I'm hoping that Ed's skepticism is directed at the quality of the
anecdotal evidence I cited on men nursing, not at the use of anecdotal
evidence itself. Anecdotal evidence is normally a dirty word in science,
but not in this context. In fact, anecdotal evidence is the only way to
go here. All it takes is one fully trustworthy and sufficiently detailed
case history documenting that some man, somewhere, suckled a baby, and
the claim is supported. In fact, I can't think of any other way to do it.
It's one of those rare cases where what we need is a good anecdote.
But I do agree that the claims I directed people to--
http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/miscarticles/milkmen.html
http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/08/fact-men-can-breastfeed.html
do leave something to be desired in the trustworthy and detailed
department. What we need is a panel of absolutely truthful and
trustworthy individuals who can attest to the occurrence of the
phenomenon. I'm thinking George Bush, Stephen Harper, and Tony Blair. OK,
I'll throw in the Reverend Ted Haggard as well. Wudja think?
Stephen
I am not sure where I am getting with this but I will try.
There was a theory going around that in the early days of human evolution
it was very difficult to differentiate between the sexes and that sexual
roles were not that highly differentiated.So it could be possible that some
nursing capacity (though miniscule) could have existed in males.
It would be interesting to discover the roots of breast cancer in males.
Michael Sylvester,PhD
Daytona Beach,Florida
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