An article that surfaced on July 22nd 2017 was sent in by a concerned girlfriend. Source: 北美吐槽 (Bei Mei Tu Cao)
“I have never been pregnant, and as a result I don’t truly understand the emotions a mother goes through. So maybe I am surprised by something that is quite normal, but I this incident has really left me dumbstruck.”
The incident relates to the said woman’s boyfriend and a female colleague that he works with. She says that while many of his colleagues are female however the vast majority are married and have children. She also states it’s quite an open, relaxed working environment, where there are not a lot of secrets hidden amongst colleagues.
“Today my boyfriend told me that one of his colleagues who has just had a child used her own breast milk to make soap. She then gave this soap out to everyone in the office as a present. My boyfriend said it had a strong milky smell, and when he was offered some he politely refused it.”
Yes, you did read the above line correctly. Breast milk soap.
“I couldn’t believe it, I had never heard about anyone making this kind of soap before. I mean, I didn’t really get it, it certainly isn’t something I would think as being pleasant. Then as it sunk in I begin to feel angry about this. Why is this woman giving this as a gift? Why does she think it is ok to give it to my boyfriend.”
It seems like an odd thing to give someone, but after some of my more traditional Chinese friends insist that there was nothing really wrong with this. One of them even keep a bottle of her cousins breast milk in her fridge to use a face mask. They were very keen to highlight the fact that breast milk can actually be really good for the skin.
“I told my boyfriend how I felt about this. He said that as I have never been pregnant I couldn’t really understand. If I were to have a baby I would probably understand. I still think the action of this woman is extremely selfish. This is just not the sort of thing you should give out to your colleagues. The thought of my boyfriend using another woman’s breast milk to wash just makes me want to explode.
“Do other people feel the same as I do about this? I would love to know other peoples views.”
Many other netizens agree that this is quite disgusting and that if they were in the woman situation, they would feel exactly the same. However some feel this is perfectly innocent, breast milk is one of natural things in the world.
“I find there is a small group of people that when they become mothers become very sensitive. They always criticise people who don’t understand what it’s like to be a mother. The person who initially posted only had an issue with it being given to her boyfriend and other male colleagues.”
“Since a product is being made from the breast milk, isn’t there cleanliness as you cant sterilise you home?”
“I’ve had a child myself so I understand the mothers position, but I would give out breast milk soap as a gift to my colleagues.”
“Since breast milk is healthy because it is naturally produced, has anyone thought about making sperm soap?”
