Lactivism: How Feminists and Fundamentalists, Hippies and Yuppies, and Physicians and Politicians Made Breastfeeding Big Business and Bad Policy - Hardcover

Courtney Jung is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Publishers Weekly
Jung makes some thoughtful points against seeing the practice [of breastfeeding] as the most or only acceptable option for mothers.... [H]er intersectional perspective, which looks at how feminist concerns mesh with those related to race and class, may encourage advocates to approach new moms with more sensitivity, and to view the ubiquity of breast pumps with a slightly more dubious eye.”

Shelf Awareness
[Jung's] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a woman's choice has become a matter of public health and a socially enforced necessity. A critical look at policies that have cemented poor science and damaged women's rights in the United States.”

Kirkus Reviews
Jung offers readers an inside look at the modern world of breast-feeding, which has undergone transformative changes since its revival in the United States in the 1970s.... Using solid evidence to back her statements, the author analyzes how the simple act of breast-feeding has shifted into a mechanical process through the use of breast pumps, with a salable commodity: the breast milk.... A levelheaded, well-researched analysis of the many trappings of contemporary breastfeeding culture.'”

"Jung's book is a bold challenge to the prevailing parenting orthodoxy."―National Post

"The truths [Jung] uncovers may make your jaw drop.... But perhaps most interesting is Jung's astute observation that what is being so ardently promoted isn't actual breast-feeding--whereby a baby is fed from the breast--but human milk as a product, creating pressure for working mothers of all income levels to pump in less than ideal conditions, when what might benefit them and their babies most is paid maternity leave (or simply using formula).... [Jung's] keen analyses and wry humor keep the reader engaged."―Lori Gottlieb, New York Times Book Review

"[Jung] makes a provocative case that [breast-feeding's] benefits have been drastically oversold.... [She] is particularly sharp in describing how 21st-century policy makers have turned breast-feeding into a consensus issue."―Wall Street Journal

"[A] groundbreaking new book.... Jung's subject in Lactivism isn't nursing itself, but a strain of advocacy that prizes feeding babies breast milk above all else, no matter the cost to their mothers or, in some cases, the babies themselves.... [An] important book."―Michelle Goldberg, Slate XX

"Highly readable.... [Jung] makes a strong argument: If women are supposed to have a 'choice' about their reproductive activities, why can't they choose how to nourish the offspring that might emerge?"―Weekly Standard

"[Jung's] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a woman's choice has become a matter of public health and a socially enforced necessity. A critical look at policies that have cemented poor science and damaged women's rights in the United States."―Shelf Awareness

"Jung lays out an intriguing analysis of how different groups have interpreted the 'breast is best' slogan to reflect their own agendas."―Washington Post