‘I’m tired of the degrading of women’: Kirstie Alley slams ‘insane nullifying’ of women’s abilities in row over gender neutral term ‘chestfeeding’

• The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has urged the use of ‘gender-inclusive language’ such as ‘chestfeeding,’ ‘parent’s milk’ and ‘human milk feeding’ 
• Kirstie, 70, was criticised by her followers after she claimed the terms were ‘degrading and nullifying of women and their abilities’
• Last year, JK Rowling called for an end to the ‘climate of fear’ around the trans debate after she received death threats for lambasting gender neutral language

Kirstie Alley has lambasted new guidelines from a worldwide organisation of doctors that encourages the use of ‘gender-inclusive language’ such as ‘chestfeeding,’ ‘parent’s milk’ and ‘human milk feeding’. 

In a series of tweets on Sunday, the 70-year-old actress claimed the terms were ‘degrading and nullifying of women and their abilities’. 

She also insisted that she was not speaking from a ‘political’ standpoint but that she deemed the terminology ‘insanity’. 

‘Gender-inclusive’ language has been promoted by various hospitals to accommodate transgender men, who were born female but identify as male, and non-binary people who do not classify themselves as either gender.

‘I’m tired of the degrading of women’: Kirstie Alley slammed ‘insane nullifying’ of women’s abilities in a row over the gender neutral term ‘chestfeeding’

Kirstie began her lengthy Twitter tirade by posting: ‘BREAST-FEEDING IS what WOMEN do. Women also bottle feed. Men bottle feed too. 

‘We do not have to buckle to the insanity of the minuscule minority of lunatics who make us feel guilty for not sharing their insanity. ‘Chest feeding?’ ‘human milk feeding?’ WTF STOP IT!!!’

Kirstie then shared a response from a follower who argued, ‘Why do you care what other people do? Why are republicans always so concerned with what everyone is doing? They’re always up in everyone’s business’, to which Kirstie responded, ‘Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah’.

Clarifying her points, Kirstie continued: ‘I’m a little tired of the degrading and nullifying of women and their abilities. Breastfeeding is one of our abilities. 

‘It’s a beautiful and important ability. Knock off the nullifying of women fir the sake of lunatics. Equal rights does not equal insanity.

‘We all have opinions. Probably the main reason social media is so popular. Especially on our own sites. I guess it’s also inviting other opinions of our opinions but I don’t feel obligated to be ‘sweet’ when people are nasty to me about my own site opinions. BlAh blAh blAh.

‘It’s our personal responsibility to agree or disagree with concepts. My only point here today is don’t let insanity force you to pretend like you agree with the insanity. It’s part of the insanity to shame you into agreement.’

Insane: Kirstie insisted that she was not speaking from a ‘political’ standpoint but that she deemed the terminology ‘insanity’

Kirstie, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, went on to state that her views have been shared by both republican and democrat friends. 

She wrote: ‘My views of this BS are not political. I have plenty of friends from both political persuasions who SHARE the view of the INSANITIES being shoved down our throats by pervs trying to degrade our society. Don’t be afraid to disagree with people who seek to pervert workable morals.’

Kirstie – who boasts 1.5 million Twitter followers – then shared a response from a follower that read: ‘No one asked you to speak for cis women’s breasts or bodies in general. This is about feeding babies, something that isn’t even a concern of yours or your titties.’

The Cheers star fired back: ‘I don’t need to speak for ‘cis’ women. I am a woman and feel comfortable just calling myself a woman and having a woman’s point of view. I don’t need to be ASKED to speak Deb. We handled that pretty well in 1920.’

Speaking out: In a series of tweets on Sunday, the 70-year-old actress claimed the terms were ‘degrading and nullifying of women and their abilities’

Kirstie concluded: ‘For the record I don’t care what people call themselves or categorize their identity. Just leave mine alone. I’m happy with woman, mother, actress, sister, daughter, grandma and gurley to name most of my handles.’

Kirstie’s comments come after the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine urged the use of ‘gender-inclusive language’ such as ‘chestfeeding,’ ‘parent’s milk’ and ‘human milk feeding’ in new guidelines.

Guidelines published on July 29 read: ‘ABM recognizes that not all people who give birth and lactate identify as female, and that some of these individuals identify as neither female nor male.’

The document was co-authored by eight doctors, with contributor Dr. Laura Kair of the UC Davis Children’s Hospital, releasing an accompanying a statement, in which she said ‘language has power.’ 

The statement read: ‘The language that we use should be as inclusive as possible when discussing infant feeding. When working with patients it is best to ask them their affirmed terminology. 

‘When communicating medical research, language should accurately reflect the population studied so as not to mask research needs.’ 

Shared views: Kirstie, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, went on to state that her views have been shared by both republican and democrat friends

Kirstie’s comments come after a slew of Hollywood stars spoke out about concerns over the suppression of speech surrounding the trans debate. 

Last year, JK Rowling was subjected to bitter attacks from transgender activists following the publication of her latest novel, Troubled Blood.

The novel was published under Rowling’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith and features a ‘transvestite serial killer’, which sparked furious backlash online a day before the book’s release on September 15.

A collection of over 50 actors, writers, playwrights, journalists joined together to pen a letter in response to ‘hate speech’ directed against the author.

Signatories of the letter include Booker winner Ian McEwan, actor Griff Rhys Jones, actress Frances Barber and playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.

It was was triggered in response to the hashtag #RIPJKRowling trending at number one on Twitter and said Rowling was a victim of ‘an insidious, authoritarian and misogynistic trend in social media’.

The letter wrote the hashtag declaring her dead on social media was ‘just the latest example of hate speech directed against her’.

Following her ordeal, JK called for an end to the ‘climate of fear’ around the trans debate after being sent ‘heart-breaking’ letters from women who had irreversible gender reassignment surgery.

The Harry Potter author, 56, said she ‘had a huge postbag’ with hundreds of letters following her comments over the summer, adding that 90 per cent of them were in support of her stance.

Speaking out: Kirstie’s comments come after a slew of stars spoke out about concerns over the suppression of speech surrounding the trans debate after there were calls to ‘cancel’ JK Rowling over her stance

She told Good Housekeeping magazine: ‘Many women are concerned about the challenges to their fundamental rights posed by certain aspects of gender identity ideology.’

JK called for ‘a more nuanced conversation’ about the ‘huge increase’ in the number of girls and young women seeking to transition.

She added: ‘I’ve had a huge postbag since speaking up on this issue and more than 90 per cent of the letters and emails have been supportive.

‘My correspondence have included medical staff, social workers, prison workers, workers in women’s refuges and members of the LGBT community, including trans people.’

She said people were ‘afraid to speak up’ and called for a ‘more nuanced conversation’ around women’s rights.  

Controversial: In June, JK sparked controversy when she questioned the use of the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ instead of the word ‘woman’

It came after JK sparked controversy when she questioned the use of the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ instead of the word ‘woman’ and went on to insist that the concept of sex is real. 

Reacting to an article, she tweeted to her 14.5m followers: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?’ 

Her stance led to a massive backlash with criticism coming from fans and Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Eddie Redmayne.

WE STAND WITH JK AGAINST HATE 

JK Rowling has been subjected to an onslaught of abuse that highlights an insidious, authoritarian and misogynistic trend in social media.

Rowling has consistently shown herself to be an honourable and compassionate person, and the appalling hashtag #RIPJKRowling is just the latest example of hate speech directed against her and other women that Twitter and other platforms enable and implicitly endorse.

We are signing this letter in the hope that, if more people stand up against the targeting of women online, we might at least make it less acceptable to engage in it or profit from it.

We wish JK Rowling well and stand in solidarity with her.

Ian McEwan, author; Lionel Shriver, author; Griff Rhys Jones, actor; Graham Linehan, writer; Maureen Chadwick, writer; Andrew Davies, writer; Frances Barber, actress; Craig Brown, writer; Alexander Armstrong, actor; Amanda Craig, writer; Philip Hensher, writer; Susan Hill, writer; Jane Thynne, writer; Ben Miller, actor; Simon Fanshawe, writer; James Dreyfus, actor; Frances Welch, writer; Francis Wheen, writer; Arthur Matthews, writer; Aminatta Forna, writer; Joan Smith, writer; Nick Cohen, journalist; Kath Gotts, composer & lyricist; Ann McManus, writer; Eileen Gallagher, writer & producer; Jimmy Mulville, producer; Lizzie Roper, actress; Stella O’Malley, author; Nina Paley, animator; Julie Bindel, journalist; Abigail Shrier, journalist; Rachel Rooney, author; Jane Harris, writer; Tatsuya Ishida, cartoonist; Lisa Marchiano, author; Zuby, musician and author; Debbie Hayton, journalist; Gillian Philip, Author, Jonny Best, musician; Manick Govinda, arts consultant; Russell Celyn Jones, writer; Magi Gibson, writer; Victoria Whitworth, writer; Dr Mez Packer, writer; Grace Carley, producer; Sam Leith, journalist; Malcolm Clark, television producer-director; Shirley Wishart, musician; Charlotte Delaney, writer; Nehanda Ferguson, musician; Justin Hill, writer; Trezza Azzopardi, writer; Birdy Rose, artist; Jess de Wahls, textile artist; Mo Lovatt, writer; Simon Edge, novelist; Tom Stoppard, playwright; and Amanda Smyth, writer  

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