If you force an infant to breastfeed from a man because that man identifies as the “mother,” is that a delusion?
The left is saying it isn’t. In fact, such an arrangement was celebrated on a recent episode of “Nine Months with Courtney Cox,” where the erstwhile “Friends” star follows different couples through pregnancy and birth for Facebook Watch.
The couples profiled included Petrona and Ahanu, a man and woman who “identify” as a woman and a man, respectively. While Ahanu gave birth to a child, she maintains she’s the father. Meanwhile, the “mother,” Petrona, received breast implants and is taking medication in order to lactate, according to Breitbart.
In a clip from a recent episode from June, Petrona tries to breastfeed the baby — who latches but, unsurprisingly, is unable to obtain nourishment.
“The baby has been able to latch, but I’ve not been able to produce any milk,” Petrona said in the clip.
“Being able to even be a part of a process where I’m trying to create milk and my body, it makes me feel very excited. I’m this baby’s mother, so by doing this it’s helping me feel really connected to the pregnancy.”
In bed after the clip, Petrona tells Ahanu, “I appreciate you so much for all your work.”
“I appreciate you also, baby,” Ahanu responds. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I love you.”
Earlier in the episode, Ahanu had given birth at home. Instead of being given to her, however, the baby was given to Petrona first in order to attempt the latching.
During another episode in May, Cox said Ahanu and Petrona are trying to “overcome trans discrimination.” The episode description also noted that “Ahanu and Petrona struggle with family members over the decision to not gender their child.”
It’s not hard to imagine reasons for that that have nothing to do with “trans discrimination.”
Given that Courtney Cox doesn’t exactly cast a huge shadow over the cultural radar anymore, and the fact that the series is being streamed on the musty corner of the internet that is Facebook Watch, the episode didn’t get much attention until The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh posted the “breastfeeding” clip to Twitter.
“In this family the father identifies as the mother while the mother identifies as the father. The father is now attempting to breastfeed the baby,” he wrote.
“Don’t tell me nobody is harmed by these ‘lifestyle choices.’ The baby is now condemned to this madness.”
In this family the father identifies as the mother while the mother identifies as the father. The father is now attempting to breastfeed the baby
Do you think this is child abuse?Don’t tell me nobody is harmed by these “lifestyle choices.” The baby is now condemned to this madness.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 12, 2021
As for those medications that can introduce lactation in a man trying to be a woman: Yes, they do exist, according to a case study. However, as The New York Times noted, “it is not known whether breast milk from this kind of induced lactation is equivalent to milk produced after giving birth by women who are not transgender.”
Unlike breast milk from women, there are no documented long-term studies that says this breast milk is safe or more effective than baby formula. Likewise, there are no studies that confirm breastfeeding confers any bond with a man who wishes to be a baby’s “mother.” All that was reported in the Times was that a study showed that a man “was able to achieve sufficient breast milk volume to be the sole source of nourishment” for a baby for six weeks.
Yet Ahanu and Petrona are, naturally, a cause celebre among the left.
LGBT-centric publication The Advocate profiled the couple under the headline: “These Trans Parents Gave Birth Amid a Pandemic and Right-Wing Hate.”
After publicity about the breastfeeding video grew, Media Matters for America: “Right-wing media are harassing a trans couple for taking care of their newborn child.”
“Harassing” and “right-wing hate” was essentially defined as having this choice scrutinized by people like GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro and Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth. There were also mouths agape because these individuals dared to “misgender” the parents and call what they were doing “child abuse.”
Sorry, but Ahanu and Petrona are making a deliberate political point via their very public choices in child-rearing.
We know little about the effects of men trying to breastfeed a baby through medically induced lactation. What we do know is that nature — Mother Nature — doesn’t bend to the whims of culture.
If it were just Ahanu and Petrona being affected by this, that’s one thing. When they’re using a newborn baby as a prop in their identity politics, that’s quite another.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
