where neo-language dictates that the phrase \"breastfeeding\" be removed","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Breastfeeding\" too \"heteronormative\" in Newspeak","og_description":"Intelligence in mortal danger in Australia and Britain, where neo-language dictates that the phrase \"breastfeeding\" be removed","og_url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","og_site_name":"IFN","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iFamNews","article_published_time":"2021-02-18T15:00:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-18T15:01:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1003,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Cristina Tamburini","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@iFamNewsEN","twitter_site":"@iFamNewsEN","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cristina Tamburini","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak"},"author":{"name":"Cristina Tamburini","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43e7f156898341a8d33d23cccefde53a"},"headline":"“Breastfeeding” too “heteronormative” in Newspeak","datePublished":"2021-02-18T15:00:18+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-18T15:01:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak"},"wordCount":1049,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png","keywords":["Foreground"],"articleSection":["Breaking News","Family","Foreground","Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak","name":"\"Breastfeeding\" too \"heteronormative\" in Newspeak - IFN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png","datePublished":"2021-02-18T15:00:18+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-18T15:01:02+00:00","description":"Intelligence in mortal danger in Australia and Britain, where neo-language dictates that the phrase \"breastfeeding\" be removed","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/breastfeeding-2730855_1280.png","width":1003,"height":1280,"caption":"Image by mcmurryjulie from Pixabay"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/breastfeeding-too-heteronormative-in-newspeak#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Famiglia","item":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/it\/categoria\/famiglia"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"“Breastfeeding” too “heteronormative” in Newspeak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/","name":"IFN","description":"International Family News Network","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#organization","name":"iFamNews","url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Share-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Share-logo.png","width":200,"height":200,"caption":"iFamNews"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/iFamNews","https:\/\/x.com\/iFamNewsEN"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43e7f156898341a8d33d23cccefde53a","name":"Cristina Tamburini","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165d8e302e80b4826915d6dc5ff4095e2cdb523a870c0cb303347ba24f5e3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4165d8e302e80b4826915d6dc5ff4095e2cdb523a870c0cb303347ba24f5e3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cristina Tamburini"},"description":"Cristina Tamburini, graduated in Philosophy with a thesis in Philosophical Anthropology on contemporary utilitarianism, wife and mother of seven children, has never abandoned the study and the passion for philosophical anthropology, ethics and bioethics. She has translated into Italian several texts, including Action and Conduct: Thomas Aquinas and the Theory of Action by Stephen L. Brock and Intention by G. Elizabeth M. Anscombe, extending her interests to theology (especially to eschatology and the Social Doctrine of the Church). He edited the blog Yes, they are all mine! to tell and explore the maternage and everyday life in a large family.","sameAs":["https:\/\/sonotuttimiei.blogspot.com\/","https:\/\/instagram.com\/cristambu\/"],"url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/author\/ctamburini"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55137"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55146,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55137\/revisions\/55146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}