Theorizing ‘deviant’ embodiment and the act of breastfeeding

Despite decades of fervent public health promotion, breastfeeding is often read as an inappropriate or disgusting act. Drawing on feminist theories of the body, this paper constructs a theory of ‘deviant’ embodiment which challenges the dichotomies of mind/body and nature/culture, and the role of medicalization in shaping discourses surrounding lactation. I apply this framework to the act of breastfeeding and the various objectifying gazes...