Galway breastfeeding conference cancelled over “kink” speaker

A breastfeeding conference due to be held at the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway in October has been cancelled after the venue cited safeguarding and “health and safety” concerns.

The Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland (ALCI) had listed US speaker Jacob Engelsman on the programme. Engelsman promotes discussion of “male lactation”, has described that discussion as “inclusive parenting”, and has advocated for the inclusion of men who identify as women in lactation support groups. He has previously given talks at a fetish conference on “Lactation for Kinksters”.

In his book Lactation for the Rest of Us, Engelsman wrote that some men may seek to induce lactation to experience “gender euphoria”, or for reasons including “curiosity, fun, or sexual gratification”.

Sorcha Nic Lochlainn, a breastfeeding support volunteer, former midwife, and director of The Countess — a voluntary group advocating for women and girls in Ireland — said child safeguarding must always be prioritised.

“Any man who would associate infant feeding with sexual gratification should raise a red flag. Anyone who centres adult desires above infant wellbeing should raise a red flag. Anyone who ignores concerns in favour of ideology should raise a red flag,” she said.

When contacted by Ms Nic Lochlainn, ALCI said Engelsman’s work highlighted the need for LGBT inclusion. She described that reply as wholly inadequate and said it undermines the need to safeguard.

“This is not about a disagreement on gender. The whole conference has now been cancelled from the Ardilaun hotel. The ALCI says this is for ‘health and safety reasons’. Whose health and whose safety they do not say. Not the babies they serve it seems,” she said. “Those who support this man cry cancel culture. It is not ‘cancel culture’ when children are at risk. The Ardilaun made the correct decision on this. It remains to be seen if this conference will be held elsewhere, and if Engelsman will be presenting. We will be watching closely.”

Responding to queries, the HSE said the conference was “in line with equality legislation and inclusion strategies” and cited studies on the number of babies born in diverse family structures.

Laoise de Brún, chief executive and founder of The Countess, said babies are not props and that giving Engelsman a platform was deplorable.

“Irish equality law protects people from discrimination. It does not create a right to chemically induce a secretion from a male body, call it breastfeeding, and put an infant on that nipple so an adult man can ‘feel like a mother,’ or for ‘curiosity, fun, or sexual gratification,’” she said. “A man taking drugs to grow breast tissue and then pumping for ‘curiosity, fun or sexual gratification’ is doing something else. Presenting it as ‘lactation support for gender-diverse families’ does not change the facts. Once a baby is used for an adult’s identity or arousal, you have left the realm of healthcare.”

“Babies are not props. This is fetish and it’s being promoted by the Association of Lactation Consultants of Ireland.”