If everyone in our society were as honest and accepting about such normal aspects of being human as this story touches on, we'd all be much healthier and happier.

Yes, I nursed all 3 of my kids well into toddlerhood.

But this is way way too much info for me.

Your body his/her mouth your business. I do have a cousin who once on an outs with her many boy-friends said they were all just looking for tits to suck anyway. I doubt seriously (reminded of Internet comment) that this is the first, last, or even billion'th time this has come about, life's short, enjoy yourself, set your boundaries and live!

Like the previous letter-writer, I am also not squeamish about nursing and have nursed both of my kids. But this article really icked me out. I clicked just in case it wasn't as bad as the headline made it sound (as is frequently the case at Salon) but nope, worse. When are people going to learn that while you might be able to get people to read this stuff out of morbid curiousity (and thus gain some ad dollars) you inherently lose dignity by baring all to all and sundry?

Furthermore, I have a problem with the idea that it's somehow socially acceptable for a nursing mother to sleep around. Many STDs are transmissable through breastmilk. If you pick something up from one of your new boyfriends (and this happens even with "proper precautions") then it could easily be passed on to your innocent nursing baby. I think you can keep your pants on until weaning occurs, for crying out loud.

I agree TMI. There is not enough to this story to justify it's existence.

Are you effing kidding me? I'm all down with the flip side, with crazy, with whatever-blows-your-skirt-up, live and let live my brothas and sistas. But this was :

* Jesus god, what an overshare.

* Bloody damned creepy and gross.

* So out of place. Save it for the new-age neo-pagan motherhood-worshipping blogs.

I should've known not to click the link, but surely, I thought, SURELY that is some metaphor about how men sometimes need to be patted on the head -- this after all being the home (occasionally) of condescending misandry. No. No, it was not.

I thought I was totally done with Salon when they ruined a show for me with SPOILERS on the FRONT PAGE NEWS WIRES, but the loony high-flown wackadoo goodness that is Camille lured me back. But now this? Great flaming lords of Kobol, you people have gone 'round the damned bend. I am *out of here.*

Posting titillating stories will certainly raise page clicks. Unfortunately it is not very scrupulous.

I've noticed the number of these weak, unsophisticated stories are increasing lately. Maybe Salon ought to consider creating a new category of "news" -say tabloid section- to post this drivel.

You don't end a story like this with a cut off. What happened with the relationship? Did you stay with him, or find out he was a jerk, or never see him again?

As for people who are complaining about the content - the title is quite clear. If you don't want to read this, there are lots of other articles to read and lots of other web sites to visit. Grip. Get.

D.L.T.D.H.Y.A.O.T.W.O

You won't be missed. Er, YWBM.

Really! We are supposed to take seriously the complaints of someone who was lured back to Salon by Paglia? I don't think so. The only valid complaint about this article was from the reasonable person who wondered what happened next.

What's with the judgemental attitude, creeped out people==you were clearly warned. Especially ExquisiteKoi--"I wanted to see if it was better than I hoped, but it was even worse"? Please, share your repression if you must, but don't try to spread it.

The most over-used word of the 20th century, right there. Now it's the 21st century. Time to pick a new candidate and run with it. Maybe "bailout" would work. Or "hook-up."

But hey, give your baby hepatitis and all the other joys of adult irresponsibility! It's all part of being a hip, with-it single mom in the city! Whee!

...echoing some of the other posters' sentiments. I believe both parties in this essay are fully-formed human beings, so why not write about them as such, and not just as cardboard cut-out fetishizers and/or fetishees?

I see nothing wrong with a man being attracted to a lactating woman or the writer allowing him to nurse on her milk-filled breasts. If this is all the man ever sought in women, then there might be a problem for him, but that's another article and who am I to judge?

TMI? No way. NEI (not enough info)!

it didn't occur to me that a baby could get sick from mom sharing her breasts. Is this true?

If people are grossed out by very normal human body functions and sexual behavior, then they shouldn't be reading articles like this, or passing judgment on the author. I found this article refreshingly honest about a subject that is obviously difficult to write about, because it's so marginalized (still! as the commenters have proven!).

HIV is the main disease that's passed via breastfeeding, and beyond that herpes and syphillis if the infant comes in direct contact with the lesions. I don't think a breastfeeding mother should have to curtail her sex life - but like anybody else she should be careful about multiple sexual partners and be as safe as she can possibly be. This whole idea that breastfeeding mothers have to be virginal is a bizarre complex foisted upon women by a puritannical culture. Come on! It's just sex, and if you and your partner are tested and practice safe sex, it's not a big deal.

Anyway. Bravo to the writer for being so frank about her experience. I think more stuff like this should be written so people stop getting so freaked out by it. Seriously, it's just breastmilk!