In this episode, Simeca catches up with a fellow colleague in the international breastfeeding support community — Nekisha Killings MPH, IBCLC.

Killings, founder of The Melanted Mammary Atlas®, shared that something seemingly as simple as the shade and colour used to represent all breasts is problematic for the communities who don’t fall within the generic descriptions. It poses a problem and can be dangerous. Not using true representation for Black, Brown, and all other “coffee” hues means that breast-related illnesses in these communities will go misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. It takes away from relatability, belonging, and community. It also perpetuates the false narrative that people in these communities are “tougher”, have “thicker skin”, and all the other foolish sentiments that exist.

Though the biology and structure of titties are generally the same, they all look different. Since that is a known fact, why are most - if not all - text books and other material representing the titties to students and mothers as the generic and unfortunate Caucasian, pink, and red colours? That’s inequity and injustice if you ask us.

In a poetic portrayal of rebellion and taking action against such injustices, the Atlas seeks an equitable future of healthcare that normalises a diverse representation of brown skin, in all its varied coffee shades and hues, empowering health professionals to make more informed decisions for their patients of colour.

Tune in and get comfortable in the fact that melanated breastisies are being represented in the right ways with a bright future of even greater representation. We’re sure that you’ll learn new things, so get your note pads out and share the word so that more may know of the Atlas and gain access to it! Besides, though Nekisha is US-based, she has no partiality for Black and Brown breasts worldwide. She even shared that she has a soft spot for the Caribbean and there may very well be more collaboration between the Titty Squad and The Melanated Mammary Tribe (we coined that collective name, by the way)😉

Lets #normalizebrownbreasts and follow Nekisha’s work and The Melanted Mammary Atlas® on her website at mmatlas.com.