Jo-Anne Elder commented: I have to say that the term "witch's ***" 
did bother me in the e-mail. The second word is something I discourage 
people from using, because of the sexual reification it accomplishes, 
and the way a beautiful part of the human body becomes a swear word.

My response: Because I'm a radio broadcaster and want to comply with FCC
regulations, I have had several proactive conversations and emails with
the FCC about the community use of alternate words for breast such as
"boob" and "tit," which callers or interviewees could potentially come
up with in a live show.

What the FCC and I agree on is that for most people in my community,
alternative words for breast just mean "breast." Now, the way someone
talks ABOUT a breast (or women in general) can be offensive, sexual, or
both simultaneously, but this can occur no matter what specific word is
used, including "breast" itself. It is the respectful attitude toward
breasts and women that I am obligated to uphold. Maybe my use of the
word "breast" helps others to be more comfortable with it, but I don't
know whether that has significantly decreased the usage of other words
in my community. 

The "cold as a witch's tit" saying does bother me (much as I delight in
colorful folk expressions) because I feel this saying fails to meet my
criteria for respect for breasts and women in general. Also I want to
make sure my uses of the word "witch" don't carelessly support the
historical persecution of women under the "witch" aegis. 

"Tit" is an alternate pronunciation of the word "teat*," which is as
formal as "breast." Contemporary usage in the US tends to assign teats
to animals, breasts to humans, and tits to both, but there is no strict
adherence to this. Some people use it to refer to women's breasts
mockingly, and others in perfect sincerity-the attitude seems more to
the point than the vocabulary.

* teat n. A nipple of the mammary gland; a mamilla. [Middle English
tete, from Old French, of Germanic origin.]  See Penny Piercy's Lactnet
contribution, "Language of bf," Sun, 22 Oct 1995
(http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html Item 008004)(Search
terms "tit teat" if you have difficulty).

Arly Helm, MS, IBCLC

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