January 21, 2005

Breast Milk/Astronomy Factoid

I guess it's Breast Milk Week around the Daddy Types offices.

The story of the Milky Way, as it appears in Greco-Roman mythology, concerns the feeding of baby Hercules, son of Zeus. Because Hercules' mother was mortal, Zeus put Hercules to the breast of the goddess Hera, his wife and sister [whoa, whoa, and whoa. -dt], knowing that Hercules would acquire immortality through her milk. As Herclues suckled from the sleeping Hera's breast, she woke up and pushed him away. As she did so her milk sprayed across the heavens, crystallizing into a promontory of stars. Her milk that fell to the ground produced lilies.
From Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts, by Fiona Giles.

The book also includes collected stories of breastfeeding pleasure and pain; accounts of mastitis and thrush (which, if you live with a breastfeedding person, you probably already know); discussion of how sex figures into this whole breastfeeding thing; breast milk recipes; and the story of the guy who wasn't breastfed as a child and so he collected donated breast milk to make himself some ice cream. Perspective, people, perspective.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald (AU) review, or buy Fresh Milk at Amazon.

4 Comments

Speaking of breastmilk recipes, I once contributed six ounces of mine to an artist who made cheese, which was displayed at the MoMA Queens' opening. It was the first and last time my name appeared on the wall of the MoMA. Thanks for the book rec.

Whoa, I was AT the MoMA QNS opening, and I may have had some cheese. I hope your cheese was in an exhibit and not at the buffet table... No offense, of course, and congratulations.

LOL, definitely an exhibit!

Is there a record of the breastmilk cheese exhibit at the MoMA in the catalog? What is the name of the artist? I am researching the use of breastmilk in art ...

Google DT


Contact DT

Daddy Types is published by Greg Allen with the help of readers like you.
Got tips, advice, questions, and suggestions? Send them to:
greg [at] daddytypes [dot] com

Join the [eventual] Daddy Types mailing list!


Archives

copyright

copyright 2024 daddy types, llc.
no unauthorized commercial reuse.
privacy and terms of use
published using movable type